Gather all the blankets you can find in the house and build a blanket fort together! Trust me, no matter what you do inside the fort, be it playing cards or eating lunch, it’s going to be 100% more fun.

Your Host Kids probably have a lot of toys. So why not get them familiar with some classic board games? You can even heighten the stakes by playing for who has to wash the dishes after dinner, for example. 

Back in my days as an Au Pair, my Host Kids loved going to the library. They would walk through every aisle to find the perfect book and even when they finally did, they wanted to look for another one. As soon as everyone had three books they liked, we would go home and start reading. It’s a simple way to keep them busy for a few hours while also improving their reading skills.

Is there anything better than a home cooked meal? Skip the delivery service and make your own pizza with the kids. They can choose what they want on top and get to be very proud of their finished product. 

Just because it’s raining, doesn’t mean you can’t have that picnic you had planned. Have it inside, instead! Spread out the picnic blanket on the living room floor and enjoy all the snacks you had prepared in advance. 

Do you remember your favorite movie as a child? Well, it’s time to share it with your Host Kids. Let them also make suggestions. Write all of them on little pieces of paper, put them in a hat and randomly pick one (without looking!). As soon as you know what to watch, it’s time to get started on making some popcorn.

Yes, it doesn’t sound as much fun as the other activities, but now you have the time. Let the kids help you. They probably won’t want to at first, but as soon as they find toys they forgot they had, they will get excited. They might storm off to play with the toys they found, so be prepared to finish tidying up yourself. 

This was one of my favorite things to do with my Host Kids when I was an Au Pair. I would just sit on the couch and instead of trying to entertain the kids, let them entertain me. And entertaining it was. Marc, the younger of the two boys I took care of, decided to be the host of the talent show. He would make a whole show out of announcing the next act. Elliott, his older brother, would show of some moves he learned in his karate lessons and Rose, their younger sister, would sing and dance in the most adorable way. America’s definitely got talent.

There are a lot of great museums for kids out there. In New York, I enjoyed taking the kids to Museum of Math. Yes, I know, that doesn’t sound like fun at all. But trust me on this one. It shows all the ways in which math can be used in a very playful way. It’s a great place to teach children that math is more than just adding numbers.

This one is probably my favorite. I did this ever since I first became a babysitter. Put on the kids’ favorite music, darken the room and get some colorful lights. And then it’s time to party! Not only is this a lot of fun, it also tires your Host Kids out, so that they won’t have trouble falling asleep in the evening. It’s a win-win.

 

So, as you can see, just because it’s raining, doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun day. All you have to do is be creative. And maybe, just maybe, your Host Kids will look forward to the next rainy day. 

 

Sammy-Jo