rainy day activites Archives - Crock Pots and Flip Flops

Say Fore for fun! All you need to make this DIY mini golf course is leftover boxes. Do you have some Amazon boxes or any size boxes laying around? Build Your Own Mini Golf Course! Take those boxes and transform them into your very own putt putt course in the backyard or even indoors! This activity has multiple steps so it a great project for when you have a lot of time at home. You can even count this as an educational activity since it works on motor skills and math too!

Skills Used to Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

Cutting and painting helps with hand eye coordination
Working on math with numbers
Following steps

Have Kids Help- Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

As you can see, I really let my kids decorate and build them so they are not the cutest. As a result of building them, they love playing with them even more. Putt Putt golf is fun to play as a family and we played it as a family after dinner! If you don’t have golf clubs you can even just do it with your hands, imagine skee-ball style which is how my daughter (3) likes to do it. Hope this free kids activity helps you up-cycle some boxes and have an interactive activity as a family!

What You Need

Boxes
Scissors
Paint or Markers
Lots of Creativity

Instructions to Make Your DIY Mini Golf Course

Step 1- Collect all the boxes you can. The more boxes the “holes” you will have for the golf course. (We only had 4 so that’s what we used).

Step 2- Cut out a hole in the front and the back of the box. You may have to help with this section since cardboard can be hard to cut. Make the holes larger than you think. We had to make our much larger once we played.

Step 3- Paint and decorate boxes. This part can be as simple or elaborate as you want. You can add flags, tape construction paper or even make a windmill! Need Paint? Make sure to use washable paint with your kids. We always use Crayola Washable Paint.

Step 4- Make numbers for each box and tape them on the box. This is another great way you will be incorporating learning into this fun activity. The kids will work on how many numbers there are and putting them in order.

Step 5- Step up each hole in numerical order. Play golf in backyard or in your house. You can make it as easy or difficult as you want. My son wanted to add the slide into our last hole to make it harder.

Repeat Step 5 all day long!

More Fun Kids Activites

Try these 35 At Home Kids Activities

Get Cooking with the kids with these easy No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars.

These boredom busters are perfect to break out when you hear those two words…”I’m bored”. Looking to fill your daily schedule during the school closure and need some new ideas of to create the best “camp at home”!

These 35 At Home Activities for Kids is a great please to find fun new things to do. Try one or all of them when you are stuck at home and can’t go anywhere! Comment any ones that you guys do at home since I am always looking for fun new ones too!

Arts and Crafts

Painting Shapes– Take a giant piece of kraft paper and draw shapes all over it (square, circle, heart etc..). Tape on wall and let the kids paint. This idea is from Busy Toddler and if you want endless amazing kids activities I recommend heading over to her site immediately.
Painting Rocks- Easy as it sounds. Get rocks from outside and paint them!
Fuse/Melt Beads– These are my son’s (age 5) favorite thing. It is the only thing he will do for up to an hour. You take tiny beads and make them into and pattern. Once the pattern is finished you iron them and the beads melt together.

Legos/duplos– Make a city! Here are more great ideas…https://www.mykidstime.com/entertainment/download-free-30-day-lego-challenge-creative-fun/

Make a Racetrack for cars with painters tape on the ground. Have the kids help make it and they will love to race on it all day.
Build with Play-Doh– Play-Doh Kids can work for hours of fun.

Kinetic Sand– Get seashells or animals and hid them in the sand. Have kids find them all.

Coloring pages- Print out all your Disney favorites or even color online. Here is a link to their free coloring website!
Board Games– Count your Chicken, Candlyland, Zingo and Headbandz are the ones that work for my family, ages 3 and 5. Here’s a link to all my favorite ones!

At Home Activities for Kids — Painting shapes and Board Games

Science

Science Experiments- All you need is vinegar, baking soda and dish soap! Food coloring makes it even better. Add them to each other and VOLCANO. We purchased this science experiment kit and use it a ton.

Here are some other easy ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McVpXiSttnU
Make Ice Cream in a bag with only a few ingredients.

Get Moving with these At-Home Activities for Kids

Build an obstacle course- This can be as easy without any ropes or ladders. I usually put pillows on the ground to jump on and chairs to climb under and over.
Pillow Fight- Break out the pillows and start throwing.
Blow up balloons- This one amazes me every time. If I blow up two balloons the kids will play with them and make up games. My go to is don’t let the balloon touch the ground. Here are some easy games if you want ideas. –https://www.brisbanekids.com.au/10-best-balloon-games-kids/
Timed races- My kids will run for a half hour as long as I’m timing them. I pick different places they need to run to and time them.

Dancing and YouTube

Freeze Dance- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcZWXvgMZE
I am A Robot- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbL61Ex3avM
Milkshake Waffles- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNL6RwymoNg
Make a band by getting all your musical instruments out and create a song!

Classic Games

Red Light/Green Light- Kids start and one end and you say green light they run, yellow light go slow and red light stop.
What Time is it Mr Fox- https://www.kidmintools.com/2012/11/14/childrens-game-what-time-is-it-mr-fox/
I Spy- Someone picks something they see and says what color it is. Everyone guesses what the object is. Whoever wins get to be the “spyer”
Play “Simon Says” or “Follow the Leader.”
Grab a deck of cards and teach your kids the simple joy of Slapjack.
Easter Egg Hunt- This works anytime of year! Break out the eggs and get hiding.
Puppet Show- Socks or paper bags work great if you don’t have puppets.

Outside Games At-Home Activities for Kids

Scavenger Hunt- Click here for an easy scavenger hunt to get the kids outside. These are all pictures so no adults needed if your child can’t read yet. After they find everything mine usually stay outside playing with all their treasures!
Water Fight- Fill up a bucket or bowl with water. Give cups to everyone and run around.
Wash toys and trucks
Water table- Add food coloring and soap to the water table. Throw in cups, spoons and any other pourable items for open-ended fun.
Chalk Art- Break out the chalk and make a hopscotch pattern.

Other At-Home Activities for Kids

Build a fort- If we are going to do screen-time I always like to build a fort before to try and extend the activity a little longer.
Daytime bath- Break out the bathtub during the day and it becomes exciting instead of routine.
Clean the windows and dust- My kids love to do this. I let them spray while I wipe. Two birds, one stone!
Make a paper boat and see if it floats! Click here for instructions

Screentime

Break out the tablet- Click here for a list of free educational apps that your kids will love so much they won’t even know they are learning!
Cosmic Yoga is a way to get moving and calm your mind! They are for kids and have great themes like Frozen, Spiderman and Trolls themed yoga sessions!

rainy day activites