Let’s face it: not every day is filled with sunshine and bright blue skies. Sometimes it’s raining and wet. If you’re looking for some ways to spruce up your rainy days, we’ve got some camp-tested ideas for you!
Minute to Win It Games
These games are usually low prop or use items that you might already have around the house. Challenge your family members or friends to some crazy games. Here are a few of our favorites:
Face the Cookie – Everyone starts with an Oreo cookie (or any other favorite cookie) on their forehead. Using only their face muscles (no hands), they have to move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth. The first one to get the cookie to their mouth wins.
A Bit Dicey – Use a large popsicle stick or tongue depressor, and have everyone hold it in their mouth between their teeth. See who can be the first stack six dice on the end of the stick and hold it for 20 seconds.
Hot Air – Everyone needs a balloon and a plastic cup. Place all the cups in a line on a slick floor (no carpet). Mark out a finish line 10-15 feet away. Blow up your balloon and use the air inside to blow your cup across the floor and over the finish line. The first one to get their cup across the line is the winner!
Fashion Show Frenzy
Gather up any silly dress-up items you have: Baseball Jerseys, Hawaiian shirts, scarves, prom dresses, wigs, glasses, graduation gowns, masks, etc. Put them in a pile and let everyone dig through to create their own wacky, crazy outfit. Then, walk the runway and show off your new style!
Get Crafty
There’s plenty of fun crafts you can do at home on a rainy day. Use corn starch, water, and food coloring to make Ooblek. Or, create puppets using paper bags, construction paper, markers, and any buttons, beads, and feathers you might have at home. One of our favorites is Straw Rockets. Here’s what you’ll need: Straws, string, construction paper, markers, scissors, tape, tissue paper, and balloons.
Cut your piece of construction paper in half. This will be the body of your rocket. Decorate your paper and then roll it into a cylinder. Hold it together with tape. You want the body of your rocket to be about the size of a toilet paper roll.
Using the other half of your sheet of paper, cut off a 3″ wide strip. Decorate this, and then create the nose cone of your rocket. Secure it with tape and trim off the excess. Then, tape it to the body of your rocket. Cut a large triangle from your paper, decorate it, and secure it to your rocket as the fins.
Use crumpled strips of tissue paper to create the “flames” out the back of your rocket. Attach them with flames. Finally, tape a drinking straw to the top of your rocket. You’re just about ready for lift off!
Cut a long piece of string about 7 feet long. Have two people each take one end of the string and hold it tight to create a line. Slip the drinking straw over one end of the string with your rocket facing the other end. Blow up a balloon but do not tie it. Hold the end tight and tape it to the bottom of your rocket, with the end of the balloon facing the back of the rocket. Count to three, let go, and watch your rocket race down the string!
Don’t forget, a little rain never hurt anyone, either! In fact, some things can be a lot of fun in the rain. Put on your rain boots and splash in a puddle. Build paper boats and race them in the water flowing down the street gutters. Our campers are particularly fond of “muddy GaGa,” which is playing GaGa ball in the muddy puddles formed when it rains.
Even rainy days can be fun days at camp, and we hope you have the chance to try out a few of these things at home!
Technology at Camp