☔ Make a toy raft or boat
After the rain has gone, there will be heaps of puddles left on the ground. Make a boat out of paper or a raft out of twigs or straws. Think about how to ensure it will float! Once the rain has cleared away, head outside and see which one floats best!
☔ Collect rainwater
Rainwater is brilliant for the garden as it contains lots of different minerals and seeds which help our ecosystems flourish. Watering the garden with tap water is ok, but there will still be traces of chemicals such as chlorine in it which over time may not be great for our plants. Rainwater is best, so when its is tipping down quickly dash out and put some buckets and watering cans in the garden and see how much you collect!
☔ Indoor gardening
Gardening in the rain is a bit exhausting and you don't want your tools to get damaged or the ground to get churned up as it softens with the water. Have a go at some indoor gardening instead! Plant out some seeds into little pots (they can be old yoghurt pots) or see if you can get them to sprout on damp tissue or cotton wool. You can also try placing the left over stems of celery or spring onions into a jam jar of water. You'll be surprised at how much they can grow just in water!
☔ Write a poem
Many famous writers and poets were inspired by the weather around them. Grab a notebook and a pencil and look out at the rain for inspiration. Listen to the sounds of the rain and see if you can include any onomatopoeia (sound words) such as pitter-patter, spit-spot....
☔ Make a biosphere
A biosphere is an enclosed ecosystem that regulates its own oxygen, carbon dioxide and water levels. Planet Earth is actually a biosphere! You can make your own mini biosphere using just a jam jar. Clean your jam jar and then place some sand or gravel in the bottom. Add a layer of good draining soil and then a few features such as pieces of bark or rocks. Add some moss and a few small slow-growing plants. You can even add a beetle or worm of you can find one! Finally, water your biosphere, put the lid on, and place it somewhere where it has sunlight but not too direct as this will make it too hot.
☔ Raindrop race
Find a window that has rain drops running down it! You might need to open the window to make a bit of an angle for the raindrops to fall on. Find someone else to race against, and then each pick a raindrop and see whose is the first to reach the bottom!
☔ Indoor bird watching
Set up an indoor area where you can look out and watch for wildlife. Use some binoculars if you have any and watch for any birds that come to visit! See if you can identify different types of birds. If you're not sure, try counting them instead and see how many pass through in time frame like 15 minutes or half an hour. Look for how their behaviour changes too. Do birds behave differently if there is a cat nearby? How many like using a bird feeder or a bird bath?
☔ Watch a nature documentary
There are so many different nature documentaries available on platforms such as BBC iplayer. If you don't feel like going outside, now is the time to pick a documentary and learn something about animals and wildlife elsewhere in the UK or in a completely different part of the world!
☔ Cloud gazing
There are so many different types of clouds that bring different types of rain and weather. Look up at the sky and see what the clouds are doing. Can you identify different types? Are they dark grey rain clouds or towering storm clouds? Is the cloud high up or does it feel like its low down like fog or mist?Are the clouds moving quickly in the wind or staying in one place? Make observations every 15 minutes of what is happening.
☔ Make a bird feeder
Birds are always grateful for extra food supply, especially going into autumn and winter when food sources might become a bit more scarce. Get some seeds such as sunflower seeds or mixed bird seed, and some chopped nuts such as peanuts. Mix together with some breadcrumbs, crumbled cheese and soft dried fruit. Add some softened lard and mix together to form a paste. Get a yoghurt port and make a hole in the bottom. Push some string through and tie a knot on the inside of the pot so it hangs upside down like a bell. Fill the pot with your bird food mixture and leave in the fridge for a few hours. When it has solidified, hang upside down outside and wait for the birds to visit!
