Creating A Rainy Day Bag

Creating a Rainy Day Bag! I am thrilled to have Betsy from Gathering Around on The Peaceful Haven today! Betsy hails from Tennessee and is a talented author, wife, and mother.  Hospitality guru, and generous friend!  You are going to love her creative solution for rainy days, come on, let’s gather around.

I may have lost my mind. Being in the middle of a move may be causing me to lose a few brain cells. Does anyone understand?

When Jessica Herberger shared on our website Gathering Around last week about her Rainy Day Bag I got inspired. I just couldn’t help myself. I am packing up stuff and throwing out junk…and all the while out BUYING more stuff to put in this bag. But I just can’t help it. After I share her idea with you maybe you will understand my enthusiasm.

A little backstory for context.

Sometimes I feel like an old mom. Our oldest daughter is almost 19 and our youngest daughter is almost 9. We have two boys sandwiched in between who are 12 and 16. We refer to them as the oldest two and the youngest two.

With the oldest two, I was on point. I knocked it out of the ballpark in lots of kid-fun areas. Creative and excited I came up with and executed ideas that I am amazed about now. That was with the older two.

By the time the younger two came around, I was getting tired. Homeschooling everybody and trying to take care of the needs of a large family I just didn’t take the time to make all the things I used to do. For example, with the older two we sang kid songs day and night, they knew the alphabet, numbers, skip counting, presidents, states, and capitals….on and on and on. All life revolved around making learning fun. The older two. Somehow with the younger two…life kept being about the older two. The older two’s songs were STILL the songs that were played, only they changed. So the younger two have grown up singing “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” and medleys of Drew Holcomb and Johnny Swim.

Creating A Rainy Day Bag

Jessica’s idea inspired me to create a win for the younger two. Honestly, I think the youngest one will be the main one who cares…but her brother might surprise us and join in if he can still look cool while he does.

I saw a way that I could set us up for a win. I can just see it now…It’s raining. They are bored. Just then Mom comes in to save the day with a bag full of activities to make our rainy day a super fun day.

Watch us on Instagram the first rainy day that comes and we will see how that all plays out… chances are it might be just a little different than I have pictured. But you will get a first-hand look. We will share our favorite items and the ones that didn’t go over so well.

Let me share a few thoughts with you to consider as you make your bag.

• You will need a container. Jessica uses a precious bag. A cool basket would work. Because of our move and the need to be practical we are using a copy paper box with a top. Our first rainy day we are going to make the box the #1 project. We will cover it in butcher paper and do one thing to the box to decorate it. Each day we use it we will add some kind of decoration. Stickers one day, stamp it another, paint it the next.

• It took me some brain cells to consider what to buy. (This could be age.) It would have been hard to put it all together with Elizabeth Jane. She has lots of ideas and I am not sure I could have thought through the whole deal with her input. I did, however, let her pick 2-3 items from a dollar store that she could add to the mix…to build her anticipation for using the box. (I have noticed her watching the sky and asking about rain.)

• I asked myself if the item I was considering buying was going to be worth (in time) the amount it cost. For example, I considered a yo-yo. After thinking about how few minutes it would actually be used I decided my money would be spent better in another way. I did opt-in for a sparkly glue that I knew she would play with forever as she made more slime.

• Think of high energy items. It is great to have some items that are used to get some wiggles out. I try to think of outdoor items that might be super cool to have inside. I am that mom who lets her kids jump rope in designated areas in the house…but only in certain places. We jump rope in the wide-open kitchen space. Or we move the den furniture. A bag of balloons all blown up (just blowing them up is an activity all by itself) can turn into LOTS of games. For 1$ you can have tons of fun for a long time.

• Think of independent activities. You, Mom, need to be nice to you. It is helpful to have a few things kids can do themselves so that you can breathe for a few minutes. Download an audiobook on the library app and pull out two new matchbox cars, or small containers of play dough, or a brand new coloring book and colors. One of our favorite downtime activities is a puzzle. Lots of times with the older two I would set out a stack of puzzles and let them choose one at a time. The had to work it AND put it up before the next was gotten out.

• Choose a few items they could do for others. Make a treat for Dad to surprise him. Cook a pan of brownies and take a few to the neighbors. A cake mix, icing, and sprinkles would be great to add to your rainy day…cooking together is a super fun way to pass the time. And you could bless someone else with the fruit of your labor (or should I say cupcake?) I would like to give you a review of our first rainy day, but it is not here yet. With boxes piling up and the toy closet being cleaned out we may begin to pray for rain. One thing I can tell you is that I am excited about doing something new with the kids. And NONE OF IT involves a screen.

Please, comment below and let us know about your Rainy Day Bag. What were some of your best ideas? What was a fail? What are you going to try next time? Who would have ever thought we would start looking forward to a rainy day.

I am pretty sure I feel a little like Mary Poppins.

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