Toddler Tuesday: Rainy Day Box

We have posted lots of indoor places to visit, but sometimes on a rainy day (or a cold day, or a snowy day, or a way too hot day; recently we have had all of those in one week!) you just want to stay home. We have what I call our rainy day box. I have seen people do this, but often they suggest going out and buying lots of things. I'm not about that, and you've got stuff in your house you can use! Sometimes we have been out and about and have picked up things that we just didn't have time to do. A good example of this was MallOween on the BOOulevard(Number 9). There were a few cute arts and craft stations, but there were so many other things going on. Pony rides, bounce houses, games-the point being we didn't have time for the craft. The same could be said for some of the library events that we go to. It's hard to compete with shelves full of toys. I always ask to take the craft home where I throw it into the box.

1. Letter puzzle - this was a hand me down.
2. This is a cool pinball art thing. We got it as a hand me down, and it says it is too old for him, but we did it and it's cool. I'm pretty sure it was from Five Below. You load the paint in and pull the handle and bam - art. 
3. Beach Ball, because they fold up small, take time to blow up, and are easy to hit around. 
4. Allllllllll the coloring paper. 
5. This is a mini chalkboard set that we got from the Hampton Carousel when we went around the holidays. 
6. Melissa and Doug water color painting. I'm linking these here because they are really cool. I think these would make a cool gift for someone too. 
7. Mini play dough from a birthday party goodie bag. Perfect size. 
8. Sticker books. Stock up on sticker books. Here is a giant one. 
9. Malloween craft
10. Hungry Caterpillar stickers. 
11. We have a few of these wooden puzzles. 
12. This is a leftover craft from a Home Depot event! 

Hanukkah coloring sheets leftover from school? Rainy day box. Sensory bag making kit? Rainy day box. Sometimes places like Highlights will send some sample stickers. I toss them in. It's really a free for all. They say that toddlers can only pay attention to something for 3-13 minutes. Sometimes on these days you can do great things to work on fine motor skills, math, letters, or science. Other days you just need something to occupy some time. A healthy mix of both is great.

Some other ideas:

01. Color hunt- If your little one knows their colors, head on a color hunt in your house. The same can be done with a number hunt.
02. Going along with the color theme, have your toddler sort items by colors. I'd keep a sheet of each color in the box and rotate the things you use. Hot wheels cars, buttons (if they won't eat them!), post it notes, anything can be sorted.
03. Have an indoor picnic. Have your toddler help lay out the blanket, carry the food, and pass everything out.
04. We store all of the goodie bags from birthday parties in our box. Often this has the mini playdough, bouncy balls, or mini slinky. We all know that usually these things are small and either break or get lost quickly. This is totally the time to use it.

Comment and tell us, what's a must have in your rainy day box?