Rain on the windows and energy to burn is a tricky combination. The good news is that under fives are happy with simple games and very little kit.
Games for sitting down
Make a rainbow of wooden arches and let your child copy the order, then shuffle it and swap the colours around. For quieter moments, fill a tray with dried pasta and hide small animal figures inside for a rescue game.
Turn a stack of chunky crayons into a colour hunt: call a colour and see who can find something in the room that matches first. It works for any age and costs nothing.
Games for burning energy
Lay cushions on the floor as stepping stones to a pretend island, and cross the room without touching the carpet. A tumbling tower makes a good indoor skittle set if you roll a soft ball at it.
Finish with a slow game to bring the mood down: dim the lights, put on quiet music and build the tallest tower you can together, taking it in turns to add one block.
Ten minutes of play in the middle of the day often saves the whole afternoon.
