Rainy day activities for kids: a drawing afternoon plan

A great rainy day drawing afternoon has a simple shape: a warm-up game, one guided lesson, a bigger project, a snack, and a mini art show at the end. It takes about two hours, needs only paper and pencils, and works for kids from about 4 to 12. Here’s the plan, plus more ideas for the next rainy day.

The 2-hour plan

1. Warm-up game (15 minutes)

Play the squiggle game: everyone draws a squiggle, swaps, and turns it into a creature. See drawing games for kids.

2. A step-by-step lesson (20 minutes)

Pick a character from a free lesson or a How to Draw book. Draw it together, one step at a time. The light gray guide on each step shows the finished drawing, so everyone’s fits the page.

3. Snack break (10 minutes)

Draw your snack as a monster while you eat. See food monsters.

4. The big project (45 minutes)

Pick one:

• Monster town: each child draws a building and the monster who lives there, then tape them together into a street.
• Comic book: fold paper into a booklet and make a story with the lesson character. See make a comic with kids.
• Grid challenge: a full grid drawing, colored in. See what is grid drawing?

5. Art show (20 minutes)

Tape everything to a wall, give each piece a title card, and invite the family for a gallery walk. See host a kids’ art show at home.

6. Clean-up (10 minutes)

Everything back in the box. Done.

15 more rainy day drawing ideas

1. Draw what the rain is doing outside.
2. Raindrop characters.
3. A fort, then draw the view from inside it.
4. A monster that loves puddles.
5. A rainy day comic.
6. Umbrella designs.
7. Paper puppets and a show.
8. Trace and color a whole stack of pages.
9. A rainbow made of patterns.
10. Draw your family as animals.
11. Window art with washable markers.
12. Design a board game.
13. A treasure map, then hide a treasure.
14. Draw a story, then act it out.
15. Pick from 100 things to draw when bored.

Setting up for success

Clear a table, put down newspaper if needed, and keep supplies in one box. A little music helps. For multiple ages, give younger kids tracing pages and older kids grids on the same theme. See drawing with mixed ages.

The book that helps

A book like How to Draw: Cool Stuff is a whole rainy afternoon in one place: monsters, aliens, robots and more, step by step.

How to Draw: Cool StuffSee it on Amazon

Draw by Grid: Cute Cartoon MonstersSee it on Amazon

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