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Puddle Splash and Rain Basket
Nature Basket

Puddle Splash and Rain Basket

A basket by the back door with boots, a rain gauge and a paper boat. When it rains, you do not stay in - you get the basket and go out.

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Ages 3-610 min prep

Rainy days used to mean a sulk in this house. The basket by the door changed that entirely, because now rain is the thing that unlocks the basket.

We measure it. The rain gauge goes out at the start and comes in at the end, and a four-year-old who cannot yet count past twenty still knows that yesterday was a bigger rain than today.

The paper boat races down the gutter are the real event. Ours mostly sink within a metre, and that has never once mattered.

Boots, coat and a cut-off bottle by the back door.
Boots, coat and a cut-off bottle by the back door.
Both feet, ten times. The whole point of the boots.
Both feet, ten times. The whole point of the boots.
Reading the gauge and writing the number down afterwards.
Reading the gauge and writing the number down afterwards.

What you'll need

  • Wellington boots and a waterproof coat, kept in the basket so they are always findable
  • A rain gauge for the garden - the fun-shaped kind that a small child wants to check
  • A jar or bucket for catching rain off the roof, and a ruler
  • Paper for folding boats, plus a few corks or leaves as backup racers
  • A small notebook and pencil for the rain chart
  • A dry towel and a change of socks waiting by the door - non-negotiable
  • A magnifying glass, for looking at raindrops on leaves and spider webs
  • A flask of something warm for afterwards, made before you go out

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How to make it

  1. 1

    Set the basket up on a dry day and leave it by the back door so it is ready before the rain arrives.

  2. 2

    When it starts, put the rain gauge out somewhere open, away from the house wall and any trees.

  3. 3

    Go out. The first two minutes are the hardest for grown-ups and the easiest for children.

  4. 4

    Find the biggest puddle on the street and jump in it properly, with both feet, at least ten times.

  5. 5

    Fold two paper boats and race them along the gutter or a stream of water down the drive.

  6. 6

    Look at the raindrops caught in a spider web or on a leaf with the magnifying glass.

  7. 7

    Come in, bring the rain gauge, read it together and write the number in the notebook with the date.

  8. 8

    Dry off, warm drink, and stick the rain chart on the fridge. Compare it with the next rainy day.

Tip

Have the towel and dry socks out before you go, not after. The bit that ruins rain play is a cold wet child waiting in the hallway while you hunt for a towel. Empty the rain gauge after every reading or the numbers stop meaning anything.

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