Easy and Cheap Activities you can do with Kids on a Rainy Day.

The summer holidays have come around again and it doesn't seem all that long ago since the last time you had the children at home for six whole weeks.

When the weather is nice, there are usually a few places you can go that will keep them entertained and keep your stress levels down.

However when it's been raining all morning, the kids are restless, you're wondering how you can keep them busy and prevent you from pulling your hair out, here are a few ideas you and your family can try together. They are simple, cheap and the things that you need for them can usually be found in the home already. I hope you find them of use, they help to keep you sane and keep your children happy.

What you will need to make the dough:

• 300g (10 oz) of plain flour.
• 200ml (1/3 pint) of water.
• 300g (10 oz) of salt.
• 2 tablespoons of oil.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until it is pliable enough to model with. Then spend as much time as you wish bending, shaping and moulding the dough. When you are happy with what you have made, oil brush a baking tray and bake in the oven at gas mark 4/ 180'C/350'F for 20 minutes.

After they have been baked and are hard, carefully remove them from the oven and wait for them to cool. You can use oil or water based paints to decorate them and if your feeling really creative you can also add glitter, glue and varnish.

This activity is great for the kids imagination and will keep them entertained for ages. They also love having something they can keep and display.

You will need:

• Treasure (maybe sweets, money or toys).
• Paper.
• Pencils.
• Crayons.
• Pens
• Clues.

Get the children to each make a map of your home. While they are doing this you place clues around the home. Each clue should lead to the next until you reach the treasure.

When the children have finished drawing their maps, give them the location of the first clue and encourage them to work together and mark off everywhere they have been on their map as well as where they find the treasure at the end.

If you keep the treasure and make yourself the last clue you can make sure everyone gets equal amount's of treats.

This is good for you as you get a break while they are off finding treasure and keeps their brains active working out the clues.

You will only need:

• A pack of cards.

Shuffle the deck of cards and lay them individually in rows, face down.

Take it in turns to turn over two cards, if they are the same suit, number or picture you keep them and you get another go.

If not place them back face down and it's then the next persons turn to try.

The person with the most cards at the end is the winner.

To make it more interesting, when you find two cards the same shout 'match' and hold your card's in the air, kids love doing this.

You will need:

• paperclips or rubber-bands.

The aim of this exercise is to make the longest paperclip chain or the biggest rubber-band ball.

You can also set time trials or make it on-going and add to them on the next rainy day, you will soon notice just how much they grow.

Find out together what the world record is for each and see if you can beat it.

You will need:

• The largest piece of paper or card you can find.
• Old magazines and newspapers.
• Glue and scissors.

Cut out lots of pictures from the old newspapers and magazines, make it as eclectic as you like.

They can be big or small and of anything you wish, animals, people, plants even appliances.

Arrange and stick them on to the large piece of paper or card, don't worry if they overlap as this will add to the effect. You can also draw pictures in the gaps, when you are finished you can harden and gloss it with a P.V.A. glue mixture. (1 part glue to 3 parts water).

When that has dried you can put it up on display so friends and family can see your unique work of art.

You will need:

• 100g/4 oz of butter or margarine.
• 100g/4oz of caster sugar.
• 2 eggs.
• 100g/4 oz of self raising flour.

Mix the butter/margarine and caster sugar together in a bowl first, until light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs and add them to the butter/margarine and sugar.

Sift and add the flour then combine and mix all of the ingredients together.

Oil brush two 18cm/7 inch sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at gas mark 5/190'C/375'F.

When they are cooked, carefully take out from the oven (remember they will be hot), loosen, remove and leave the cakes to cool.

When cooled, spread 3 large table spoons of jam on to one of the sponges and place the other firmly on top.

To make it a little more attractive, you can also dust it with icing sugar. A very simple and delicious Victoria sponge sandwich cake that everyone can enjoy.

These are just a few ideas to get you started, I hope you find them useful and fun. Nest time you are stuck indoors, why not try art, craft, cookery and games to pass those rainy days away.