I’d been thinking about writing a blog post with activities for parents and their children to do on a rainy day for quite a while now. So here are 15 fun activities for German learning families on a rainy day or during a lockdown.
1. Play a game. Teach your child the numbers from 1 – 6 in German and play ‘Mensch ärgere dich nicht’ (Ludo). You could also adapt any memory games to play in German or even ‘Guess Who’
2. Read a book together. Even if you don’t have any German children’s books, there are many online for you both to read together. Try Amira or Storybooks Minnesota
3. Clean and declutter. Work with your family to tidy up all those spaces that are out of order. While you’re tidying up, search for ‘das Spielzeugauto’ or ‘die Puppe’ (or whatever toy your child knows in German). Who finds it first? Also, who can find Mummy’s ‘Wein’ or Daddy’s ‘Bier’? And where is the ‘Schokolade’?
4. Build a den. Use cushions, chairs, and blankets to build a den for you and your children. Pretend it’s in Germany or have a soft toy living there that only understands German.
5. Do some Yoga together. But instead of following English videos, search for “Yoga für Kinder” on YouTube and use any of those videos.
6. Create a family tree. Once you’ve added the members of the family you could find out what father/ mother/ daughter/ son etc… is in German and label the names on the tree in German.
7. Make a movie. Use your smartphone to film and edit a movie starring your family (or dog ☺) speaking or learning German.
8. Have a dance party. Create a playlist of your favorite German pop songs or action songs and get everybody on the dance floor. Here’s my favourite German action song: Wackel mit dem Po
9. Play indoor sports. Create competition and burn off energy with indoor sports. Don’t forget to count your scores in German!
10. Play online games. Increase everyone’s German vocabulary and have fun with sites like The Voyage Kids or German for Kids
11. Bake a German cake or biscuits. Follow an English or German recipe or find a video with instructions.
12. Put on a puppet show. Help your children make puppets and then put on entertaining shows. Your child might be shy, but the puppets usually love speaking German ☺
13. Learn about new locations. Choose a location in Germany you’d like to visit one day. Learn interesting facts about that place (that can be in English) and learn a few sentences together that you could use when you do visit.
14. Go on a treasure hunt. Create a series of easy clues in German that will eventually lead your children to a prize.
15. Do a challenge. Who can count the furthest in German, the parents or children? Too easy? Okay, who can count the furthest in German standing on one leg? Who can say the alphabet in German? Who can say it backwards?
There you have it, 15 activities that you and your children can do. Depending on your ability or your children’s abilities, they can be done completely in German, a little in German or just in English – the choice is yours.
You could even buy my online course Basic German for young children which has ideas for parents to teach their young children some basic German, or even enjoy learning together, but that’s completely optional. 😉
Alternatively, you could get one of my colouring books for young German learners.
Which of those 15 activities would you like to try or did you like best?
