Just as soon as summer arrives, and we begin to get comfortable with the lazy, hazy, long days spent outside, we’re hit with the same reminder as the previous year and the year before that.

Unpredictable summer weather.

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Sure, there’s nothing more relaxing that curling up on the couch during a summer afternoon rainstorm with a good book and a glass of iced tea, unless of course, you have children.

At which point, if you’re not fully stocked with toys, games, and a giant amount of snacks, you may as well lay your head down and cry.

Seriously. One child stuck inside on a rainy day is tough to handle. Two? Even harder. Any more than that? I couldn’t even imagine.

But here’s what I learned about 2 years ago, my first summer as a mom, in the quiet, and storm-prone suburbs nestled between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Where your cable television provider is only as strong as the sunshine, so even the slightest drizzle of rain will wipe Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse off your list of things to do on a rainy afternoon. Where you don’t want to be stuck for hours on end without anything to do.

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Enter Plan B.

And this isn’t just the usual ‘take out the toys and hope for the best’ plan. Because we all know that never works with kids – it’s those moments that we’re completely desperate that they want new, better, super engaging and over the top.

You got it, kids.

Here are my two favorite ways to spend rainy summer days indoors with my toddler and friends:

Imaginative Play

As a mom, nothing tugs at my heart strings more than watching my daughter pretend-play. I am immediately transported back to the days of pretending to set up clothing boutiques in my basement with my best friend, pretending to throw parties in my kitchen my neighbor and her cat, and all of the pretend conversations I’m sure I had with a stuffed animal or two. Imaginative play is actually an important cognitive exercise for our youngsters. “Many studies show that make-believe strengthens a wide variety of mental abilities, including sustained attention, memory, logical reasoning, language and literacy skills, imagination, creativity, understanding emotions, and the ability to reflect on one’s thinking, inhibit impulses, control one’s own behaviour, and take another’s perspective” as reported by My Clever Monkey.

My pick to spark up the imagination and get my daughter and her pals actively playing creatively? Ansty Pants Build & Play Kits, of course! These handy-dandy DIY playhouse kits are designed to let kids’ imaginations run wild and get kids and families creating, imagining and building together. We’re talking about hours upon hours of indoor entertainment!