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Rainy Day Play Four indoor activities to brighten rainy days. Create an Indoor Obstacle Course Get a workout without stepping foot on your treadmill or stationary bike. An indoor obstacle course makes burning a few calories exciting for everyone. Use your whole home or a room or two to create various stations of the course. Build your own "Floor is Lava" using pillows, construct a hopscotch pattern by mapping out each square with painter's tape, and use cardboard boxes to make tunnels to crawl through. Time each other to see who can complete it the fastest and declare a champion. Play Meteorologist Rain, rain, please stay! While your local meteorologist might use high-tech equipment to gauge rain amounts, all you need to do the job is an empty spaghetti sauce jar and a funnel. Simply apply a piece of clear tape from the bottom to the top of the jar; then, using a ruler and permanent marker, mark inches and half inches along the tape, starting from the bottom. Place another piece of tape over the markings to protect them, and position a plastic funnel in the opening of the jar and set it outside. After the rain has ended, check your gauge to see how much rainwater you collected. Send a picture of your findings to your meteorologist for a chance to get a shout-out on the evening news! Compete for Best Pantry Chef A good-natured competition is the perfect way to energize a soggy day. Using groceries in your pantry, task each competitor with cooking, baking, or assembling a wow-worthy dish. Challenge contestants to concoct something delicious by blindfolding them as they choose their foods, limiting to just three to five items, and setting a timer for the cookoff. From savory plates to sweet treats, the versatility of shelf-stable foods is boundless. Whether you discover something new or surprise yourself with your flexible cooking skills, this is a game where everyone wins. Make Your Own Playdough A mini science experiment with a mega dose of fun, making homemade playdough requires just five ingredients and a little bit of elbow grease. Add four to five drops of food coloring to ½ cup of boiling water. Remove from heat, mix, and add 1½ teaspoons of vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, mix ½ cup of flour, one teaspoon of cream of tartar, and ¼ cup of salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture until it turns doughy. When the dough is cool enough, knead it with your hands until it's no longer sticky. Then, divide the finished dough so everyone can construct their own playdough figures. PASS THE TIME COMING HOME MAGAZINE 27