Things to Do on a Day Off of School
It feels nice and soft, I'd like to wear it.
Pupil, aged 8
23 school holiday activities to beat the boredom
When the long awaited school holiday starts, kids are a bundle of joy and excitement at the prospect of what fun it will bring.
We're already only a few days into the school holidays and no doubt the choruses of "I'm bored" may have kicked in. To help, we've put together a list of our favourite things to do to help beat the school holiday boredom and keep the entire family entertained.
1. Create a home cinema
Rent, download or buy the children's favourite movie, get some snacks such as popcorn and pizza at the ready, dim the lights and sit back and enjoy!
2. Go swimming
Whether it be at the local baths or water park, there's lots of fun to be had swimming! Over the holidays many swimming baths put on events for children, such as inflatables or a DJ so have a look around on the internet for events in your area.
3. Do a jigsaw
A good jigsaw can keep everyone entertained for hours on end. Dust off your favourite jigsaw and see how quickly you can complete it as a team.
4. Create a puppet show
Dig out your old socks and the crafts box and have fun creating puppet characters. The endless stories that the kids create will keep their imagination occupied for hours.
5. Go for a picnic
Choose a park or a woods, perhaps somewhere that you have never been before, and go and explore. Take a picnic and find the perfect spot for when you all need a rest.
6. Go Geocaching
Geocaching is a very fun, exciting and adventurous activity for all the family. Download the geocaching app and find hidden treasure trails near you. There's only one rule: "If you take some stuff from a hidden stash, you have to leave some stuff". Find out more and download the app here.
7. Do some gardening
Let them help you with the gardening, even better if you have flowers or vegetables to take care of. Not only is it an educational activity that helps to teach children about nature and the environment, but they will also no doubt love getting muddy and discovering insects.
8. Go on a bike ride
Strap on your helmets and explore the countryside on your bikes. A fun activity for all the family.
9. Make an indoor obstacle course
Make it as easy or as hard as you like based on your children's ability, or better still, let them help you set it up and suggest ideas. Use bits of string to create a "laser maze" for them to crawl through, masking tape to mark patterns or areas on the floor that they have to navigate through or repurpose some toys such a hula hoop or play tunnel that they have to complete as part of the trial.
10. Visit a farm
Simple but very fun! Farms are full of new and exciting things that help children learn about animals and their habitats. Feed the goats or take a donkey ride.
11. Visit a museum
A lot of museums have now incorporated interactive activities that the kids that do whilst learning lots of interesting and fun facts. One of our favourites is Eureka in Halifax.
12. Let them help you wash the car
A win-win for everyone, you get a nice clean car and the kids get to play with bubbles and spray each other with water.
13. Hold your own Sports Day
Create your own sports day in the garden or at the park. All you need is a few props such as bean bags, skipping ropes or even an egg and spoon. Make it extra fun by presenting a homemade trophy to the winning team.
14. Create your own treasure hunt
Hide things round the house and create a list of all the items that are hidden for the kids to tick off as they find them.
15. Visit the library
The library is filled with all sorts of exciting things to do. Find their favourite author and let them get lost in their favourite books, draw a picture, surf the internet for fun facts or practice their writing skills by helping them to write a letter to a pen pal.
16. Visit a trampoline park
Loads of fun and a great form of exercise, trampoline parks have recently popped up all over the country. Find your local trampoline park and bounce the afternoon away.
17. Build a den
Every child loves building a den or fort. Use bedsheets, boxes and cushions to create somewhere they can hide, play with their friends or just relax. You can even add fairy lights for an extra cosy feel.
18. Play with Play-doh
A favourite of children of all ages and generations, Play-doh incorporates messy-play and creativity as they build sculptures of all shapes and sizes.
19. Put on a fashion show
Create a catwalk and let them dress up in some of your clothes or fancy dress. Grab the camera and take some photographs for them to look at afterwards. You may even capture some great shots to be framed and put up on the wall.
20. Get creative and design your own t-shirt or sweatshirt
Dig out some old t-shirts/jumpers or buy some cheap plain ones and get creative with anything you can find to decorate them. Pom poms, pipe cleaners, stick on letters, glitter… the kids will love unleashing their creativity and creating their very own, unique clothing.
21. Go Bird watching
Spark their interest in nature and birds by laying out some seeds in the garden or at the park and getting out the binoculars. Organisations such as RSPB have guides that teach you how to identify different species of birds. Create a checklist for them to tick off as they spot them.
22. Make learning fun
Just because it is the school holidays doesn't mean that they can't practice their maths or english skills. Keep it simple by having a spelling contest with prizes or download apps such as "Maths Rockz" and "The Singing Alphabet" to get them doing simple sums or words in no time!
Check out our blog post to find out how Maths Rockz works.
23. Bake a cake
A group activity that is lots of fun, especially when they get to lick the bowl afterwards! Whether you decide to bake one big cake or lots of little cupcakes, decorating them is always lots of fun! You could even take them round to Grandma and Granddads to show off your creations.
I didn't know you could make school uniform out of plastic bottles. That's really cool.
Pupil, aged 9
Things to Do on a Day Off of School
Source: https://www.davidluke.com/blog/23-school-holiday-activities-beat-boredom
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