4 Min. Read time
Looking for some fun, affordable ideas on keeping the kids busy over the summer holiday? Here's some ideas to stop boredom kicking in and keep the holidays fun.
The Summer holidays are a great chance to bond with the little ones in your life and for you as adults to join in the fun too!
We all know holidays can be a little stressful at times when children become bored, which often leads to misbehaving and all around chaos!
So, we are here to help…
Here are our Top 9 Awesome picks to keep kids busy over the holidays.
TOP TIPS to make it easier for you:
- Plan, plan and plan! Start the end of each week by planning the next. Let your children tell you their ideas when planning and ask them what they would like to do. This allows the children to get excited too. Let your children write their ideas down too using our Love Writing Co. perfectly scaled chunky handwriting pencils.
- Listen to what the kids say they want to do. Children will be less likely to complain about the activities chosen if they have taken part in the decision-making.
- Have a range of activities to select from: stuff to do at home, in the garden, outdoors, and the odd activity that costs money to do. (Note all your costs down on a online budget calculator to help stretch those pennies!)
1. Visit the National Trust, UK:
Fingers and toes crossed for some hot weather during the holidays this year as the National Trust are offering lots of fun-packed open days for kids.
Plan a family day out at beautiful locations all over the country. Just choose your location and the website will give you some options of local activities near you! This is a great way to get kids outside and enjoying nature, as well as appreciating areas of heritage and natural beauty across the country. Suitable for children of all ages = fun days out for the whole family… it’s a win-win.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/summer-family-activities-for-every-adventurer
2. Try out Indoor Camping:
If the weather lets us down, like it often does, why not go camping in your very own living room! This is a great way to keep children busy during a rainy day.
All you need is:
- Some bedsheets and blankets to create a makeshift tent
- Children full of imaginations
- Homemade snacks
Encourage your children to put their favourite toys in their fort to make it extra cosy. This activity is not only fun, but is a great way to encourage creative thinking within children and logical thinking. Your children will have to carefully think ‘How can I build my fort successfully so it doesn’t collapse?’
TOP TIP: Use some string and pegs from the washing line to help hold things up
3. Use Love Writing Co. FREE Fun Activity Worksheets:
Free. Re-usable. Print unlimited times for siblings. It’s a no brainer.
Encourage fun learning activities throughout the holidays to keep on top of reading and writing.
Try out our most popular FREE downloadable worksheets here: https://lovewritingco.com/pages/downloadables
Perfect no matter the weather to use at home or take in your bag to use when out and about. These are great for entertaining at the dinner table or when waiting in a restaurant. Doing educational worksheets is a great way to get children learning while they aren’t at school and the best part… they won’t even know what they’re doing is ‘work’ because it will be so much fun.
If your children enjoy worksheets, check out our monthly activity subscription where fun, engaging sheets could be yours every month from. Check it out:
4. Check out: letsgowiththechildren.co.uk
Simply visit http://letsgowiththechildren.co.uk/events/, enter your postcode and see events near you.
Family friendly local events that vary from Safari Parks and Zoos, to Bowling, Museums and parks. There’s something for everyone on there and ensures that parents will have just as much fun as the kids with some of these events and activities! This is an excellent website to save to your favourites, so you can check out fun things to do if you’re ever stuck for ideas when planning a day out.
5. Make a Time Capsule
How amazing to look back in 10-20 years and look back on how you spent the holidays! What better way to do this than with a Time Capsule.
Ask your children to:
- Write a letter to their future self
- Pop in any pictures, toys or drawings that they would love to find in the future.
- Seal it with a big family bond hug!
This is not only an amazing way to allow children to remember their childhood with great keepsakes in the years to come, but also encourages reflection and to create goals.
For more ideas of what you could pop into the time capsule check out what Blue Peter say: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/bp-diamond-time-capsule-ideas
6. Have a Picnic (no matter the weather)
If it’s sunny, grab a blanket and have a picnic outside. If it’s raining, have a picnic inside, they're just as fun with no icky insects!
Encourage your children to write their own shopping list before you go to the shops to grab your snacks. Top Tip: For more ways to encourage handwriting practice in everyday life follow us on socials @lovewritingco for more top tips & hints!
If you’re outside, don’t forget your child friendly sunblock! Check out some of the best sunblock’s for kids, according to The Independent
7. Visit Your Local Library
Books = Knowledge. Knowledge = Everything.
Libraries, a place many have forgotten about but they hold the secret to everything past, present and future.
Take a trip down to your local libraries and pick out some best reads for children. If you find your child saying “I don’t want to read, I don’t like it…” Let them choose a book. Give them the control and remember, books about space, insects, materials, the sea are just as amazing for development as traditional story books. Don’t forget, if your child can write, they can read too.
This is a great, cost-effective way to let your child read a broad variety of things, as well as a fun afternoon trip for everybody.
TOP TIP: Explaining the concept of library cards and loaning books will also be a great way to teach your children about borrowing and having to return them within a certain time. It will also teach them to be responsible and careful with their belongings.
8. Cooking & Baking!
Most kids love to cook, it’s hands on, cooking is a messy business and when kids are involved there’ll be even more. There’s plenty of room for fun and creativity, not to mention a sense of achievement at the end.
- Once a week plan a fun baking day and involve the kids by letting them choose the recipes and go shopping for the ingredients.
- Choose a good time for you and the children as When you cook with your kids it needs to be at a time when you are relaxed, have the time, and choose a time of the day when your child is not tired or hungry!
Cooking is a great learning opportunity and as you’re cooking, talk about ingredients and where the recipes are from as this is a great way to learn about science, geography and maths as you weigh the ingredients.
Here are some fantastic recipes for kids to help them love cooking and baking:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-5-easy-bakes-kids
9. Make Learning fun
Just because it is the school holidays doesn’t mean that they can’t practice their arts, maths or English skills.
Arts and Crafts: Make it a weekly routine to make something arts and crafts based. This will help your child to develop their imagination as well as look forward to some creativity (maybe messy!) activities every week… and Afterall, don’t all kids love to get messy?
TOP TIP: Keep your old newspapers, egg cartons or toilet roll holders and let them use their imagination! Use our NEW 3-in-1 Washable Arty Crayons Crayon, Pastel and Watercolours to spark the imagination with no mess, no odour and no toxins!
Reading and Writing: Keep up with it, you (and their teachers) will thank you for it when they go back into learning. Love Writing Co. have a range of fun activity books, erasable crayons, Washable Arty Crayons and chunky small pencils that make learning so much fun, they won't even realise they are learning!
Check out our fun writing activity ranges perfect for children aged 3-9 years.
Visit www.lovewritingco.com for more Blogs on all things learning, parenting, kids and fun whilst learning! Follow us on socials, @lovewritingco for hints, tips and all things inspiring.
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