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With the kids off school for a whole two weeks, here are 10 kid friendly activities for the Easter Holidays.
Host a games tournament
Gather up all your the games you have that are suitable for the kids to play and have a big games tournament. Place the games out around the house, in their own ‘game stations’ so that you don’t have to pause play to set up something new. Normally we’ll use our chalkboard to keep a rough score. Adding points for winning, but also for things like being a good loser, sticking with it or deducting points for squabbling.
Plant some seedlings
Spring is the perfect time to grab a packet of seeds and get sowing. Use toilet roll tubes to start your seeds off indoors.
– Evenly cut four 2cm long slits around one end of your toilet roll tube.
– Fold each flap inwards and overlap to create a base.
– Flip and fill with soil and seeds.
Reenact your child’s favourite story
Grab one of your kid’s favourite books and pick out a character to play. Depending on how adventurous you’re feeling you could create costumes or masks to wear as you’re playing the character. When we do this in the house I often start by reading the story, like a separate narrator, then prompt the kids to act out their bits. We’ve never managed to follow a story all the way through, but it’s lots of fun role playing the characters.
Give an old toy a makeover
It’s always good to donate or sell any toys that are still in good condition, but kids seem able to detect a clear out before you can even open the donation bag. One idea is to select an unloved soft toy from the donate/sell/bin pile and give them a star makeover. If you’re good with a needle and thread you could make the changes a bit more permanent. If not just have fun tying and clipping things onto the teddy.
Visit your local library
Over the holidays libraries often have lots of activities on for kids. If not, they’re still a great place to hang out for an hour. I tend to limit the girls to three books each and encourage them to explore the non-fiction books as well as story books, so we can learn or try something new. I think the best bit for my eldest is when she gets to scan her card and books.
Learn a new craft
Find lots of kid-friendly craft ideas on diy.org. The videos are created by kids for kids. They include things like ‘How make a stop motion animation’, ‘How to rap’ and ‘Origami for kids’. You’ll have to sign up for a free account to view the videos.
Go star spotting
This article from Star at Night magazine has some wonderful ideas and tips on star gazing with kids. Some key things are:
– Pick a clear night.
– Get as far away from street lights as possible.
– Wrap up in lots of warm layers.
– Take snacks and drinks.
– Check when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible.
– Avoid viewing fainter planets during a full moon.
We have a great selection of space toys, perfect for budding astronomers and astronauts.
Have an old school sports day
Here are some ideas for old school sports day events:
– Egg and spoon race (grab a wooden egg if you don’t fancy the mess).
– Sack race – pillow cases or cotton tote bags make a good sack replacement.
– Three legged race.
– Bean bag or soft toy on your head race.
– Target throwing – grab a laundry basket and some soft toys or balls, see how many you can get in within a set time.
Ideally hold this in a garden or park. If the holidays are too wet, scale down your games and have it in your living room.
Virtually visit a new country
Select or pick a random country to explore virtually. Find landmarks and interesting places you’d visit if you went there for real, then look on YouTube for videos of them. What language do people speak in this country? Try to learn their national anthem. What animals live there? What plants grow? How is it different from where you live? Cook up a dish from the country.
Take a trip to a museum
Over school holidays museums will usually put something special on for children. If not, plan your own discovery day out. Write a few questions down for your kids to find out the answers to, like ‘How old is the oldest dinosaur in the museum?’, ‘What do volcanic rocks look like?’. We wrote a blog post on how to get the most out of a trip to the museum with kids.
