Tag: activities for kids to do in the holidays

Stay At Home Activities To Keep The Kids Busy During The Corona Virus Lockdown

Stay At Home Activities To Keep The Kids Busy During The Corona Virus Lockdown

Posted on by Rebecca

Its official, South Africa has declared a state of natural disaster and with that our President has released some pretty hardcore regulations for us all to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Schools will be closed for more then a month to see how things pan out and most families will be practising voluntary self-isolation. Queue LOTS of home time and kids climbing up the walls. I don’t think there has ever been a more apt post then this. Save it to your bookmarks and refer back to it, whenever you need quick easy activities to entertain the kids.

One of the central recommendations experts make in order to maintain some sense of security for your kids is to create a schedule. Focus on educational activities for the morning, or arts and crafts for the afternoon. Make sure your kids are getting enough outdoor time.

Start compiling items like sensory activities for younger children and put together baskets full of activity books and games for older kids. Take an afternoon and head to the crazy store and grab a bunch of items to store together.

Create a Scavenger Hunt – hide things around the house or garden and write down a list for the kids to go and find (draw pictures of the objects if they are too young to read)

Create an Obstacle course – a friend did this with the kids when we went around for a visit and they absolutely LOVED it. Send the kids to race to the wall, then hop across the yard on one foot, then skip to the tree etc, you get the picture.

Paint Outdoors

Go on a bug hunt

Make your own bath bombs

Wash the car – never underestimate how much the kids love this.

Build a bird house or make a bird feeder

Have a Pyjama party

Watch the clouds

Play with water balloons

Make a batch of home made playdough

Play Charades

Play Hide and Seek

Build Engineering structures

Good old colouring in

Make a sculpture out of cardboard

Paint on Cardboard

Play some board games

Set up a mini library at home and read books

Do some science experiments

Play Cards

Create something with Beads

Make some story stones – the images on the stones become characters in a story that everyone can tell

Play I-Spy

Plant a garden

Build some lego

Create some some salt art

Download and print some worksheets from the internet

Play catch with your kids – seriously, the power this simple game has is extreme

Have a puzzle morning

Stick some numbers or objects into plastic eggs and hide them around the house. As they open up the eggs they can tick things off the list

Grow some veggies

Play a round of bingo

Grab some paper and crayons and do some leaf and bark rubbings

Create your own stress balls – these are great for fidgety fingers!

Host a pretend cooking show (with the kids of course)

Bake some treats

Build a Fort

Make a Marble Run

Do some crosswords

Do some sensory play

Make your own DIY Jellyfish (arts and crafts)

Make your own musical instruments

Create a suncatcher

Create something with air drying clay

Create a nature weave

Make some paper planes and have a competition to see who can get them the furthest

Make some finger puppets

Play with Foam Paint

Create some egg cartoon creations

Draw on the bricks with sidewalk chalk

Make some slime

Make some science crystals

Try some origami

Make a fairy garden (yes even boys will love this)

Make your own “wizard wands” out of sticks

Paint with bubble wrap

Make your own DIY Flip book

Make some chickpea foam

Make your own fridge magnets

Set up some tin can, carnival style throw games

Make your own water wall

Create a town with a cardboard box

Make some lemonade

Play a memory game

Paint with vegetables – potato or apple printing

Create a Dino Dig

Do some mazes

Do some sticker art

Set up some “bath” stations for your toys

Decorate some T-Shirts

I know its going to be hard for people to feel “trapped” at home. Sometimes I get into a space and cant think of anything to do with the kids and I often end up succumbing to TV if it weren’t for lists like this. So save this, print it out and whenever you need to try to stick to the game plan and turn to something more constructive.

We will get through this, one day at a time. Lets cherish this quality time, it’s the worlds way of telling us to slow down a little. Appreciate the small things xx

10 “At Home” Activities For Kids To Do During The Holidays

10 “At Home” Activities For Kids To Do During The Holidays

Posted on by Rebecca

Previously holiday breaks during the school term were never a big thing, because I worked from home and had my mornings free, it meant that I was on hand to entertain the kids. We would adventure, we would play, we would explore. Fast-forward a few years and now I’m not at home, I’m in an office, (like 80% of South African mothers), and my “mom guilt” is going into overdrive that my kids are sitting watching TV all day. I now fully understand “holiday clubs” at school.

So, I’ve been thinking…. thinking of activities to set up for the boys that they can play with limited supervision. I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic nanny to take care of them so they can enjoy a bit of a break from school, but, she has other work to do and is not on hand every single second to supervise activities. Enter good old “google”, and I am shocked. Almost all the “holiday activities” designed for children require mom to be around or set up… Scrap that plan. So, I do what I do best and get to thinking of crafts to keep them busy. That’s why I enjoy crafts so much, they stimulate kids but they also don’t require much supervision. So, they can get on with sticking, creating and crafting and everyone else can get on with their work too.

So here is my top 10 list of crafts (Ok there are 11 but I couldnt choose) to keep your kids entertained these school holidays. These do require some forward-thinking mums and dads. Setting up the night before and putting the crafts out, it shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes and are ideally suited to children up to the age of about 7.

Paint and Play Day

Set up some paint and a variety of materials for the kids to paint on and play with. Sponges, brushes, flowers and stamps make great tools for the kids to explore with and play with different texture canvases such as foil, cardboard and bubble wrap. Make sure you place a suitable ground cover down to stop the paint from getting all over your floors.

Create a Collage

Cut up a big piece of cardboard from a leftover box to use as a nice big canvas for little hands. Gather up a variety of items, ribbons, stickers, magazine cut outs, paper doilies, muffin cases, pomp oms, anything your heart desires. Better still I normally do a craft cupboard stock up at CNA before the holidays start. You could get creative and chose specific colours. Kids love nothing more than gluing and sticking. Trust me, it’s a winner every time! Lay out all the materials on a tray for them with the glue and canvas and let them stick to their hearts content.

Create a Scavenger Hunt around the house

Hide a few objects around the house (choose distinctive things or specific pictures). Draw up a list of all the things hidden and tell the kids to go on a treasure hunt! Once they tick everything off their list tell your caregiver he/she can give them a small treat.

Clay Play

Get some good old fashioned air dry clay OR modelling clay. I prefer air dry clay as I can keep their creations forever. You can find this at any stationery store like CNA or your plastic-land/ Westpack stores. Make up a bowl yourself the night before, I often find if I am not there it is easier for my kids to see what to do when they have an example to follow. Ask your caregiver (if you aren’t home) to place down a floor protector and give each child a nice fist sized amount of clay. Let them create to their hearts content and let the final product dry in the sun. Once dry (probably by the time you are home), let them paint it.

Movie Day

I’m pretty sure this is one we have all done before. Surprise them by renting their favourite movie, or download it on Netflix. Layout some blankets and pillows (or a tent if you have one) in the lounge and pre- make some popcorn before you go to work. Let them stay in their PJ’s for the morning and watch their favourite Netflix while snuggling up with some popcorn and hot chocolate.

Create a mini activity centre

This could be done in or outside the house dependent on your situation. Create a “bean bag” toss – put a strip of tape down as the standing line and some “Hoola-Hoops”. The aim is to try and get the bag into the target area. Bowling – If you done have tenpin pins at home grab some paper cups and stack them together in a triangle shape. Using a ball or a bean bag, let your child try to knock down the cups. Golf putting – Simply take a plastic cup to use as your “hole”, the kids must try and put their ball into the cup to sink it. The possibilities are endless here.

Have a baking day

Yes, this is possible, even If you aren’t home. If your caregiver knows how to cook buy some pre- mixes from snowflake or Pillsbury. Easy ones like muffins or brownies. Lay out the ingredients the night before and the kids can mix away and then whoever is home can pop it into the oven. OR if you aren’t comfortable with the “baking” aspect they could ice some Marie Biscuits (Just make up the icing the evening before), or make some Jelly.

Montessori inspired Activities

Have a look at my blog post on my favourite Montessori activities for toddlers around the house. Most of these are independent and allow for easy clean up. Another great “keep busy” one is a good old peg board! Developing those fine motor skills while keeping them focused.

Sidewalk chalk

Buy a pack of good old sidewalk chalk from your local stationery store or plastic land. Let them draw their masterpieces wherever they feel free (outside of course). It’s the only time my boys are allowed to draw all over the walls, and the pavement outside. A quick rinse with the hose, or a rain shower will leave absolutely no trace of Picasso’s masterpiece.

Playdough invitation to play trays

My only disclaimer here would be, if your kids are younger and they will be playing partially unsupervised, maybe make your own playdough. I have a super quick recipe here. That way you can have peace of mind that it is non-toxic and “safe” if they decide to swallow a mouthful. Set out the playdough on a tray and put individual items of interest in separate containers around it. You could theme it, for example; construction you could make a brown dough, add in a few toy diggers and some “stones” (fake or real), some sticks and tools. Let them create their own little universe. Alternatively, pre- order some carefully thought out themed packs from party play dough.

Sensory Trays

Limited supervision required depending on the route you take. I often post up our sensory tray adventures on Instagram and then forget to post them on the blog, so if you are looking for ideas make sure you follow my Instagram account here. Ideas to do could include a winter wonderland (with snow made from Bicarbonate of Soda and white conditioner), an undersea adventure, either made with jelly, cornflour and water or sludge, or an outer space galaxy made with some painted black rice, marbles, stars and figurines.

You can have a look at my sensory mud tray here or a cloud dough experience here.

 

So there are some activities to get you going, now that I’ve started I have a couple more up my sleeve. Sometimes you just have to write things out a little to get your mind going! I hope I’ve inspired you in some way. The “Mom Guilt” will never subside but we can make ourselves feel a little better.