10 ideas for younger children
Here are some ideas for fun things to do at home with your family. They can all be done in your house or in your garden. These are particularly aimed for toddlers, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 but older children (and parents) can get involved in all of them too!
- Build a sofa fort with couch cushions and blankets or duvets. Pegs work well to attach things and you can use brooms to prop up blankets. When it is made you can read inside, have snacks or bring in toys. Everything is more fun in a den or fort!
- Create a rainbow with any colours you have at home. Put it in your window to spread hope to your community. Lots of families are taking part in this and you can make it in any way you choose.
- Do Joe Wicks PE lessons at home. (9:00) You can find them on YouTube. If 9:00 is no good you can do them later if you search for the videos. Alternatively, if your child is younger (3, 4 or 5) Andy’s Wild Workouts are great fun. They are animal themed and more accessible for little ones. You can find them on BBC iPlayer in CBeebies or again on YouTube.
- Make mud pies in your garden with old pots and pans or plant pots. You can dig in the mud and mix with water. Then decorate with any natural objects you may have outside e.g. leaves, pebbles or sticks.
- Go on a scavenger hunt around your home. There are some ideas in the photos but you can create your own with things you have in your house. Make it as easy or tricky as you like. You can also do a 5 senses one or a nature one or combine them. Make it more challenging for older children and older brothers and sisters could even help create one and help the younger ones.
- The weather is getting warmer and sunnier and that means more bugs and minibeasts are around! Go on a bug hunt in your garden and see what creepy crawlies you can find. You may see butterflies and bees out of your window.
- Fill a washing up bowl or other large container with warm water and washing up liquid. Put in any bath toys, beach toys, plastic cups or whatever you can find. Children will have loads of fun playing in the water and pouring it and making things with the bubbles. This can be done inside or outside. For older children you can use a measuring jug or talk about different containers that hold litres or millilitres and compare them.
- Create a safe but fun obstacle course around your house. You don’t need much to do this. You can make an area where your child starts, then does some star jumps, next climbs onto something and down, then touches their toes and so on. You may want to make arrows for this but it is not essential at all. Involve your children in planning it. They will have loads of ideas.
- Create natural art with things you find in your garden. Can you use leaves, sticks and pebbles to create pictures of a love heart, creatures, trees or flowers?
- Get your child involved in meal time or snack making. They may be able to spread butter on bread or chop bananas or other soft fruits using a blunt knife. Older children could do more of course! Can you make the meal as fun as possible e.g. making a face out of fruit pieces or cutting a sandwich into shapes? Can you add scrambled egg hair or cucumber and tomato eyes?