The six week holiday is a welcome break for children and a great opportunity to inspire different learning experiences! Help to keep their brains engaged and bodies active over the holidays with our list of ten easy activities.
1) Bring reading to life
Half an hour of reading each day will help support children’s progress and keep their enjoyment of reading high. Help to bring books to life by asking open-ended questions about the characters and storyline at the end of each chapter. Play by the Book is a great family game to help with this and gets children drawing, singing and rapping about their favourite stories!
Top Tip: Ask your child’s teacher for a recommended reading list so that you can make sure they are reading at the correct level.
2) Curiosity journal
When you’re out and about but don’t want the learning to stop, create a curiosity journal! This will encourage children to write down the questions they would like to know the answers to, or to record facts that they have learnt throughout the day. When you return home you can work together to answer the questions that have been sparked during your day out! The Nancy B’s Science Club® range features ready-made journals filled with exciting facts and activities.
EI-5355 Nancy B’s Science Club® Black Light Illuminator
Top Tip: Encourage the use of expressive and descriptive language to help extend their vocabulary and practise new words.
3) Maths is everywhere!
Maths is all around us and by linking it to everyday tasks, children will begin to understand how it can be applied in real world scenarios! If you are baking a cake or going shopping, emphasise the importance of numbers and mathematical concepts such as measuring, counting, estimating and addition.
LSP 0193-UK Tactile Numbers & Operations Class Set
Top Tip: Try your own Great British Bake Off challenge at home and mix in some maths! Work on counting, number recognition, mathematical language and sorting whilst having fun baking a cake.
4) Keep them writing
Keeping children writing helps them to practise their pen grip and keeps their hand muscles strong. Creative story telling is a great summer activity and there are lots of ways to make it fun and exciting for young learners. Plot Blocks is a great resource to create the outline of a story without supervision as children roll dice to determine the ‘who’,’ what’ and ‘how’ of the plot.
LSP 7328-UK Plot Blocks™ Story Building Activity Set
Top Tip: Once your child has written their story, introduce craft activities to make the characters and setting!
5) Make a game-style schedule
Creating a plan is essential to keeping learning fun and consistent throughout the holidays! Introduce different game levels to the schedule so that when your child can move up they feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. Stickers and reward charts are a great incentive to keep them engaged.
LER 2688 Pretend & Play® School Stamps
Top Tip: Check out KiddyCharts.com for free downloadable charts and printables!
6) Explore nature
The outdoors inspires creativity and offers endless opportunities for active play! Use the outdoors to create rich learning experiences such as going on a nature trail, visiting the beach or collecting items for craft activities.
EI-5260 GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars™
Top Tip: Read our blog post ‘10 nature crafts and activities to try indoors’ for fun activity ideas!
7) Try new things
Starting a new hobby or pursuing new interests can be a great way to build confidence and practise important social skills. Look out for summer activity clubs in your area or gather some friends to try out something new!
Top Tip: Science Sparks and The Dad Lab are full of fun, easy-to-do science activities to try at home!
8) Get active!
Active play has immediate and long-term benefits for children including a healthy lifestyle, improved social skills, muscle control and coordination. Encouraging active play throughout the day will help to boost their concentration and attention on other activities such as reading and writing.
EI-1253 Magic Moves® Electronic Wand
Top Tip: If you can’t access an outdoor space, use resources such as the Magic Moves Electronic Wand for fun, active play indoors!
9) Find free resources
Speak to your child’s teacher and ask if they can provide you with any activity sheets to work on during the holidays. There are lots of free resources online so keep an eye out for anything you could print and use at home. Take a trip to your local library to borrow books and printed materials free of charge!
Top Tip: Download our free summer activity pack or browse the posts on our blog for ideas and inspiration!
10) Get a head start
Find out what your child will be learning when they go back to school in September and work on those areas at home. This will help familiarise your child with new topics!
LER 3101 24-Hour Student Clock
Top Tip: If your child is starting school in September, practise using pencils and scissors over the summer break. This will aid their fine motor skills and help them to improve their grip before beginning school.
*Browse our website for engaging resources that will keep them learning all summer long!
#LoveLearning