Create activities for kids
Creative play & activities for children
Creative activities: why they’re important for school-age learning and development
School-age children usually take a keen interest in creative activities. This is great because creative activities like drama, singing, dancing, art and craft help school-age children:
- develop creativity and imagination
- build confidence
- express emotions, thoughts and ideas in verbal and non-verbal ways
- learn about the world from someone else’s point of view
- practise decision-making, problem-solving and critical thinking
- practise and improve social skills
- develop physical and motor skills.
Encouraging school-age children to enjoy creative activities
You can encourage creative activity by giving your child free time to play and stepping back from your child’s play. Even boredom can encourage children to be creative. So can relaxation – for example, lying on the grass and watching the clouds change their shape.
It’s important for your child to enjoy and think about the process of creating things. You can help this happen by encouraging your child to share artworks and creative activities with you and your family. It’s always best to check with your child before sharing their artwork with other people, especially on social media.
When your child is creating something, it’s good for them to keep experimenting and changing their artworks until they feel they’re finished.
You can encourage this by:
- asking about their process – for example, ‘Tell me how you attached the wheels to the bus’
- suggesting ways to experiment – for example, ‘Show me how many sounds you can make with the drum’
- being available to help if they need it – for example, ‘I can hold that shape while you paint around it’.
If you can give your child a workspace or storage box for their unfinished projects, that’s great too.
Whatever artwork your child comes up with, you can encourage their effort with plenty of descriptive praise.
For example, ‘I like the rhyming words in your song’. This is great for your child’s confidence.
Some children are more interested in creative activities than others, so you can’t really ‘teach’ your child to enjoy these creative activities. But you can pass on a positive attitude to them.
It’s good to include some ‘art appreciation’ in your child’s life. Why not visit a local art exhibition or see a multicultural or Aboriginal dance or theatre performance together and talk about your favourite parts?
Art and craft: creative activities for school-age children
At this age, children have a solid understanding of colour, shapes, patterns and details. Where your child used to draw scribbles and squiggles for trees and flowers, now you can see leaves, branches, trunks and petals.
School-age children are also figuring out different ways to make things – they don’t need parts pre-made for them. For example, they might draw and cut out wings for a craft butterfly, or they might make wings from scrap paper and leaves.
Younger school-age children might still need your help to get started.
Here are some ideas for creative art and craft activities:
- Get your child to build and decorate a cubby house out of cardboard boxes or natural materials like tree branches.
- Play with textured paint. Encourage your child to add sand, dirt or sawdust to paint and use this to decorate boxes or make paintings.
- Make invisible ink out of a mixture of lemon juice and water. Your child can write a secret message with the ink. When it’s dry, they can hold the paper up to the light and see the message reappear.
- Find a large cardboard box and see what your child can come up with. It could become a robot costume, plane, puppet theatre and so on.
- Combine drawing, painting or clay-making with digital media. For example, make a clay model or a sculpture out of sticks and take photographs of it. Your child can use these photographs to make up a story.
- Go on a nature walk and take nature photographs.
Create a story, photo album or map with the photos using an app or a software program. - Create digital artwork using software programs or apps.
Creative writing is a great way for your child to express emotions and explore ideas. For example, your child might make up new words or riddles, write and illustrate a family story book, write a script for their favourite TV show, or start a journal or blog about their favourite subjects or activities.
Drama: creative activities for school-age children
School-age children often make up and act out their own stories using simple props. Sometimes they act out events from daily life, movies and TV shows. Or you might notice your child acting out the lyrics as they listen to music or watch music videos. Also, children might act out roles like a caring vet or a police officer.
These dramatic activities give children the chance to work out real-life problems, like what to do when a person or a pet is sick or someone is angry.
They also encourage children to see the world from someone else’s point of view, which helps to build empathy.
Here are some ideas to get your child involved in dramatic creative activities:
- Start a dress-up box. Use old clothes or buy simple props like cooking utensils from op shops.
- Make simple puppets and put on a puppet show.
- Take turns making up a story. You could begin with a simple situation and take turns saying what happens next. The longer the game continues, the more imaginative the story can be. If you need help to get started, you could try roll-a-story.
- Video a play or performance. Your child could write the script and make the costumes, then video themselves using a smartphone or camera. They can edit and add special effects with software or apps.
- Play games that involve guessing and acting, like charades and Pictionary. Your child could also make up their own set of flashcards with words to act out or draw.
Diversity in play is good for children.
It helps children learn about people from diverse backgrounds, avoid stereotypes and understand equality. For example, you could encourage children of all genders to dress up as nurses or builders. Or choose stories or songs from diverse cultures or languages.
Music, sound, movement and dance: creative activities for school-age children
Your child might enjoy making music, either copying songs they know or making up their own. Your child might also be keen to experiment with volume, echo, rhythm, tempo and pitch. And they might be ready to use musical symbols and notes to learn how to play a piece of music.
Also, at this age, children can often control and move their bodies in expressive ways. You’ll probably see your child moving more in time with music. Or your child might start making up dance sequences to popular music or songs.
Here are some ways for your child to get creative with music, sound, movement and dance:
- Let your child play or make sounds using bought instruments or instruments you already own.
Encourage your child to try different volumes, tempos and rhythms, or copy the way you play. - Listen to the musical pieces Peter and the wolf and The carnival of the animals, which use different instruments to represent different animals. Guess what animal the music represents, copy the sounds and make up movements to go with the music.
- Encourage your child to hum a favourite song, and try to guess what they’re humming. You can have a go too.
- Use body percussion with singing. You and your child can tap your shoulders, knees or elbows to the beat of a song.
- Play with music apps that allow your child to make songs and beats using the sounds of different instruments.
- Dance to different rhythms and music. Or make up dance sequences about people, animals, machines, plants – whatever interests your child. Your child can teach you some dance moves too.
If your child wants to learn a musical instrument, encourage them to listen to a range of instruments and musical styles so they can work out what interests them the most.
For example, play orchestral music, electronic music and popular bands. Or go to see different live music acts at a local festival.
Creative activities for children with diverse abilities
You can adapt creative activities to suit school-age children with diverse abilities. For example, if your child:
- needs help with creative play skills, you could model simple actions – for example, show your child how to growl like a monster or bang a drum, or break down the activity into easier steps or use written or picture instructions to help your child understand what to do
- has sensory sensitivities, give your child tools to touch things like playdough, play music more quietly or introduce new textures and colours slowly
- has vision impairment or fine motor difficulties, use larger materials and tools – for example, make collages with large oak leafs instead of petals, or use chunky crayons instead of pencils
- has a lot of energy, encourage bigger movements like jumping, swaying arms, stretching, crouching or shaking
- has limited mobility, collect play materials for your child and put them within easy reach.
70 Best and Creative Indoor and Outdoor Ideas
The Best Ideas for Kids/Dream a Little Bigger
The phrase parents dread the most comes in a short, two-word statement, but it packs a gut punch: "I'm bored." Those words can come at any time, at any place, no matter how many toys they have or no matter what the screen-time situation is.
But parents don't have to fear boredom any longer with this list of the best activities for kids in 2022, meant to cut ennui off at the pass. Most of them only require materials that are probably already somewhere around the house (though you might have to supplement with a specific art supply or two). They're designed to get kids to use their creativity and imaginations, or get them up and active, or have them practice certain skills like matching or memory or some combination of all of the above. But most of all, they're designed to be fun, which means they'll get so lost in their projects that they'll forget they were ever at a loss for something to do to begin with.
Not enough boredom-busters? If the kids in question are more into crafts than activities, we have suggestions for all kinds of crafts for kids in every season, including summer crafts for kids, fall crafts for kids and winter crafts for kids (and also projects for holidays like Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day). If they're drawn more to the activities than the crafts, you can find more ideas for backyard games, at-home science experiments, learning activities for preschoolers, learning activities for toddlers, fun activities for toddlers and activities for 1-year-olds. No matter what they're into, they'll find something to amuse themselves.
Avengers Bookmarks
Crafts by Amanda
Turn their love of superheroes into a love of reading with these clever craft-stick bookmarks. Just note that they work best with jumbo craft sticks. (Don't worry if you can't draw free-hand — the tutorial has patterns.
)
Get the tutorial at Crafts By Amanda »
Bucket-List Wreath
Design Improvised
This is an activity that sparks ideas for future activities. The clothespins that make up this wreath have suggestions for fun days out written on them, like "beach day" or "go to the museum" — aka some "bucket list" items — and every time your family is staring down a day with nothing to do, you can always head over together and pick one out. Refresh the clothespins for summer vacation, for winter break or any other time you expect a lot of downtime.
Get the tutorial at Design Improvised »
Bubble Refill Station
Hello, Wonderful
Those bubbles? They run out in a heartbeat. By creating (and, if the mood strikes, decorating) a DIY bubble refill station, kids will have a useful work of art and a way to re-up their bubble solution supply without parental involvement.
Get the tutorial at Hello, Wonderful »
DIY Bath Bombs
A Beautiful Mess
Tweens and teens will love making their own homemade bath bombs (which is a great idea for a birthday party with a built-in favor).
Once they've perfected the technique, they'll love experimenting with shapes and fragrances.
Get the tutorial at A Beautiful Mess »
Felt Flower Bouquet
Happiness Is Homemade
The best thing about these felt flowers is they don't require any sewing. Kids can use them to decorate their rooms, put in a pencil cup or use as a bookmark, but they also make good Mother's Day gifts!
Get the tutorial at Happiness Is Homemade »
Backyard Treasure Hunt
Alice & Lois
Give them early map-reading skills by giving them a homemade path to treasure or prize. Then, flip it and have kids make their own maps for you to follow.
Get the tutorial at Alice & Lois »
Pool Noodle Pom-Pom Launcher
Kid Friendly Things to Do
What do you get when you combine a pool noodle slice and a latex balloon? You get something that sends pom-poms flying across the sky! The poms are so soft, you don't have to worry about damage as kids send them everywhere!
Get the tutorial at Kid Friendly Things to Do »
Spider Web Search
Jamie Reimer/Hands on As We Grow
These kids were challenged with finding bug stickers hidden along the string web.
Stepping in and around the web is great gross motor practice, and they were given a list of bugs to find, which also made it a matching activity.
Get the tutorial at Hands On as We Grow »
Finger Puppets
Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
There's no sewing involved to make these fun finger puppets (but kids might need some help with the hot glue gun). Then they can make up their own stories and put on a puppet show.
Get the tutorial at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom »
Bath Paint
I Heart Arts 'n' Crafts
With just two ingredients, you can whip up some DIY paint that doesn't stain bathtubs and rinses down the drain. Then your toddler artist will be so busy making a masterpiece that they won't notice their hair being scrubbed.
Get the tutorial at I Heart Arts 'n' Crafts »
Craft Stick Trivia Game
Dream a Little Bigger
Kids will love answering (or even coming up with) the questions for this extremely portable game.
Once it's done, you can break it out while waiting for dinner, at a doctor's office or anywhere else they might need to kill a few minutes. (Not a trivia fan? Don't worry — the tutorial has plenty of questions.)
Get the tutorial at Dream a Little Bigger »
Rainbow Walking
Emma Owl
This is the type of art project that also gets kids up and moving — a win-win. The developer of this craft even did another version on an apron as a gift for Granny.
Get the tutorial at Emma Owl »
Backpack Tags
Handmade Charlotte
Kids will be able to spot their backpacks a mile away when they have a personalized charm dangling from the zipper. They can also make some to give away to friends.
Get the tutorial at Handmade Charlotte »
Summer Fun Journal
Makes and Takes
The boredom-busting capacity of this homemade journal is two-fold: First, they get to make and decorate it themselves.
Then, they can use it to record their best summer memories.
Get the tutorial at Makes and Takes »
Paper House Village
Club Crafted
If the kids have so many toys, they might need a whole village to roam around in — and this one can be made with colored cardstock (littler ones might have to lose some of the definition in the window panes if they are too young to use a craft knife, but squares work just fine). A rainbow of houses is certain to look great in a playroom. This one was created to be a holiday village, but without the festive elements it'll just be a colorful town.
Get the tutorial at Club Crafted »
Sensory Sorting
Jamie Reimer/Hands On as We Grow
For this activity, two colors of buttons were placed in a storage bag filled with clear gel. Pushing the buttons into the proper spaces is a sorting activity, a color-recognition activity and a sensory activity all in one.
Get the tutorial at Hands On as We Grow »
Faux Flower Garland
Mike Garten
The secret to this flower garden is cupcake liners! When it's done, kids can use them as garlands around their rooms, or as a summery table decoration for a party.
To make: Have kids fold dyed cupcake liners in half and cut out petal and fringe shapes. Then fold a piece of floral wire in half and twist around the faux flower stamen. Poke the wire through the center of three to four paper liners. Finish it off by wrapping floral tape around the base of the liners and bringing it all the way down the stem.
Melted Pony Bead Wind Chimes
No Time for Flash Cards
Kids love seeing the cause-and-effect, before-and-after of melting down pony beads into different molds. When they're in a proper shape, the melted beads can be strung into wind chimes.
Get the tutorial at No Time for Flash Cards »
Fairy Leaf Puppets
Willowday
To start off this project, send kids off on a nature walk to have them gather materials and supplies.
Then, they can unleash their creativity at home to make these beautiful puppets.
Get the tutorial at Willowday »
RELATED: Autumn-Inspired Leaf Crafts That Can Be Made with Real or Paper Leaves
Pool Noodle Boats
The Best Ideas for Kids
When those pool noodles start to get worn out, give them a second life by cutting them into floating boats, decorated with straws and sails. The good thing is one noodle can make a whole fleet, which you can then sail in a bath or kiddie pool with small toys as the passengers.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Colored Salt Art
Buggy and Buddy
With food coloring, salt and squeeze bottles, your family can hit the driveway, sidewalk or patio and make masterpieces inspired by artist Motoi Yamamoto. It's the perfect upgrade when sidewalk chalk gets boring.
Get the tutorial at Buggy and Buddy »
Marbled Paper
Studio DIY
This is a fun activity that gives kids a chance to dig in their hands as they make art.
Fill a tub with foaming shaving cream, add food coloring or paint on the tip, then swirl with a butter knife or stick, and when you lay a piece of paper on top, it comes away with a cool, marbled pattern.
Get the tutorial at Studio DIY »
Novelty Snow Globes
Aww Sam
With oven-bake clay, kids can put trendy items into globes and make a desk accessory with a cactus, donut, hot dog, pineapple or whatever they can imagine.
Get the tutorial at Aww Sam »
Sensory Bin
SDI ProductionsGetty Images
Fill a plastic tub with dry rice, raw pasta, Kinetic Sand or water beads, and let the kids go to town scooping, pouring and digging for little treasures you've hidden. These sensory bins expose them to different textures and helps them work on their fine motor coordination.
Get the tutorial »
RELATED: 13 DIY Sensory Bin Ideas to Get Kids Used to New Textures
Orange Peel Bird Feeder
Typically Simple
Kids can whip up these bird feeders from birdseed, popcorn and an orange peel.
When it's hung, give them a sketchbook and some art supplies and see if they can draw and identify the visitors that stop by.
Get the tutorial at Typically Simple »
Ice Dye Hoodie
Alice and Lois
You've done tie-dying, now see what happens when you ice-dye your hoodies and tote bags. A project best attempted with older ones, ice-dying involves pre-treating fabric, then putting powdered dye on top of ice, which makes cool patterns when it melts.
Get the tutorial at Alice and Lois »
RELATED: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Tie-Dye Anything (and Everything) In Your Closet
Paper Chain Wall Hanging
White House Crafts
We know tweens and teens love nothing more than personalizing their rooms, and wall art made from paper chains is a versatile DIY for these purposes. They can use the tutorial to get the rainbow pattern, or sketch out their own ideas on graph paper.
Get the tutorial at White House Crafts »
Color Scavenger Hunt
I Heart Crafty Things
Help toddlers learn to recognize colors by sending them off on a hue-based scavenger hunt. This can work as an indoor or outdoor activity — all you have to do is send them off with a sheet of colors, and they have to find nearby objects that match.
Get the tutorial at I Heart Crafty Things »
RELATED: Creative Scavenger Hunt Ideas to Hone Your Kids' Observational Skills
"Space" Crayons
Minieco
There's just something about sparkly crayons in made in celestial-shape molds that makes coloring time extra exciting. Plus, you make them with the ends of old crayons that kids never want to color with anyway!
Get the tutorial at Minieco »
Pool Noodle Obstacle Course
Andrea Yi
You don't actually need to change into your swimsuit to have fun with pool noodles — you can use them to create obstacles that kids have to climb through, crawl under, balance on, or jump over.
Get the tutorial at Raising Dragons »
Jellyfish
Craftiments
Paper plates and yarn transform into these denizens of the deep. If you use glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint, you can even see their "bioluminescence" in action when you turn out the lights.
Get the tutorial at Craftiments »
Tattoo-Patterned Planter
A Kailo Chic Life
If you have a printer, you can get some printable temporary tattoo paper and use it to dress up old planters, mugs, pencil cups and the like. (And if you don't have a printer, you can just use a lot of little, store-bought temp tattoos.) Tweens will have a great time finding patterns that match their bedrooms or school supplies.
Get the tutorial at A Kailo Chic Life »
Lava Lamp
Aww Sam
Lava lamps are back, baby, in a groovy new way. And if you want the homemade look, you can do it yourself with vegetable oil, food coloring and antacid tablets.
Get the tutorial at Aww Sam »
Fairy Bells
Buzzmills
Decorate twigs with embroidery floss, beads and jingling bells to add a bit of whimsy to your yard. Listen to see if the fairies come out to ring the bells.
Get the tutorial at Buzzmills »
Sun Print Leaf Art
Design Improvised
It's an art project and a chance to brush up on their STEM skills all at once. Gather leaves or other interestingly-shaped natural materials on an outdoor adventure, and then use them to make prints on sun-sensitive paper.
Get the tutorial at Design Improvised »
"I Spy" Bag
Six Sisters' Stuff
Transform a windowed pencil case into an armchair treasure hunt with this no-sew project. Fill the case with poly pellets to obscure the treasures.
Get the tutorial at Six Sisters' Stuff »
Mini Lid Banjos
The Craft Train
These may not sound like the real thing, but they look adorable — and you can dress them up basically any way you want.
They're the perfect doll-sized instrument for a pretend band.
Get the tutorial at The Craft Train »
Friendship Bracelets
Marisa Edghill
These old camp crafts are back and better than ever. See if your fingers can remember how to make spiral staircases, chevrons, diamonds and waves, then teach your kids and let them pick their own color combinations.
Get the tutorial at Omiyage Blogs »
RELATED: Easy Friendship Bracelet Patterns to Dress Up Any Outfit
Flight School
Philip Friedman/Studio D
These paper planes are perfect for kids — just fold and let your imagination fly. Increase the challenge by making some cardboard targets for the planes to fly through.
Get the tutorial »
Paper Bracelets
Picklebums
We love a two-for-one activity: First, paint abstract shapes with watercolors, and then have older kids cut the paper into strips and fold them into wearable art.
Get the tutorial at Picklebums »
Thumbprint Family Tree
Philip Friedman/Studio D
Get in touch with your roots via a hands-on genealogical project. Dot the print-out template with thumbprint leaves, then start mapping extended relatives galore.
Get the tutorial »
Felt Elastic Bookmarks
Cutesy Crafts
With bookmarks this cute, they might even be motivated to do more reading. You can whip these up in a snap with some felt, googly eyes, glue and elastic.
Get the tutorial at Cutesy Crafts »
Glowing Fairy Jar
MomDot
Glitter and glow sticks make it possible to "capture" a fairy and watch as her magic illuminates a colorful jar. Shake it up for some more magic.
Get the tutorial at MomDot »
Owl Puppet
Merrilee Liddiard
Handprint turkey, step aside: A new paper craft can rule the roost.
Add string to the cup's sides, and you've got yourself a feathered cap, too.
Get the tutorial »
Race Track
Juliette's Garden
Take your washi tape stash to the floor to create a colorful, customizable race track for tiny cars — and a place to park them when playtime is over.
Get the tutorial at Le Jardin de Juliette »
Foam Paint
Dabbles & Babbles
This three-ingredient recipe is a little bit of art, a little bit of science. The paintable foam (which kids can pipe out of plastic bags) hardens overnight into super-cool, puffed-up masterpieces.
Get the tutorial at Dabbles & Babbles »
Temporary Tattoos
Hello, Wonderful
You can use printable tattoo paper to celebrate your kid's love of doodling by making temp tats out of her own art.
(And, go ahead: Let her put a few on you, too.)
Get the tutorial at Hello, Wonderful »
Glow Bubbles
Paging Supermom
Adding ink from a highlighter to some bubble solution makes bubbles that glow under a blacklight. Ready for some glow-in-the-dark fun?
Get the tutorial at Paging Supermom »
Polka Dot Slime
Fun at Home With Kids
Slime is the trend that's never going away, and the only thing better than making a mom-approved mess is doing so with the extra fun of polka dots. (Can you guess what they're made from? That's right, more slime!)
Get the tutorial at Fun at Home With Kids »
Mini Volcanoes
Momdot
This explosive science experiment (disguised as permission to make a mess) is a lot more palatable when contained in a glass dish. Add food coloring for colorful lava.
Get the tutorial at MomDot »
Artsy Collages
MollyMooCrafts.com
It's amazing how a piece of paper loaded up with watercolor doodles, stickers and pictures from thrifted design books becomes instant art when framed.
Get the tutorial at Molly Moo Crafts »
Window Art
And Next Comes L
Don't worry — we're not suggesting you surrender your patio doors to your kids' artistic ambitions. This activity only requires transparency sheets and water, so it's totally removable.
Get the tutorial at And Next Comes L »
Tissue Box Monsters
The Best Ideas for Kids
You probably have empty tissue boxes lying around the house already. When you're done, use the extra pom-poms to "feed" the monster. Turn it into a minute-to-win-it game by seeing how many pom-poms players can toss into the monster's mouth in 60 seconds.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
RELATED: Fun Things to Do at a Sleepover to Keep Them Busy All Night Long
Story Stones
Handmade Mood
Take rock painting a step further: After the paint's dry, the images on the stones become characters in a story everyone can tell together.
Get the tutorial at Handmade Mood »
Spiky Sponges
Endlessly Inspired
When skipping through the sprinkler loses its charm, pull out these homemade spiky sponges for a riff on water balloons that won't cause bruising.
Get the tutorial at Endlessly Inspired »
Nature Craft Bugs
The Craft Train
Your kids can use things they find in nature to replicate what they see in the great outdoors. The secret to this craft is using a coat of Modge Podge to make the bugs shiny (and keep the leaves from drying out).
Get the tutorial at The Craft Train »
Tie-Dye Spin Art
Mike Garten
Transform your salad spinner into a carnival-style spin art machine. Just make sure you fill squeeze bottles with washable paint, in case splatters land outside the coffee filter canvases.
Get the tutorial »
Origami Frogs
Itsy Bitsy Fun
These paper frogs really jump! When the fun of folding origami frogs is over, extend playtime with sidewalk games to see which hopper can leap the farthest.
Get the tutorial at Itsy Bitsy Fun »
Fairy Garden
Mike Garten
To you, it's just glitter; to them, it's magical pixie dust. Sprinkle some over your pint-sized garden and wait for the fairies to come out and play!
Get the tutorial »
Outdoor Concert
Fun at Home With Kids
Thrift store finds become a backyard music station (and save your everyday cookware from your little maestro's enthusiastic playing).
With a few modifications, you can probably set up an indoor version of this one-man band wall, too.
Get the tutorial at Fun at Home With Kids »
Magic Bubble Wands
Babble Dabble Do
Fashion straws into 3D shapes for an activity that's one part at-home science experiment, one part silly fun with bubbles. With practice, you can make square and triangular bubbles!
Get the tutorial at Babble Dabble Do »
Water Balloon Batting Station
iCandy Handmade
Because nothing says "summer" quite like a bucket of water balloons and America's pastime. Play ball! (And get soaked!)
Get the tutorial at iCandy Handmade »
Skee Ball
Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Dump out the laundry baskets for an indoor arcade game. Launched off a cardboard ramp, plastic balls score major points with bored kiddos.
Get the tutorial at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls »
Funfetti Play Dough
Smart School House
Skip the cupcakes and make this sprinkle-packed, two-ingredient play dough instead. The mixture is even edible (but nearly all sugar, so don't turn your back on little ones for too long).
Get the tutorial at Smart School House »
Pool Noodle Water Wall
Teaching Mama
When they start using pool noodles as makeshift swords, tie the toys to a pegboard and hold a good, clean water race instead. Just be sure to keep the towels handy.
Get the tutorial at Teaching Mama »
Soap Boat
I Heart Naptime
File this under genius parenting hacks: A piece of rain gutter picked up at the hardware store becomes a slick racetrack when you add water and an adorable soap boat.
All kids get to make their own flag!
Get the tutorial at I Heart Naptime »
Rainbow Bubble Snakes
Housing a Forest
In a bit of bubble magic, a dish soap solution morphs into a crazy-cool growing snake. Add some food coloring to watch the snake emerge in cool colors.
Get the tutorial at Housing a Forest »
Kiddie Car Wash
Mom Endeavors
The old backyard sprinkler gets a major upgrade with this kiddie car wash, which uses PVC pipes and a hose connector to become the ultimate backyard car wash. Your kids will have endless fun running between the sponges and pool toys.
Get the tutorial at Mom Endeavors »
Falling Leaves Snow Globe
The Soccer Mom Blog
Who says snow globes are just for the winter? Kids can make this autumn variety with foil leaves and glycerin, and then use it when they need a moment of calm focus.
Get the tutorial at The Soccer Mom Blog »
Dress-Up Mermaid Tail
Ikat Bag
You'll probably have to help with the sewing on this one, but the kids can help design and craft their own slip-on, slip-off mermaid tail for pretend undersea adventures.
Get the tutorial at Ikat Bag »
Marisa LaScala Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother.
Lauren Piro Senior Web Editor Overseeing all things home for GoodHousekeeping.com and HouseBeautiful.com, Lauren swoons over midcentury design and employs tough-love approach to decluttering (just throw it away, ladies).
Creating an event for children: why it is important to do it in summer
Creating an event for children: why it is important to do it in summer - Timepad Educational Center Summer is the best time for children's events.
We tell you how to diversify your events and what new things you can come up with.
The phrase "What to do with children in the summer" is entered into the search line 9,293 times on average per month, and the phrases "day camp" and "city camp" are requested 334,232 times a month in total. Such a high demand is understandable: parents are at work all day, and schools and kindergartens are on vacation. The organizers can answer this question and help parents and children have a great summer.
What formats are suitable for children:
- outdoor workshops;
- master classes online;
- educational lectures;
- excursions and quests around the city;
- hiking in the forest or park;
- summer camp and camps;
- competitions and sports activities;
- cartoons and popular science films;
- board games;
- creative activities.
Photo: Unsplash / Simon Rae
Tailor your events for children
Let's say you're doing events for an adult audience - try adapting them for children! Of course, if you have a wine tasting, then it is unlikely to succeed, but if you create city tours, then rewriting the content for young guests is not the most difficult task.
You can also organize activities for the whole family. This will immediately remove all questions about the leisure of parents and children, and there will be no need to leave the child with someone.
Where to organize children's activities in summer
Summer is a great time to spend more time outdoors. Meet participants in parks and alleys, and look for venues with terraces or lawns - this way you will have more freedom for various activities.
It is important to show children that summer is the time to have fun and learn something new! In addition to city one-day events, you can create events for several days and go on a whole trip.
This is what our organizers do:
- "Sailing in the Tver region for three days" - a good rest for children and parents in the company of experienced instructors. Children have fun and learn new things, parents relax and have a good time in the fresh air;
- “A trip to the Pshady mountains. The Valley of Dolmens is a real camp where children learn independence, mutual assistance and responsibility.
Photo: Slavadetyam100 organizer
For those who are for continuous learning
Conduct various workshops and hobby groups - parents will be grateful to you for teaching their children during the holidays.
What can interest a modern child: blogging, sports, games, walks, handicrafts.
Examples of learning activities for children:
- Sabbath calligraphy - children learn legible handwriting and hold their hand correctly while writing;
- Excursion "Tales of our star" - together with the astronomer, children will learn how telescopes work and walk around the observatory;
- "Plein air by the sea: drawing an architectural object" - children learn about aerial perspective, learn to choose a motive for a future picture and fit architectural objects into space on canvas;
- The Comic Book Workshop is a great example of an event to captivate teenagers who may not be very interested in museum tours these years.
Try, experiment with formats, and we will always support you. Children will be happy, parents will be calm, and you will get new experience and find a new audience. For your inspiration - a selection of children's events in the Timepad Poster in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Best Online Education Activities for Distance Learning Kids
While it's always important to keep track of screen time, the reality of the ongoing pandemic has required some reprioritization. When parents are working from home and homeschooling at the same time, there are times during the day when you just need your child to just sit and be quiet so you can get some work done.
Instead of sitting them in front of the TV or letting them run a mindlessly addictive app on your smartphone, here are seven different online educational activities to help keep those long days of remote learning and working from home happy and productive.
1. Ask them to write an email
One of the best things your child can do with social distancing in mind is to write an email to a friend or family member.
While it could be a physical letter, it could also be an email.
Having your kids email their loved ones is a great way to beat boredom and encourage them to improve their writing and typing skills.
A similar problem can be solved with the help of short essays. But in this case, your child will need an essay writing guide, which he can find on the Do My Essay Service website.
2. Find an educational playlist
There are countless educational playlists to have fun off the screen.
Open Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora or your own music app of choice and find an educational playlist your kids will love. It could be school-oriented in general, or something more specific, such as a list of math-related songs on YouTube.
3. Schedule an online interview.
If you are looking for a more social interaction, you can use the Internet to set up an online interview for your child. They can ask a family member questions about their past or talk to a colleague about their work.
This option can also work well as a regular old-fashioned telephone interview. If you feel like your child has already spent too much time in front of the screen - on average, Genertion Z-er gets over 6.5 hours of screen time per day - switch to the phone call format. Don't forget to have your child write down the answers and then practice typing them, turning them into transcripts.
4. Show your kids how to code
It's never too early to introduce your kids to the wonders of programming. You can do this in a fun way by connecting coding to their daily lives, showing them detailed examples of how coding works, and even introducing them to the code itself.
Your child's downtime is a great opportunity to start their programming journey in a fun and interesting way.
5. Identify the best educational websites.
If you choose one website that your child visits frequently, they will get bored quickly. However, if you can identify a variety of trusted online establishments, you can create a carousel of options that always offer new educational content for your child.
6. Get apps targeted at young children
As with websites, it's a good idea to invest in a good set of technology apps for your younger kids. With many options like National Geographic Kids, Khan Academy, and Reading Eggs, you can keep your little ones happy. and learn while you do your job.
7. Find apps that also develop skills for older children.
Just because your kids are older doesn't mean you should leave them to text friends, post on social media, or play video games all day. If you have high school students, you can still encourage them to devote more time to educational activities.
They should still be centered around educational gamification like Airport Tycoon or 3rd World Farmer. Games like this are a great way to make learning fun while maintaining an educational focus.
Keep learning around the clock
With so many remote activities, it's tempting to let your kids watch TV after school remotely while you try to work from home.
However, finding constructive educational activities, such as writing an email, conducting an online interview, or playing an educational game, can help keep all of your child's activities educationally focused while freeing you up to do your job.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jory Hamilton is an accomplished writer based in the US Northwest. She covers a wide range of topics, but has a particular interest in covering topics related to children's education, the importance of STEM education, and technology. To learn more about Jori, follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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