Your Indoor School Holiday Survival Guide
School holidays are a great opportunity for family bonding, even if the days are rainy or you’re spending them at home. Keep bored kids and endless screen time at bay with these fun, affordable, indoor holiday activities for kids guaranteed to bust the boredom blues!
Keep the school holidays fun and enjoyable with these at-home activity ideas…
1. Have an Indoor Picnic
Spread out a blanket or a sheet and let the kids design their own indoor picnic! They’ll love choosing snacks, and packing them into a picnic basket or box. They can even bring the outdoors in by making paper flowers and leaves to decorate their picnic area.
If your children are older they could help you make Southland Cheese Rolls using this recipe from Nikki & Jordan at Onespoon.
2. Put On A Talent Show
Ask the kids to put on a show! Organising their acts, designing a home-made set for their show and creating tickets will keep them busy for hours! (Giving you some time to relax!) Putting on a performance is a great way to keep a group of kids busy this school holidays and is an awesome confidence builder for any age. Film the show and send it to family to share the fun.
3. Bake Together
Baking is one of our favourite ways to keep the kids busy during school holidays. They’ll learn about measuring ingredients, following recipes, and you can all enjoy tasting the results! Younger kids love decorating cookies with icing and sprinkles, and if your children are older you could even hold your very own Kiwi Bake Off.
For some scrumptious recipe inspiration check out our 7 Easter Treats To Enjoy At Home!
4. Make A Fort
When camping isn’t an option why not make an indoor kids fort instead? Kids love creating their own space, so let them use sheets or blankets and the dining table, chairs, or couches to create their own hideaway. Decorate your fort with pillows, home made bunting, or fairy lights if you have any.
A lounge fort is the perfect spot for kids (and adults) to cozy up and read books, or watch a movie marathon with some school holiday treats.
5. Play Board Games
Don’t be afraid to ditch the screens and go old school! Games like Cranium Cadoo, Connect Four, Snap or even puzzles can keep kids engaged, especially if you have a few options for them to switch between. Not only do board games encourage the whole family to spend time together during the school holidays, they help children develop logical thinking and patience.
6. Create A Craft Station
Create a school holiday craft space with egg cartons, cardboard boxes, tinfoil, paints, glue and glitter and challenge your kids to stretch their imaginations. Cardboard box robots, egg carton animals, paper plate masks or felt finger puppets are all super fun kids crafts and can be adjusted to suit your child’s age, skill level, and how involved you want to be. As an added bonus they’ll be left with a new toy or a gift for someone!
7. Create A Treasure Hunt
Hide small surprises or treats around the house and give your kids clues or a map to find their very own treasure! Dressing up like pirates, fairies or adventurers makes this school holiday activity even more fun. Older kids could create a treasure hunt for younger ones, or let the kids make one for you! Making an indoor treasure hunt works well with one child or a group.
8. Play Charades
Chances are you’ve played charades before, it’s a classic family game that’s easy to learn, hilarious, and can be played inside. Simplify the game to suit your child’s age (and don’t expect an enthusiastic young player to stick to the rules!) Check out kidactivities.net for full rules and a list of prompts for playing charades your kids this school holidays.
Our top tip: Act out images from flashcards or picture books instead of written words or phrases if your child isn’t reading yet.
9. Read
For quiet time it’s hard to beat reading. Cuddle up as a family with some picture books, take turns reading to each other, or turn that blanket fort into a reading nook! Reading increases strengthens imagination, vocabulary and attention span, and even toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy ‘reading’ picture books or learning through literacy play.
You can download free literacy activities for kids aged 3-8 at Fun Learning For Kids.
Have a tried and true way to keep the kids happy these school holidays? Share it in the comments below!
Planning your next family holiday? We’ve got a huge range of family getaways just waiting to be explored.
