Do you struggle with thinking of fun activities to keep your child entertained at weekends and after school? You’re not alone! It can certainly be difficult to come up with unique activities for kids. And although it might be easy to just turn on the TV or let your little one play games on the tablet, it’s important to remember that too much screen time can contribute to behavioural difficulties, health issues and problems with attention.
In today’s digital world, this is a growing concern, with some estimates suggesting children around 8 years old sometimes spend up to 11 hours looking at screens each day.
Help your little one exercise their mind and body by trying out these 101 fun activities for 5- to 8-year-olds.
- Make a batch of homemade play dough.
- Go on a nature walk and collect leaves or rocks.
- Move the furniture around so your little gymnast can practice their handstands.
- Play a simple card game.
- Make a den out of blankets and pillows.
- Plant flowers in the garden.
- Camp in the back garden.
- Read a classic children’s book out loud together.
- Learn to ride a bike.
- Go berry picking.
- Bake a pie using your freshly picked berries.
- Grab some binoculars and go birdwatching.
- Learn how to play the recorder.
- Make sock puppets.
- Press flowers and put them in a scrapbook.
- Build a model plane.
- Learn how to knit.
- Visit your local zoo.
- Visit a market.
- Play dress-up.
- Learn how to plait hair.
- Grab some chalk and decorate the pavement.
- Have an outdoor picnic.
- Observe insects through a magnifying glass.
- Is it raining? Have a picnic indoors instead!
- Visit animals at a pet shop. (Just try not to bring them all home!)
- Make a map of your house.
- Learn how to skip.
- Make a guitar out of a box and rubber bands.
- Visit your neighbours.
- Bake brownies.
- Pop some popcorn and curl up to watch a film.
- Plant a vegetable garden.
- Build a snowman.
- Have a snowball fight.
- Make a pizza with all your favourite toppings.
- Visit a local park.
- Make friendship bracelets.
- Turn a pine cone into a bird feeder by adding some peanut butter and birdseed.
- Learn a magic trick.
- Cut out homemade paper dolls.
- Play hopscotch.
- Play ‘Simon Says’.
- Interview a grandparent.
- Get out a bag of hairbands and create some fun hairdos.
- Go to the library.
- Go on a hike.
- Build a sandcastle.
- Have a tea party with real tea and snacks.
- Cut out pictures from magazines to make a collage.
- Play “Red Light/Green Light.”
- Colour in!
- Write an original song.
- Take turns drawing each other’s portraits.
- Paint each other’s fingernails.
- Play hide-and-seek.
- Teach your dog or cat how to do some tricks.
- Make your own bubble solution.
- Set up an ice cream sundae bar.
- Play Follow the Leader.
- Tie-dye T-shirts.
- Have a fashion show.
- Feed ducks at a local pond or lake.
- Make shadow puppets on the wall.
- Play a board game.
- Turn craft foam into bath floats.
- Make pinch pots out of air-dry clay.
- Slice apples and turn them into paint stamps.
- Turn your living room into a winter wonderland with toilet paper, cotton balls and pillows.
- Get out your makeup and let your child give you a new look.
- Put on a play.
- Do a word search.
- Visit a local farm.
- Run through a sprinkler.
- Make nature crafts.
- Learn how to hula hoop.
- Make muffin tin crayons.
- Cut snowflakes out of paper.
- Play mini golf.
- Make hot chocolate.
- Lie down in your back garden, and talk about the shapes you see in the clouds.
- Create a secret handshake.
- Go fishing.
- Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
- Play musical chairs.
- Learn how to do a cartwheel.
- Make rainbow foam.
- Create a paper chain with colourful construction paper.
- Learn how to play draughts.
- Make a drum out of an oatmeal container.
- Visit a science museum.
- Learn a new language.
- Make leaf and tree rubbings with paper and crayons.
- Catch moths.
- Go for a drive with no destination.
- Make a sundial out of paper plates.
- Play Duck, Duck, Goose.
- Build a dream house out of Lego.
- Have your child write a letter to her favourite book character.
- Do a crossword puzzle.
- Find stones outside and paint them.
