7 fun things to do with kids at home this summer holiday   

In the Brave New World of 2020, summer holidays are looking a little different from normal and parents everywhere are scrambling for creative ideas for kids at home. We’ve done some of the hard work for you and rounded up some of the easiest ways to have fun at home with kids – hopefully these tips will help limit the wails of “I’m bored!”

By now, you’ve probably sussed that a schedule is your route to sanity – plus a little pre-planning so that your meeting with your manager coincides with your ‘cherubs’ enjoying a fabulous film on Netflix. Couple this with a healthy dose of self-love and laissez faire, and try out some of these fun things to do with your kids to help you all get the most out of your summer hols.

So, here’s our top seven great ideas for what to do with kids at home this summer:

1. Think big – give your kids a MAMMOTH project

You know when you spend ages setting things up for a project and it’s over in five minutes? (Well, apart from the clean-up operation, which takes hours?!) Urgh. Instead, how about challenging your kids to build a fortress this summer holiday – using cardboard boxes, pillows and blankets. Then they can turn it into all kinds of things – a shop, a tent, a school. You can even add fairy lights for a bit of extra magic. Try to implant the idea of a secret reading nook – if they spend as much as five minutes reading a book here, you get a free pass on a smug Facebook brag.

Older children might prefer a timed lego project – you can set a timer for 30 minutes or an hour and make sure you fawn over the results, (unless they’re awful in which case you’re allowed a very small snigger as long as you make a few appreciative noises).

2. Dose up on vitamin D – get your kids outside

You know those stock images of beautiful parents working on their laptops while their kids play sweetly in the yard… hmmm… we suspect the address of these ‘unicorn’ families is Utopia, Fairytaleville. But do you fancy joining an experiment to see if this is even a possibility?!

If you can’t just shout “trampoline” and put a timer on, why not try taking out your laptop and plugging in your almost-fully-focused brain – while your children play with sand, or trampoline or do a scavenger hunt or obstacle course. You’ll reap the rewards for letting your kids run and play and work out their pent-up energy. (Note: remember to check for typos afterwards. Remember, your brain was only partially plugged in ?).

3. Create a home cinema – complete with popcorn

It’s all about the ‘experience’! And here’s our favourite fabulous way to carve out a free hour for yourself and a fun idea for your kids at home. Pick a film you know your kids will love and provide some healthy snacks – popcorn is always a favourite for creating the home cinema vibe.

If you have time, popping your own corn in a saucepan in the kitchen is something that younger kids love watching.

4. Get outdoors – gardening, insects, mud kitchens – what’s not to like?!

A fun thing for kids to do at home is to help you with the gardening, especially if you have vegetables or fruit or flowers that need some tlc. Send them out to water the plants, pick the strawberries or forage for veggies, younger children especially love the delight of harvesting the garden’s delights. And it’s never too late to plant a few more garden flowers. You can count this as an educational activity (phew) and it helps them feel grounded.

To keep them engaged outside for longer, you may want to consider an insect collecting kit (be warned: they like to name each individual woodlouse.)

A mud kitchen is also a great way for children to enjoy themselves outdoors. If you’re handy with DIY, you can easily create one yourself or you can buy one ready-made like this cute little option. (disclaimer: we’ve not tried it out ourselves so go by the website reviews and make your own decision!)

5. Try an online kid’s camp

C’mon, ‘fess up… we all have an inner American somewhere, don’t we?! There’s a heap of online kids camps to choose from – and our top pick for one that offers fun and educational activities linked to popular TV series is PBS.

Our advice is to pick one or two online camps or organisations and sign up for regular updates and resources – rather than spending all your time googling and checking out the plethora of resources that are available. Ask for recommendations from friends.

6. Online learning for kids this summer

So, they’ve gone a bit feral? Same story everywhere. But it’s possible to claw back a little of those weeks of lost learning – by injecting some ‘educashun’ into your kids’ summer holiday fun.

The good news is that you can subtly get them to practice their English, Maths and Science – without them even realising they’re studying! For a great round-up, check out the Children’s University which offers a great round-up of ideas. For younger children you can keep it simple, with a spelling contest with prizes or try downloading apps like “Maths Rockz” and “The Singing Alphabet”. To encourage a love of STEM, MarcoPolo World School’s app gives kids a better understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, and it offers a free trial to get you started.

For primary school girls aged 6 and over, “GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine” is a great app for inspiring engineers. Girls will learn the basics of animation and create one-second animated GIFs. We also love ‘Habitat the Game’ – which is a fun way to teach your kids how to care for the environment. And lest we forget the Arts, we like the look of the Bigfoot Creative Arts Explorer Activity Pack.

7. Indulge in home-made ice cream

You scream, we scream, we all scream for ice cream… sorry, we couldn’t resist! But if ever there was a crowd-pleasing activity for kids of nearly every age, this has to be it. Who doesn’t like home-made ice cream?!

Whether you go full on dairy, with toppings to die for, or healthy ‘fro yo’ style or even tap into the #trending #keto recipes that are all over the internet – this is one activity that has ‘fun’ and ‘yum’ written all over it. We would love to see what you come up with!

So, we hope we’ve helped you tap into your summer holiday vibe with these tips. It’s only six weeks, remember! Most importantly, try to relax and enjoy yourself with your children and make the summer of 2020 the holidays they won’t ever forget.

And if you need to make sure that you’ve got brilliant broadband to take part in any of these online activities, head over to our broadband coverage checker. Rock on, and enjoy your summer!