How to keep your kids entertained while at home these school holidays

STUCK at home with the kids these school holidays and tearing your hair out for ideas on what to do with them? Here are 18 sure-fire ways to keep the kids entertained for hours — maybe days — on end.

Oscar 6 and Tahlea Little 8 at a cooking class. Picture: John Gass

1. MasterChef Junior

Let the kids loose in the kitchen to create their favourite dishes with you. Or set them a “Mystery box” challenge with some key ingredients and ask them to work out what meal or treat you can cook with it (such as hedgehog or spaghetti Bolognese).

2. Movies at home

Set your loungeroom up like a cinema and put on all the trimming for the kids.

Parents can be the cinema staff to take their tickets (which the kids can create), pop real popcorn, have drinks with straws and set-up a candy bar for treats.

Then settle back in to watch a favourite family movie.

Olivia and Matthew Whittle eat ice cream ahead of their movie night. photo Calum Robertson

3. Board game challenge

Get the kids to pick out a number of board games to play over the holidays. Draw up a prize chart with rewards for achieving points.

Next set-up a points chart to keep track of who wins each game. Three points for a win, two points for runner-up and one point for just taking part.

At the end of the challenge, rewards are handed out (suggestions: More than 20 points = pick a day out location for the family; 5 points = a new book, 2 points = a lollipop etc.)

Kids can play board games. Picture: John Fotiadis

Put a mint lolly in a soda bottle and wait for the geyser effect. Picture: Mike Dugdale

4. Create your own geyser

Cause a frothy eruption that will send the kids wild.

You will need:

1x bottle of diet cola and 1 x bottle of diet lemonade (diet drinks work best).

1 x packet of mint Mentos (mint flavour works best).

Choose an outdoor area that can be hosed down before getting the kids to put half the mint lollies in each soda bottle and wait for the geyser effect!

5. Make sock puppets

Let your kids’ imaginations run wild while creating hand puppet characters.

You will need:

An array of colourful socks.

Hot glue gun or Clag.

Buttons, sequins, stick on eyes, pipe cleaners and material scraps.

There’s no right or wrong way to make a hand puppet, just let your kids create whatever they want.

Once the characters are made, set-up a stage by putting a large towel or rug over the kitchen table and ask them to write a script for a puppet show. Lights, camera, action!

Let your kids’ imaginations run wild to create hand puppet characters.

6. Picnic at home

Let the kids do all the set-up. Gather your existing picnic set or use plastic plates and cutlery to create a wondrous picnic at home.

You’ll need a rug plus lots of snacks and picnic food, which the kids can also help you prepare. Plan some picnic activities like a game of cricket, game of Uno or kick of the footy to work off the meal.

You can have a picnic inside or outside all from the comfort of your home.

Kids can scoot around the neighbourhood on the school holidays.

7. Make a box town

Head to Bunnings and collect an array of boxes of all different sizes. Some the kids can fit in and others that will fit dolls and toys.

Get out your paints, textas and coloured paper so the kids can draw on the boxes and decorate them to turn them into houses and city skyscrapers.

8. Scout the neighbourhood

Have a day in the hood by scooting, walking or riding your bikes to five nearby destinations in your neighbourhood. Stop at each point to do a planned activity such as hot chocolate at a cafe, play at a park, visit a friend, have lunch etc.

9. Write your own adventure

Get mum or dad to create a story book by stapling white paper together.

Mum or dad can start the story by writing 1-2 paragraphs and drawing a picture, then each child and parent can keep having turns.

Over several days you’ll be amazed at where the story goes.

10. Backyard scavenger hunt

Hide loads and loads of small toys, lollies and prizes in the backyard.

Draw up a chart itemising the list of items you have hidden and give each child a copy.

As they find the item and put it in their bag or basket, get them to tick the item off their sheet.

First to find a full sheet of items is the winner.

Eva Carey and Eve Sutherland enjoying play time indoors. Picture: David Clark

11. Sleepover hideaway

In any room other than the kids’ bedrooms, use furniture, the clothes horse or an ironing board to help create a tent or fortress for the kids to sleep in.

You’ll need plenty of sheets or rugs to throw over the top to create the tent structure.

Then use cushions, mattresses, sleeping bags, torches and toys to create a wonderland inside where they can sleep for the night.

5 DAY TRIPS TO DO WITH THE KIDS

12. Hold a fashion parade

Get out the dress up box, let the kids go crazy in their own wardrobe and add a few items from mum and dad’s wardrobes too.

Find a space in the house for the catwalk and set-up a row of chairs for the audience.

Find some upbeat music and sit back to watch the kids star in the show.

Remember to get them to strike a pose and take a photo.

Beating the school holidays blues sisters Jessi 5, and Maddi 8, love playing dress ups at home with their parents clothes. Picture: David Caird

13. Hopscotch

All you need is a piece of chalk and some concrete for hours of fun.

Draw a hopscotch pattern making sure the boxes are big enough to fit everyone’s feet and are numbered (you can do either up to 8 or 10). Each player will need a marker such as a bottle cap or flat stone.

The first player stands behind the starting line to toss his or her marker in square one. Hop over square one to square two and then continue hopping to the last square, turn around, and hop back again. You can use two feet if you have drawn boxes 4-5 or 8-9 next to each other. Pause in square two to pick up the marker, hop in square one, and out.

Then continue by tossing the stone in square two. All hopping is done on one foot

Draw a hopscotch pattern making sure the boxes are big enough to fit everyone’s feet and are numbered.

14. Footpath chalk drawing

Let the community share in your child’s artistic genius by letting them draw with chalk on the footpath directly out the front of your house.

Hours of fun and it can be washed off with a hose or when it next rains.

15. Build a terrarium

You will need a container (either a small glass bowl or plastic one will do), soil, aquarium gravel, small succulent plants and small plastic animals for decorating.

First, fill your terrarium with 3-4cm of gravel.

Next, remove your plant from its container and break up the root ball slightly. Set it in the centre of your terrarium and fill the area around it with soil.

Arrange the plastic animals. Add a little water and there you have it.

16. Art gallery at home

Buy a few different sized canvasses and paints.

Make sure you use lots of paper to cover your work area and then let the kids go crazy painting.

If you are happy with their masterpieces, you could even hang the artwork in your hallway or the kids’ rooms.

Create a home art studio and gallery. Picture: Keryn Stevens

17. Picture hunt

Write out a list of images you would like the kids to find in old newspapers, magazines and catalogues (such as red chair, bathroom tap, kitten, flower etc).

Give each child the list and the first to find them all is the winner.

18. Make a bird feeder

You will need: 1 toilet paper roll, one jar of peanut butter and birdseed.

Spread the peanut butter onto the toilet paper roll in a nice smooth layer then roll it in birdseed. Repeat to make as many feeders as you need.

Take your feeders outside and slide onto a tree branch. You can also secure it with tape.