After many weeks of home-schooling, half-term is finally upon us. Though naturally the kids won’t be able to get up to their usual adventures during the school break this time around, rest assured that almost a year into lockdown there are still lots of new activities out there for them to try during this lockdown half-term.
Serving up a storm in the kitchen
Shrove Tuesday, on the 16th, offers a great excuse to dust off the baking utensils and get making some occasion-themed goodies this half-term. Why not have a go at one of the many family-friendly pancake recipes featured in BBC Goodfood’s great list (including rainbow pancakes!)?
What’s more, encouraging them to make edible gifts for neighbours and nearby friends can be a great way of getting them to think about how they can support others during a difficult time and give back to the local community.
Discovering the great outdoors
With a week’s worth of wintery weather on the cards, this half-term is a great opportunity for the kids to get out in the open and explore a real-life ‘Frozen’ playground.
Helpfully, this year half-term coincides with National Nest Box Week, a lovely campaign that encourages families to set up and look after their own nest box to attract birds and wildlife into your back garden. There’s also RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch, for which kids can submit the findings of their garden surveys by 22nd February, and a fabulous selection of self-guided ‘Treasure Trails’ for all those intrepid young adventurers out there to enjoy.
And if all that isn’t enough to keep them busy, check out National Trust’s 50 suggestions of activities they can enjoy outside your own back door!
Get those creative juices flowing
If gloomy or wet weather means your kids aren’t able to get out and about as much, why not have a go at some half term arts and crafts?
Author Natalie Reeves Billing has some wonderful free monster-themed colouring and Monster ‘Blox’ building activities to keep your little ones occupied, whilst The Foundling Museum has dozens of creative crafting workshops your kids can join in with: from bubble prints-making classes to paper portrait sketching sessions.
Explore the world from home
Try hosting a family-style ‘Come Dine With Me’, by getting the whole gang involved with cuisine themed-nights and trying your hand at dishes from different corners from the world. Be it Mexican, Italian, Chinese, or any other cuisine that takes your fancy, you can make a whole evening of it by dressing up for the occasion, making menus, drawing up a country-specific playlist and celebrating any fun national traditions.
There are also plenty of virtual opportunities for travel too, like taking part in Edinburgh and Chester Zoo’s virtual zoo days, or jetting off to Sienna and Rome via Italy 4 Real’s virtual tours.
It has been a challenging time for us all – both parents and children alike – so whatever you and the troops decide to spend your time doing this week, we hope you can enjoy a well-deserved break.
