Is your plan this March break to stay home with the kids and spend some quality time together? We’ve pulled together some fun ideas for you to ensure the kids are occupied and learning (shhhhh!) while not putting a big dent in your wallet!
- Bake together. Not only is it fun, but its yummy! Children love being involved in deciding what to bake and then participate in the baking (and eating!) process. Take the opportunity to teach them about counting and measuring, chopping and squeezing, mixing and spreading; all help develop fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.
- Scavenger Hunt. Plan an indoor or outdoor scavenger hunt, depending on the weather and what your children will enjoy more. Create a scavenger hunt card for them to check off as they discover the items. The hunt is only limited by your imagination, it can be for things you hide in the home or things found in nature. There are many scavenger hunts on Pinterest that you can download and use if you don’t want to create your own. Make the list for things to see, to listen for and even to feel (for example: listen for: wind, birds chirping, dripping water, Look for: animal tracks, something red, something round; feel something rough, something smooth; something cold)
- Explore your Community. Be a tourist in your own community. Treat your town or city like you are visiting for the first time and explore touristy destinations. If you don’t want to pay the admission cost to museums or attractions, you can explore parks, trails, libraries or even the local fire station!
- Kid’s World. Have children tell you what type of job they would like when they grow up…take inspiration from them and have them research, craft, cook and do the job! Here are some fun examples that can work with children of all ages:
- Restaurant – have children build menus, name their restaurant, prepare and cook menu items, take orders and serve “customers”, it’s a great idea to have a play date and invite some children over to help them on the ‘line’ or be the customer
- TV Station (or Radio station) – have kids decide on what the ‘news’ items for the day will be, who will be the announcer or TV personality? Have them dress up, make a desk, someone can be the camera operator and so on
- Flight crew – have children decide on a destination, pack a bag, draw plane tickets, play the roles of ticket taker, flight attendant, pilot and passenger
- Bakery – take baking together to the next level, open a bakeshop in your kitchen, have children name the shop, draw a store sign and ‘sell’ the products they baked!
- Be Active. Use this opportunity of time to try some activities that you might not have done before as a family – toboggan, skate, go swimming, go roller-skating, bowling, or just take a walk around your neighbourhood or community.