Quote from Penny McCarthy on October 25, 2024, 7:04 pm

Early years experts: Top tips for parents this half term, as searches for activities soar

As half time approaches quickly (28th October - 1st November), many parents find themselves worrying about how they are going to fill their children’s day, with an extra 8 hours on their hands.

And with searches for “half term activities” seeing a 250% rise over the last month, and “free half term activities” increasing by 145% since last Monday*, it’s clear that this is a pressing concern for parents across the UK.

To help parents fill their children’s days in a mindful way, experts at EDURINO have put together their top 5 productive things to do with kids during this half term. 

1. Set up a craft table

A craft table is the perfect station to set up during the week, as it will inspire hours of fun and be a fixture that children can come back to on each day, whenever they like.

Crafting is a great way to encourage your children’s fine motor skills, and improve hand-eye coordination and visual learning, and can be done with parents alongside or as independent play, making it perfect for any parents working this half term.

Set up your children with crafting supplies such as pens, paper, glue, glitter and felt and let their imagination run wild.

You can also include bits of nature in your craft table such as leaves, pinecones and conkers, and even bits of “junk” such as old cardboard boxes, yoghurt pots and toilet roll tubes to encourage kids to use their imagination and create cars, rockets and castles.

To get into the autumn spirit, you can have your child create themselves a crown out of leaves. Depending on their level, this could either involve glueing leaves to a strip of paper to form a crown, or for older children with more advanced motor skills, using the stems of the leaves to form a weave - similar to a daisy chain.

2. Explore outdoors

Outside play has been found to improve children’s mood and behaviour, encouraging creativity, critical thinking and focus, and helping with motor skills - so grab your wellies and head out on an adventure.

To encourage your children to engage while on your walk, make sure you involve them in the journey.

• Let them map read to encourage their navigational skills
• Bring along a magnifying glass so they can see nature up close, turning over any rocks and logs
• Spot any birds or bugs along the way
• Give them a matchbox to bring home any safe, tiny treasures from nature

3. Engage in mindful screen time

Screen time is not always a bad thing, despite some notions, in fact, previous research from EDURINO has found that 90% of primary school parents say it’s important for their child to develop strong digital learning skills - pointing to a need for some screen time in your child’s routine¹.

The key is ensuring that any child’s screen time is mindful, rather than purely encouraging dopamine responses. Try to aim to:

• Opt for interactive games that combine digital fun with physical learning
• Encourage regular breaks away from the screen - opt for apps that give you parental control on screen time, this can be an ideal way of applying limits without causing tantrums
• Be in the know about what your child is watching or playing

4. Encourage independent play 

Set your child some tasks to encourage independent play and creativity. Independent play is hugely important for children, as it will help foster their imagination, build problem-solving skills, and teach them patience and resilience.

Choosing games and apps that your child is capable of using by themselves will not only foster a child’s feeling of independence and self-confidence, but also free up your own time!

Depending on your child’s age, you could:

• Challenge them to write a song or create a dance for you to watch
• Give them a puzzle to solve - make sure this fits their abilities and isn’t too easy or hard!
• Set them up with a treasure hunt around your home and garden

5. Bake some treats

A key way of developing their fine and gross motor skills, baking can be similar to sensory play for some children. You can also use this as an opportunity to enhance their maths and counting abilities by having them follow along with your recipe.

Go for more straight-forward recipes such as fairy cakes, iced biscuits or cornflake cakes to allow your child to really get involved and have a sense of ownership in the task.

For smaller children, ensure they’ve got a secure step to stand on so they can feel engaged in the process. Young children can even help with mixing any ingredients, sprinkling, sieving, and spooning onto scales, making them perfect sous chefs.

As kids get older they can also lend a hand with any rolling, kneading, grating and cutting soft items - of course with adult supervision.

Brigid Shine, EYFS teacher from EDURINO said:

“It can be overwhelming having to juggle parenting with working during the half term.

“If you’re wanting to feel prepared, ahead of the holidays you can make a list of some possible activities you and your child would like to do during the time off - this’ll also allow them to feel involved in the decision making.

“But it’s important that parents don’t feel as though they need to plan out each and every day of the holidays, or do everything at once.

“It’s key for parents to also look after themselves during school breaks. Setting routines and practicing mindfulness can be the perfect way to keep things feeling under control. Use this time to slow down and bond with your little one, and remember that you’re trying the best you can to give your child the best development that you can.”