outdoor activities Archives - Early Learning Childhood Education

04/04/201904/04/2019

Keeping Children Engaged and Stimulated these School Holidays

And just like that, Term 1 is over and the school holidays are about to start!

For different families this can mean different things – for some, it’s a time to have a break from the usual day-to-day routine, and for others it’s a juggle with work and keeping children stimulated, engaged and happy. No matter which type of family you are in, a quality school holiday program can often be just the ticket to an extra fun couple of weeks!

Quality School Holiday Programs for Children

If you’re a childcare centre or kindergarten, you might consider running your own school holiday program to support families in your community. Parents, looking into school holiday programs can be a great way to give children an enjoyable social experience during the Term break.

At Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, our school holiday program invites children to join in exploring the great outdoors and crunching those Autumn leaves. Plus, children will be amazed as we experience the hatching of baby chicks, perfectly themed with Easter too!

Activities for School Holidays

If a school holiday program is not an option for you as a parent or as a centre, there are lots of other activities to try that won’t break the bank. We’ve compiled a bunch that can suit any weather, budget and mood.

Indoors

1. Make something yummy to eat – sweet cupcakes or savoury pizza
2. Get dressed up and dance to music or role play
3. Create a self-portrait
4. Create a portrait of someone else
5. Get artsy with a craft project using paper, glue, pencils, feathers, wool etc
6. Build a fort/cubby under a table
7. Do a room clean out and discover some forgotten toys

Outdoors

8. Have a picnic in the backyard or at a park or beach (even a pretend picnic)
9. Fly a kite (make your own!)
10. Do some gardening – get all the weeds out or even plant something like herbs
11. Go on a treasure hunt! Try this nature hunt list.
12. Get out a ball and work on your throwing, catching or kicking

Adventure

13. Head to the library (sign up is free and there are often community activities too)
14. Catch a train or bus somewhere
15. Plan a visit to the zoo
16. Visit your local shopping centre – they might have some school holiday activities too
17. Plan a day at a museum
18. Take a nature walk

Quiet Time

19. Find a nice space to do some reading (books from the library perhaps?)
20. Watch a movie
21. Tackle a jigsaw puzzle
22. Play a board game
23. Play cards (snap, go fish, memory or pairs)
24. Try meditation to unwind after a busy day – here are some tips

Download the free printable version of these activities here. You could even cut them into strips and put them in a hat to pull out when children need something entertaining to do!

13/12/201813/12/2018

30 fun ideas to do with children this summer

Whether you’re a parent who will have children home with you all summer, or you’re an educator looking for new ideas for activities with children, we’ve rounded up 30 fun ideas that are perfect for summer!

Our number one activity with children is always getting musical, so feel free to sing songs while you’re trying out some of these activities too!

Hit the beach: A classic but always a day of fun. Get creative with your sandcastle building skills!
Head to the aquarium: Some much to see and learn! Good for those days when it’s too hot to do much outside too.
Go swimming: A life skill that’s also very enjoyable, hitting the local pool for a swim is always a winner. Bonus points for a water slide.
Create a puppet show: Finger puppets or sock puppets can perform any story children wish. Create the characters and story and get performing!
Get cooking: Find a simple child-friendly recipe or two and work on familiarising children with the kitchen. Start super easy with a fruit salad or pizzas but keep working on it.
Fly kites: Whether you choose to make or buy a kite, getting it up in the sky is an exciting feeling for any child. Schedule some kite flying for a day with a good breeze.
Do a scavenger hunt: Set children the task of gathering a range of objects on a nature treasure hunt. Depending on what you have children find, a craft activity can follow.
Visit the local library: An endless source of fun and education, the library is a must for children and can be a good place to cool off on the super hot days. Make a regular habit of going and borrowing books to encourage a passion for reading.
Playdough fun: Make a batch of play dough with children and make some amazing shapes.
Practice bike riding: Feel the wind in your hair with a bike ride. Training wheels or not, it’s a wonderful, environmentally friendly mode of transport that is also lots of fun.
Explore the local community: Check the local council website and find a fun local activity to try. There are many events held over the summer that are family friendly.
Watch the sunrise: We’re often so busy (or tired) this doesn’t happen often but make a point of getting up to see the sunrise in the morning. Too early? Taking notice of the sunset is special too.
Chalk drawing: The driveway can be the perfect spot to get artistic and do some chalk drawing. A simple hopscotch is a fun starting point.
Make smoothies: A healthy snack that children can make too, create a delicious family smoothie recipe. Bonus points for giving it a name!
Get gardening: Gardening a fantastic sensory activity with many benefits. Whether it’s veggies, herbs or plants, get gardening together.
Camp out the back: Create a camping experience in your very own backyard. Set up the tent or swags, tell stories and sleep under the stars. What a great memory to make.
Create a summer journal: Encourage children to draw pictures and write notes about what they get up to over summer. You can even take pictures and print them to add and they’ll have a special memento of a special summer.
Explore those nearby parks: Instead of visiting your usual park, head to a new one for something different.
Get scientific: Science experiments are fascinating for children (and adults to be honest!). Head here for a few great kid-friendly science experiments to try.
Discover a new skill: Get children to identify a skill they’d like to learn. Maybe it’s a musical instrument, how to hula hoop, kick a goal, skip rope… Then practice practice practice and make note of progress.
Eat breakfast for dinner: Those hot summer nights make big heavy dinners less appealing anyway, so have a little fun with it over the holiday period and set a day for having breakfast for dinner. Children find it very funny.
Go out for ice cream: Ice cream dates are many children’s dream come true. It can be fun at home too, with your own cones.
Start an activity jar: Write a bunch of fun activities on pieces of paper, put them all in a jar and any time someone is feeling bored at home, they can simply find a random activity from the activity jar.
Do painting: Best done outside, set up some paper and paints and let children explore their creative sides. Perhaps you could even do a painting of each other!
Clean windows: A chore for parents, but actually children often enjoy doing this.
Bushwalks: There are many trails to be explored, so get your best walking shoes on and explore nature. Add in some wildlife spotting too.
Make paper planes: Make and decorate paper planes, then race them and experiment with shapes and styles to improve flying technique.
Family movies: Share a few of your childhood favourite movies with children and let them choose some too.
Experiment with new hairdos: We all tend to style our hair the same quite often, but why not see what else you can do with your hair. You could even do each other’s!
Get meditating: The festive period, in particular, can be hectic. Give children the tools to unwind with meditation and yoga.

So, there you have it! And if you have any extra ideas, share with us on Facebook. We’d love to see pictures if you try any of these ideas over summer too!

Don’t forget, if you’re a parent who will also need to work, don’t forget to explore the school holiday programs available to you in your area.

13/09/201813/09/2018

Getting ready for school holidays

With the school holidays fast approaching, now is the time to have some school holiday programs ready to go! For childcare centres, this could mean a few things so let’s explore what school holidays could mean for you.

Take advantage of school holiday offers

Many events catering to children take place in communities during school holidays and you can also get some great school holiday special offers. Do your research and plan a few special excursions during the school holidays for the children in your care.

Create a school holiday program

A school holiday program is something that can break up the terms for children and be a lot of fun. You might even use a school holiday program to introduce new themes for the coming term or new routines.

If you have the capacity to do so, create a school holiday program that can be offered to school-aged children who need some extra activities during the school break. After all, working mums and dads can’t always take time off, so you could really make life easier for your families.

Music and wellbeing every day

There’s no need to have a holiday from music and wellbeing, that’s for sure! Incorporate extra music and wellbeing into the school holidays and experiment with some new ideas. With the weather improving as we move into spring, take your music and wellbeing activities outside, or even to the local park.

Educators who are looking for extra ideas, or parents with time off over the term break, here we’ve got plenty of ideas, including a round up of the best activities in each capital city!

If you are a parent and would like to learn more about the holiday and educational programs at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder Aspendale, mark the date of our next free event – Information Night 2018 on Wednesday, 14 November.

21/09/201722/09/2017

Making Life Easier for Families – Spring Holiday Programs

Each year children around Australia have around 11-12 weeks of holidays from school or kinder, while parents can usually access roughly 4 weeks of annual leave. This can make it tricky, but school holiday programs can help.

A school holiday program for children who are not yet school age can be run from different services and enables working families to save their holiday leave time for when they can really enjoy it with their children.

Whether you’re looking for a school holiday program for the upcoming school holiday break or you are creating a program, these ideas will help you to know what a great school holiday program should include for children under six years old.

School Holiday Programs – What they should offer

Keep it interesting

School holidays are about having fun! In our recent School Holiday Programs, we have had a special experience included in our program each day. Experiences we like to include that you might like as well are puppet shows, making books, visiting the library and making and flying kites.

Keep families in the know

Many families won’t know what to expect at school holiday time or what you can offer to support them during the term breaks. Let families know in advance what is on offer to help make school holidays less stressful for them and more enjoyable for their children. Create a program in advance.

Include an adventure

School holiday time is for doing something that you don’t normally do. Break the routine a little and do something special with children. This could be a local excursion to a park, a visit to a farm or a trip to a museum.

Educators who are looking for extra ideas, or parents with time off over the term break, take a look at these 24 ideas for fun in rain, hail or shine in our School Holiday Activity Guide.

To get inspired and learn more about Bonkers Beat Music Kinder, click here.

30/11/201622/09/2017

School Holiday Activities Guide: Indoors, Outdoors, Adventures and Quiet Time

December is here and that means school holidays are around the corner. Our guide to school holiday activities means you’ll have a go-to activity for children over summer for rain, hail or shine.

School holidays are fun but they can also be a little hectic at times. Having a bit of a plan in place can go a long way to making the summer break more enjoyable for everyone.

Working families who can’t take time off over the holidays can rest assured that there are some excellent school holiday programs available. Many of these offer a range of fun experiences for your children while giving you the support you need to get to work. After all, we all know life doesn’t stop for the school holidays!

You might like to print out our guide and stick it on the fridge, or even print and cut some activities into strips and allow children to take a lucky dip to allocate them an activity.

You’ll find most of our suggestions are cheap or free, because financial pressure is the last thing you need this time of year.

Indoors

1. Make something yummy to eat – sweet cupcakes or savoury pizza
2. Get dressed up and dance to music or role play
3. Create a self portrait
4. Create a portrait of someone else
5. Get artsy with a craft project using paper, glue, pencils, feathers, wool etc
6. Build a fort/cubby under a table
7. Do a room clean out and discover some forgotten toys

Outdoors

Adventure

Quiet Time

19. Find a nice space to do some reading (books from the library perhaps?)
20. Watch a movie
21. Tackle a jigsaw puzzle
22. Play a boardgame
23. Play cards (snap, go fish, memory or pairs)
24. Try meditation to unwind after a busy day – here are some tips

There you have it – our guide to the school holiday activities gives you 24 boredom-proof activities for children of various ages. We want the list to grow, so share your best ideas with us on Facebook!

21/04/201621/04/2016

Want to prevent short-sightedness in children? Go outside

We all know that children aren’t spending as much time outdoors as they used to, but now we are beginning to see the impact on their health – most recently, their eyesight.

Ground-breaking research released this month from a Queensland University of Technology study indicates that more exposure to outdoor light is crucial to reduce the epidemic of short-sightedness in children.

Short-sightedness, or ‘myopia’, has often been blamed on sitting too close to screens, but optometrist and head of research in the study, Associate Professor Scott Read said: “While screens are contributing to children spending more time indoors than in previous years, the research shows they are not the direct cause of the increased incidence of myopia”.

With this new research, tomorrow’s Earth Day is beneficial not only to show children how to take care of the planet but also to benefit their health and renew their love for the outdoors.

Get Outside for Earth Day

That’s right, Friday 22 April is Earth Day – a day dedicated to our home! It’s no secret that the Bonkers Beat programs are passionate about sustainable practices and learning about the world around us, as well as creating amazing outdoor spaces at centres.

The official Earth Day website tells us that one of the easiest and most effective ways of contributing on Earth Day is by planting trees. Lucky for us living and breathing early childhood education, many children love digging in dirt!

If you aren’t able to locate somewhere to plant trees, even herbs and plants are simple ways of communicating the message and reaping the benefits of children getting close to nature. Register your event or find one here.

Trees are all around us, big, small, flowering, homes for birds and other animals – let’s get children talking about them, planting them, admiring them! Preventing short-sightedness in children in just one of the many benefits of spending more time outdoors. The more children love and appreciate the outdoors, the more likely they are to go outside – and we know how important that is.

Read more about the QUT study on outdoor light and short-sightedness here.