Tag: school holidays

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10 School Holiday Ideas to Inspire

The school holidays can be a lot of fun, but they can also be pretty tiring. As educators we are well aware of how much energy little ones can have! Filling the day with meaningful experiences can take a lot of creativity, but with a bit of planning and inspiration you’ll be able to keep children of all ages entertained during the term break. (Don’t forget to check with childcare centres about school holiday programs too!)

These ideas are perfect for adapting in childcare centres or at home and offer educational experiences paired with hours of fun!

    1. Get musical! Of course this is our number one activity any day! Whether it’s taking up an instrument, singing, dancing to music or a combination of all three, music is at the centre of many fun and stimulating activities!
    2. Card games: Card games are great because they require skills like taking turns and recognising numbers and colours. They also are completely portable! Try Uno, Snap, Go Fish or Memory/Pairs to get started!
    3. Cook up a storm: Cooking is a skill for life! 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.
    4. Just keep swimming: With summer around the corner, a swimming refresher is perfectly timed. Take the kids to the pool yourself or book in to a school holiday swimming course.
    5. Take public transport: Catch a train or bus (the destination can be a park, cafe, beach – anywhere!)
    6. Get gardening: Being outside is great for wellbeing, and spring is the perfect time to refresh your garden. Plant something edible at the start of the holidays and by the end you could be ready to harvest!
    7. Hit the library: An endless source of fun and education, the library is a must for children and can be a good place to cool off if it’s warm. Make a regular habit of going and borrowing books to encourage a passion for reading.
    8. Chalk drawing: The driveway or any concrete area is the perfect spot to get artistic and do some chalk drawing. A simple hopscotch is a fun starting point.
    9. Create a puppet show: Finger puppets or sock puppets can perform any story children wish. Create the characters and story and get performing! 
    10. Meditation: Meditation can help us to slow down, unwind, reflect and be present in the moment. Help children use the valuable tool of meditation. Be sure to join them!

Write a few of these 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! Perfect boredom buster!

Hopefully this list has inspired you! If you are looking for more inspiration, join us today at our practical and free workshop, ‘7 Stones’, in Sydney! We look forward to sharing with you more ideas, so reserve your spot now! http://www.bonkersbeat.com/7stones/

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Involving Dad this Father’s Day

Research has confirmed that involved dads are happier dads and the benefits for children are countless too. Improved wellbeing, cognitive, social, behavioural outcomes and more. With Father’s Day coming up on Sunday 1 September, it’s time to schedule a time at your childcare centre for dads!

While dads are welcome to get involved in aspects of their children’s early childhood education year-round, there’s something extra special about an invite just for them! 

Dads and special male role models

To make sure your Father’s Day event at childcare is inclusive of all families, Dads and Special Friends Day or similar could be a more fitting name. 

This can ensure that any special male role model feels welcome to attend. Extend the invitation out to uncles, step-dads, grandfathers or close family friends.

Finding the best time

Breakfast or afternoon tea are usually the best times. This allows for those who are working to only take an hour or two out of their working day to attend. Make sure you’ve got coffee on hand and a snack, like pastries, fruit or biscuits.

For those who can’t bring someone along for whatever reason, centre the day around creating a special gift for Father’s Day. Children who are flying solo through the event can focus on getting their gift looking fantastic ready to take home. Meanwhile, those who have dad in attendance on the day can work on something special together.

Craft Father’s Day ideas

Set up a few different craft stations so children can choose to rotate or stick to one they like.

Ideas you could try include:

Portrait painting: Set up some easels and smocks and get children to paint dad! Guaranteed to be adorable and/or hilarious!

Handprint art: Paint the palm of dad’s hand and have him make a print on paper. Then get the children to do a handprint on top, creating a memorable piece of art to cherish — their hands don’t stay that small for long!

Jar plants: A big bucket of soil, some succulent cuttings and recycled jars are all you need for children and their dads to get planting together. Add in some glue and bits and pieces to decorate the jar for extra fun.

Musical fun on Father’s Day

Every day is a good day for music, and Father’s Day is no exception! Bonkers Beat children love singing songs and reciting poems. Not only does this create a sense of celebration and fun, but it also boosts children’s confidence and ability to perform in
front of a crowd. A very useful skill for life! 

To help children gain a love of poetry, Bonkers hopes you enjoy this special Father’s Day gift – a special poem called ‘My Daddy’. Click here to access.

One last thing – Don’t forget to take pictures on the day!
Take a look at our Father’s Day childcare celebration in 2018 at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder here. 

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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!

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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!

  1. Hit the beach: A classic but always a day of fun. Get creative with your sandcastle building skills!
  2. Head to the aquarium: Some much to see and learn! Good for those days when it’s too hot to do much outside too.
  3. 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.
  4. Create a puppet show: Finger puppets or sock puppets can perform any story children wish. Create the characters and story and get performing!
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Playdough fun: Make a batch of play dough with children and make some amazing shapes.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Make smoothies: A healthy snack that children can make too, create a delicious family smoothie recipe. Bonus points for giving it a name!
  15. Get gardening: Gardening a fantastic sensory activity with many benefits. Whether it’s veggies, herbs or plants, get gardening together.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. Explore those nearby parks: Instead of visiting your usual park, head to a new one for something different.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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!
  25. Clean windows: A chore for parents, but actually children often enjoy doing this.
  26. Bushwalks: There are many trails to be explored, so get your best walking shoes on and explore nature. Add in some wildlife spotting too.
  27. Make paper planes: Make and decorate paper planes, then race them and experiment with shapes and styles to improve flying technique.
  28. Family movies: Share a few of your childhood favourite movies with children and let them choose some too.
  29. 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!
  30. 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.

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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.

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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.

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School Holidays and Family Bonding

Family Bonding

For many families school holidays can be a juggle to say the least. Working families in particular feel the pressure to fit in family time with jobs. On top of everything of course we’re all busy trying to keep the house functioning and feed everyone!

Thankfully it’s not always about the quantity of time we spend with our families – quality time is what it’s all about.

To make things easier, our Bonkers Beat Holiday Program gives families the opportunity to give children a special experience during the school holidays. During this time, we arrange many excursions and incursions which allow all families to join in and have fun together with their children. Take a look at one of our excursions during last year’s Holiday Programs here.

Parents may also contribute to the life of the centre by running a simple presentation for children and educators. This might include: sharing their passion, talking about their job, playing a musical instrument, cooking with children or simply reading a book.

Squeeze in some family bonding time

School holiday bonding experiences don’t have to be a full day out. A simple game together can be great fun. Try no mess, no fuss card games like memory or snap.

If you’ve got a day to spend together, jump on a train to the city and enjoy the amazing free activities on throughout the school holidays.

It’s all happening at museums, libraries, public spaces and more. Take a look at what your capital city has to offer these school holidays.

Melbourne / Sydney / Perth / Adelaide / Canberra / Brisbane / Hobart / Darwin

Make some special memories

Doing things that break up the day-to-day can become long-lasting memories. Think about the things you remember fondly from childhood… There are probably many fun family bonding ideas in there that you haven’t thought of or tried yet! Who knows, carrying on some special like that could become a family tradition.

Check out our School Holiday Activities Guide: 24 school holiday activities for indoors, outdoors, adventures and quiet time! Find it here.

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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

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 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!

 

 

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20 Must-Do’s These School Holidays

School holidays can be fun, but by all accounts, the best way to ensure the school holidays don’t drive everyone crazy by the end is to have a plan!

It can be particularly challenging for working families who can’t get time off over the holidays and may not have a support network for taking care of their child/ren, however there are many school holiday programs that offer fantastic experiences for children.

To help make these school holidays easy and enjoyable, we’ve compiled a list of 20 things to do over the break – we’ve split them into four categories to make it even easier: INSIDE, OUTSIDE, ADVENTURE and QUIET TIME. Best of all, most of our suggestions won’t break the bank.

INSIDE

  1. Make something yummy to eat – sweet cupcakes or savoury pizza
  2. Get dressed up and dance to music or role play
  3. Art and craft – paper, glue, pencils, feathers, wool etc. Self portraits can be fun!
  4. Build a fort/cubby under a table
  5. Do a room clean out and discover some forgotten toys

OUTSIDE

  1. Have a picnic (real or pretend) in the backyard or at a nearby park or beach
  2. Fly a kite (learn how to make a DIY kite here)
  3. Get gardening – weeding can be fun, or try planting some herbs
  4. Create a scavenger hunt – Kidspot has a great nature treasure hunt list
  5. Play ball

ADVENTURE

  1. Visit the zoo
  2. Head to the library (you can sign up and take books home or just check it out)
  3. Catch a train or bus (the destination can be a park, cafe, beach – anywhere!)
  4. Visit a shopping centre (do some research as many have great free activities!)
  5. Go for a nature walk and try to spot some wildlife

QUIET TIME

  1. Get comfy and do some reading
  2. Play a card game (snap or go fish with playing cards, or Uno or memory)
  3. Watch a movie – an old favourite or something new
  4. Tackle a jigsaw puzzle
  5. Play a boardgame

 

Hopefully our school holiday activities list comes in handy for a quick reference guide these school holidays! You could even write the activities down and get children to pick one out of a hat or container when the “I’m bored” begins!

If you do find that everyone needs to relax a little, we always recommend some quiet deep breathing in a quiet place – get started with basic mediation with children with our tips here.

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Making the Most of the Holidays

Sometimes it can be a challenge to keep children busy during holidays. So, we have written a list of a few ideas to help you get the children away from the devices and engage them in creative and exciting activities.

Craft

Craft is always a winner! NAIDOC week this year will be celebrated from the 5th-12th of July with a theme – ‘We all Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate’. It is a great opportunity for all of us to learn more and highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ strong spiritual and cultural connection to land and sea. We encourage all Australians, young and old, to embrace the 2015 National NAIDOC theme and celebrate it with children.

For craft activities you can use general recycled  items like magazines, paper cereal boxes or natural materials.

We like these NAIDOC week craft activities and ideas:

http://www.goldencarers.com/calendar/naidoc-week-activities/65/

https://www.pinterest.com/greenwoodearly/naidoc-week-for-kids/

http://www.teaching.com.au/activities?category=naidoc-week

Winter is also another great topic to incorporate into your classrooms and centres. There are a lot of sites out there with winter activities suggestions so here are a few of our favorites:

http://handsonaswegrow.com/32-snow-theme-activities-kids/

https://www.pinterest.com/debchitwood/kids-winter-activities/

Baking

Baking is always exciting for children of all ages. Make some simple scones, biscuits or cupcakes and any child will be happy. Make sure they get to ice and decorate, roll, beat and shape the dough thus, increasing their vocabulary and their independence.

Write a letter and post it

Everyone loves receiving mail in the post. So design, color in and write a card to a loved one, a cousin, an aunty or a friend. Walk to the post office, buy a stamp and send it. You could also send yourself a fun letter and see how long it takes to arrive. This could be a great excursion for your children at your centre. Ask your post office for a behind-the-scenes tour of the post office for extra interaction and excitement.

Make mud pies and collect leaves

Getting into nature and exploring the messiness of it all is what childhoods are made of. Make mud pies, use sticks and leaves as candles and host your own backyard party. Collect leaves, sticks or flowers to use for a craft project. Use two large books as a flower press and use the flowers for cards or mementos. There is a lot of craft and fun in your yard if you look carefully.

Puzzles and games

Drag out some old family favorites or, make up your own game. Design and colour in some cardboard cards to play matching cards or go-fish. Something easy to begin with then you can build it up to play a more intricate game.

Catch a train to somewhere or nowhere

This is a fun way to see some our your city or your local area. Set aside a morning or afternoon to hop on a train and get your children to be the navigator for the day. Hop off the train perhaps one or two stops from your usual suburb and explore the shops or parks of that area. Depending on where you are living the city is always an exciting place for a little ones. Visit a museum, a new café, a cobble stone street or a skate park. The options are endless and the fun part is exploring your hometown together. This is a great excursion for a small group of older children; you could incorporate the theme of money and math’s. Buying a train ticket, a drink from a café, counting the train stops or counting the shops on a strip

There are many great ideas, and not all of them need to be expensive or difficult. Children will remember these moments of pure fun

For more school holiday ideas visit these great websites

http://www.kidspot.com.au/SchoolHolidayZone/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw-tSrBRCk8bzDiO__gbwBEiQAk-D31d8rTJN4oTXKM36WrDQj3wFgTcV0Sf-2-_xOUS5XvD8aAj-g8P8HA

http://beafunmum.com/2011/06/100-school-holiday-activity-ideas/

http://theimaginationtree.com

 

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