Spring is finally here, and with another school holiday upon us, it’s time to start thinking about how to entertain the kids. Planning fun things to do every day – without breaking the bank – isn’t easy. And finding educational activities that kids will enjoy can be tricky, too.
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While most parents agree that kids should take a break from study during the holidays, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that continued learning benefits attainment. And thankfully, there are lots of ways you can do this while still having fun.
Here are some ideas for fun educational activities that will keep kids’ brains busy throughout spring and beyond!
Enter a Challenge
Educational competitions are a great way to keep kids’ minds active, and the annual DoodleLearning Spring Challenge – which runs from 1st to 30th April – rewards learning with prizes!
Using Discovery Education’s award-winning DoodleMaths and DoodleEnglish apps, this popular Challenge encourages kids to practice maths and English for just a few minutes each day. Even better, they can earn pin badges and certificates by ‘Doodling’ for 7 days in a row.
So kids can take part in the Challenge, Discovery Education is giving parents a free 2-week trial of DoodleMaths and DoodleEnglish from the 18th March to 30th April 2024. Parents can sign up at: doodlelearning.com/challenge-promotion using the code: 2WKS_SPRING.
Filled with fun exercises, interactive numeracy games and unique rewards, DoodleMaths ensures that learning is always fresh and engaging, while DoodleEnglish helps kids explore spelling, punctuation and grammar. Both apps can be used offline and on tablets, phones, laptops and desktops, so children can learn anytime, anywhere.
Using the latest adaptive technology, the apps create every child a personalised learning experience, helping to boost their ability. Keeping kids motivated and curious, The DoodleLearning Spring Challenge is a great way to promote healthy learning habits and keep them busy, too!
Try Immersive Learning
Holiday screentime battles are every parent’s bugbear, but time spent online can be a positive thing, if it ignites children’s curiosity and encourages them to investigate the world around them.
One of the best tech tools for connecting kids to curiosity is Augmented Reality (AR), which superimposes virtual images onto our view of the real world. AR works on mobile devices with an app, making it super-easy to set up and intuitive for kids to use.
Discovery Education’s free Sandbox AR app lets kids build their own virtual worlds in history, science, the natural world and more. So, instead of hearing or reading about these worlds, kids can see, touch and walk around them. Learning is lifted off the page and brought to life in spectacular 3D!
From exploring animal habitats and meeting ancient Greek Gods, to walking with dinosaurs and visiting the Pyramids of Egypt, Sandbox AR opens kids’ minds by providing them with tools to create their own journey through time and space.
When it comes to creating exciting learning experiences and educational activities, immersive technology is hard to beat. And when the weather lets you down, AR brings the outside in!
Connect With Nature
As spring gets underway, there are lots of changes happening all around us. And creating a nature journal is a great way to record these and keep kids occupied during the school holidays.
Journaling is a fun project for kids. It helps them develop writing skills, stretches their creativity and boosts their observation skills. Plus, it’s something that you can do together as a family.
Start by taking a walk and taking notes and pictures of what you see. How are the trees changing? Which flowers and plants are growing? What time does the sun rise and set? Which sounds can you hear?
Work together to create a digital scrapbook, to record your nature discoveries. Perhaps you might focus on a particular area of nature, which excites and interests your child. The RSPB’s Wild Challenge has lots of great ideas for extending nature learning, including free outdoor activities.
Experiment With Science
It’s no secret that kids love getting hands-on with science, but did you know that it’s easy to conduct exciting science experiments at home?
With just a few household items, you can create simple – and super safe! – science experiments that give children their very own lightbulb moment. Here are three fun ideas for scientific educational activities:
- Sticky Ice –Try lifting an ice cube with a piece of string, then see how adding salt can help. Salt melts the ice and lowers its freezing point, which absorbs heat from the water around it and makes water cold enough to re-freeze around the string. Ta-dah!
- Invisible Ink – Write a secret message using a cotton bud dipped in lemon juice and water. When the message dries, it will be invisible. Hold it close to a torch, and heat will oxidise the lemon juice to make it reappear!
- Magic Milk – Turn a dish of milk into a colourful, swirling rainbow by adding drops of food colouring, before stirring with a soapy cotton bud. The chemical reaction makes molecules move, transforming the milk into an explosion of colour!
Need more inspiration? The Wonderseekers Charity has a whole host of games and activities, investigating habitats, sounds, electricity and more.
We hope these ideas will help you to keep your little ones entertained and educated this spring. Have fun!
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