Enrichment ideas for weekends and holidays

If you are ever at a loss for something to do, please consider the following ideas to do with your children.  You don’t have to bring in the results of your fun and learning – we are interested of course – but there are NO expectations from us.  The tasks are loosely organised into learning behaviours.  If you have any ideas for activities or websites we could add then please email in to the admin office – this will then help all our families with new, exciting ideas.

The following websites are useful for enriched learning too:

Woodland ideas  http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/

Woodland ideas http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/blogs/nature-detectives-blog/2015/12/outdoor-winter-activities/

Nature ideas  https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/

Healthy / Sporty ideas  http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/project/get-inspired/

Nature / History  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/for-families

Woodland ideas  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newforest

History ideas  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/pick-of-season/things-to-do-this-spring/

Local visits  http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186296-Activities-Hampshire_England.html

Local visits  http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/things-to-do

Local visits  http://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/southeast-england/hampshire/things-to-do

Local visits  http://www.visitbritain.com/en/Things-to-do/

Visual and Spatial

• Choose an everyday object and find as many different uses for it as you can
• Draw a picture of your house from the outside.  How have houses changed over the centuries?
• Find some packaging that catches your eye.  Brainstorm why it is so effective
• If your family had to wear a uniform, what would it be like?
• Create your ideal bedroom
• Draw a picture of a member of your family and write words to describe them around the edge
• Draw a picture of the most beautiful thing in your home
• What would it be like if humans had wheels instead of feet?  What would the advantages/disadvantages be?
• What can you invent using just a toilet roll, white paper, felt tips, scissors and glue?  Take a picture or bring it in to show
• Make a collage using an old magazine
• Find a copy of a famous picture that you like.  Write down why you like it, or draw a copy of the picture
• Make a bird’s eye view map of your home

Interpersonal

• How many ‘thank-you’s’ can you collect in a week
• Find out the similarities and differences between your experience of school and that of your parents and/or grandparents
• Play a board game with your family
• Share a photo album; choose your favourite photo to bring to school
• Find out what the favourite books are of all the people in your family
• With an adult, write down 10 ways to make someone smile.  Practice them on each other throughout the week.  How many smiles did you get?
• Teach someone in your family how to do something new.  Be patient and don’t give up!
• Do a chore for someone in your family every day for a week.  How does it make them feel?
• Share a book with someone in your family.  Find out what they felt about the story?  What do they think is going to happen next?

Linguistic

• Highlight as many adjectives/adverbs/verbs as you can from the front cover of a newspaper, magazine or your favourite book
• Share a good book with someone
• Watch the news and discuss the main items with someone
• Write a letter to someone
• Present in your own way, some ideas for low cost activities that children and adults can share
• Find out about the origins of 5 road names in your home town / village
• Find out 10 new facts about a country
• Read a newspaper or magazine article and tell somebody about it
• Write a limerick
• Watch an episode of your favourite TV programme.  Write a review of the episode for your local paper
• Choose a letter from the alphabet.  Make a dictionary page for your letter containing at least 5 words
• Write down the first names of everyone at home.  How many words can you make out of the letters?
• Take a banana and invent a fictional banana character.  Write a short story about his or her adventures
• Learn a poem off by heart
• Choose a picture from a newspaper or magazine and write a short story about it.  Read it to someone and ask them to tell you what they liked and what could be improved

Mathematical and Logical

• Enter a competition
• Set up a jigsaw puzzle that your family can complete with you
• Play a card game
• Make a graph to show the items recycled in your home for a week
• Identify 6 nets within packaging
• Create 10 anagrams about your favourite hobby
• Watch the traffic in your street for 5 minutes.  Count how many cars you see of each colour.  Present the results in an appropriate way (table, pictogram or graph)
• Write a list of everything you have eaten during one day in order.  Then re-write the list again in order of what you liked the most
• Complete a timetable for your Saturday – what were you doing for each hour of the day?
• Invent a new card game using a normal pack of cards.  What would be the rules?  How would you win?
• Pour some peas/raisins/beans into a jar and run a competition amongst your friends to guess the number using your estimation skills.  Count the number and work out how far out each person was using addition and subtraction
• Test a number of household objects and categorise them according to whether they float or sink
• Estimate how long it will take you and another person to do 5 different things (star jumps, write the alphabet etc).  Time each other and try to beat your score
• Learn how to play chess and play a game with someone

Naturalist

• Go for a nature walk and collect 5 different leaves
• Find the gardens in your town / village that contain gnomes.
• Find the garden in your town / village that contains the most flowers
• Record how many times you have saved some energy in your house
• Find two different trees near your house.  Draw a picture of each tree and compare them with a double bubble.  Can you find out what they are called?
• Measure 5 difference plants in your house, garden or local park.  Record the measurements in a table
• Make several rubbings of things from your garden.  Ask family members to guess what they are
• Press a wild flower for a couple of days.  Find out what it is called and make a detailed observational drawing of it
• Collect 7 flowers that show the 7 colours of the rainbow
• Go outside and look at the stars.  Identify some of them using a reference book
• Go for a walk with your family.  Collect 5 things on the way and use them to describe your walk to someone else
• Use a reference book to identify 5 different trees

Musical

• Listen to a new piece of music and draw what you feel and think about it
• Make a list of 10 of your favourite songs and say why you like them
• Make up a rhythm that fits a 4-metre pulse.  Now put words to the rhythm to make a playground chant
• Make up your own song about yourself and your friends
• Create your own dance routine to your favourite song.  Perform it to someone
• Find out about a composer.  Write down 10 facts about him/her
• Learn to sing or play a new song or piece of music.  Perform to an audience
• Sit in your house or garden for 5 minutes.  Make a list of everything you hear
• Listen to some birdsong.  What does it sound like?  Can you repeat it to someone else?

Kinaesthetic

• Participate in your weekly shopping by planning a healthy meal for your family and helping to get and prepare the items
• Make a smoothie for someone else
• Find the oldest and newest buildings on your estate/ in your town / village. What are the differences?
• Make a cake
• Make a healthy salad and try every item
• Invent a new warm up activity for PE.  It must have a theme and must stretch all the different parts of your body.  Can you write an instruction card for your teacher?
• Make up a new game that is based on one of the sports you do at school. Write down the rules so others can play
• Make a model using Lego or other modelling materials.  Take a picture or bring it in to show.