With Easter just around the corner, and the Easter holidays threatening to bring the kids home from school, you might be looking for some ideas to keep them occupied. There are plenty of things to keep them going until the Easter Bunny arrives. Arts and crafts, as well as more physical activities, can give them great entertainment as well as giving them a bit of a workout before the chocolate starts. We give you the best of the best ideas to try this Easter break.
Easter themed assault course – If you have a garden, you can set up your garden furniture, and some other strategically placed items for an assault course. Each child gets three goes to complete the course in the fastest time they can. Once they have their personal best, you can all head back inside to create little certificates to record the results. Assault courses can be made from garden furniture to climb under, washing line poles to run around, and footballs to kick at the end. Other things like bean bags and skittles can make good markers.
Make an Easter tree – This is a great arty, crafty activity for you and the children. Take a lovely long stroll through the woods, and each find your own fallen twigs to create a tree with. Ideally they will be thirty to forty centimetres long. Use some air drying clay to stick them into and wait for it to dry. While you are waiting, you can begin making some ornaments and decorations. You will need some ribbon or string to hang them by. Alternatively, have a look online for Gisela Graham Easter decorations that you can buy.
Easter Egg Hunt – This is one of the most popular Easter traditions for kids to do at Easter time. You can use chocolate eggs, or buy ornamental ones. You can even make them if you hard boil eggs from the supermarket. Typically, eggs are hidden around the garden, and the children take a basket each to find them. This is even a great activity for tiny tots to get involved in and supports their gross motor skill development. As the kids are rummaging around the garden, it may be best to supervise them. For older kids, you can expand the Easter egg hunt into a treasure hunt, making use of the whole house. Leave clues to find the eggs, and the kids could still be going for a couple of hours. You needn’t use chocolate eggs as prizes but could maybe have the clues lead eventually to one non-food present.
Spring Walk – As Easter falls at a time of year where everything starts to bloom again, it may be fun to download a checklist of favourite springtime flowers and plants. You can then head out on a hike to check off everything on the list. The list could include insects, birds and wildlife. Young children may want to be able to check everything off, so check your walk route first to avoid disappointment.