Being cooped up at home with nowhere to go during the long school holidays can make a child fidgety. So, create an outlet for them with these 8 home-friendly activities to burn off their extra energy, develop cognitive skills and increase family-bonding time during the upcoming school break.

1. Gardening Project

Children are innately curious, especially with Mother Nature and her wonders. You can gauge your children’s interest in plants by introducing them to a child-friendly documentary on the topic of gardening. If they respond well, you can then start a mini gardening project with them by purchasing an affordable starter kit at local online retailers like Super Farmers. They can make a growth chart (or a scrapbook), research on the specific plant’s needs and even taste the edible produce at the end of the holiday season!

2. Dessert-Making

What’s sweet and icy that’ll make every child drool? Ice-cream! Instead of just feeding your children store-bought ice cream, teach them how they can make a healthier substitute with the Thermos® Food Jar. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Pre-cool a Food Jar by adding small ice cubes and salt.
Step 2: Close the lid tightly before giving it a good shake.
Step 3: Let it sit for 1 minute.
Step 4: Open the Food Jar and place the wrapped bag with the ice-cream mixture in it.
Step 5: Close the lid and give it a good shake.
Step 6: Set it aside for 50 minutes, before serving! 

Find your ice cream recipe mixtures here!

3. Stacking up a blanket fort

What’s better than building a blanket fort and letting your children’s imagination run wild? YOU playing a part in their imaginary world! Build a steady blanket fort with your children in the afternoon and be prepared for an amazing evening adventure led by your children’s creativity. Remember to prepare some snacks and food just in case!

4. Build a shoebox projector

Photo Credit: bitrebels.com

Want to have a movie marathon screening with your children? Don’t overwork their eyes by making them watch via a small laptop or mobile screen. Instead, build a shoebox projector with your children that allows the whole family to watch the projected show on a wider sheet of fabric or wall. You can even double it up with a blanket fort to settle in on an even cosier evening. Check it out here.

5. Helping out with rewards

A reward system works best with children, especially when the returns are simple and easily obtainable (like a toy!). Coupled with Christmas Day, get your children to work for their holiday presents! You can create a graph of simple household chores with an allocated amount of points. The points obtained can then be exchanged for a set list of presents. This eases the parent’s household chores to-do list while educating your children to be more independent and know how things work around the house.

6. Origami fun

Origami is such a versatile activity to explore with your children. You can keep it simple by attempting as many origami patterns as you can, or keep it to a theme like making an origami zoo filled with different paper animals. Alternatively, you can even create aeroplanes and challenge your children to see whose paper planes can glide the farthest in the living room. Or how about trying paper accessories like these colourful paper bracelets! Tip: go green by opting for recycled paper such as used worksheets and newspaper for the origami!

7. Indoor Treasure Hunt

Hide a few objects in your home and get your children to find the items described on the list with hints included. The reason why an indoor treasure hunt works is because it encourages your children to move about the house, sweating it out and burning off excess energy. Additionally, it improves their problem-solving skills, teamwork and cognitive abilities. Just remember to prepare drinks in their Thermos® Straw Bottles as a treasure hunt starter kit before setting them out on their adventure!

8. Exercising face-off

Make exercising a fun challenge for your children! Incorporate easy tasks like hula-hooping, skipping of ropes and jumping jacks as part of the ‘obstacles’. Get them to challenge each other or with you, and give the winner the rights to decide on what to eat for snack time. This way, you can keep them healthy and fit while burning off their excess energy. Perfect!