5 Unique Activities For Kids For Amusement And Education

It isn’t easy to keep kids entertained indoors during prolonged spells of inclement weather, or indeed even in the current climate of Covid-19 lockdown. 

While many parents are homeschooling their children they also need recreation away from their education but it can be difficult to come up with new and interesting ways in which to keep kids entertained and stimulated.

Kids’ attention span can be notoriously short-lived, drifting from one activity to another quickly if one doesn’t captivate their interest long enough for them to immerse themselves in whatever activity they are doing. However here’s five unique activities to keep kids entertained you might not have thought of that combine fun and education!

ARTS & CRAFTS ACTIVITIES

Most kids enjoy getting messy with paints, glues, glitter, ribbons and other crafty material and while arts and crafts might not be considered a unique activity given its’ huge popularity with children there is no limit to what can be created.

Arts and crafts’ uniqueness is only limited by the child’s imagination and from simple creations to much more elaborate designs, arts and crafts activities can help while away many hours as children plan, discuss and implement their creations from scratch.

Why not make fun and funky crayons for example? Any crayon tub is bound to have a few broken or blunt crayons laying around and new life can be breathed into those long-forgotten and unused wax sticks quickly and easily.

Collect a few old crayons and remove the paper from them. Then break them up into smaller pieces and place into a silicone mould such as those used for baking cupcakes. It doesn’t matter if the same colour is used or multiple colours for a bit of adventure. 

Then, pop the mould into a warm oven until the wax has melted and allow to cool and harden. Popping the mould into a refrigerator can speed up the cooling process. Once the wax has fully hardened, pop the new crayon out of the mould and voila! 

THE SCIENCE OF WALKING WATER

Amaze the kids with a fascinating experiment that will captivate their attention and show how water can ‘walk’ from one receptacle to another.

Take three clear jars and some lengths of kitchen paper towels. Pour some water into two of the three jars and add some fun food colourings for added effect. 

Then take a length of kitchen paper towel and feed the paper from the empty jar to one of the filled jars. Add a second length in the same way to the other jar and then wait for the magic to happen!

The capillary action of the water as it is absorbed by the paper gives the effect of the liquid walking up the paper and into the empty jar where it is deposited. The two colours mix together until all three jars hold the same amount of liquid. The kids can guess on the outcome and will watch with amazement until they find out if they were right.

HAVE FUN WITH TAPE

If you have some spare tape lying around, you can use it to devise some fun games for the kids that can teach shapes, numbers and letters.

Duct tape or parcel tape is ideal and using the tape creates a series of different shapes, numbers and letters; then have the kids select their favourite as a starting point. From here, issue the kids with instructions on how to get to the next destination on their journey.

This can be done by simply calling out the instructions at random, or making ‘raffles’ where shapes and instructions are pulled out of a bag. In one bag have all the various destinations to be visited and in another the range of instructions to be carried out. For example, ‘hop’ to the square; ‘ walk backwards to the circle’ or whatever instructions can be thought of. 

Not only is this a great way to keep kids active, but it can help train them in shapes, numeracy and learning the alphabet.

LEARN TO DJ

Teach kids about music by helping them to learn to DJ and you never know, you could just be helping the next David Guetta take their first tentative steps towards a lucrative career. Teaching kids the basics of learning to be a DJ can also provide the parents with some life skills, especially when it comes to parties!

Using a DJ controller, children can learn concepts needed to enjoy music at a creative level, learn about music beats and how different beats can be mixed together seamlessly so the music flows from one track to the next without interruption. Both kids and adults can have hours of fun learning the intricacies of how to DJ.

DJ controllers can be found online and are usable as an introduction, but if the children - or adults - enjoy taking their music to a new level then consider buying a DJ controller. Of course, there are many makes and specifications aimed at different skill levels and it is understandable to be unsure which one to buy for your needs. Help is at hand though with this in-depth DJ controllers compilation to help you decide on the most suitable.

SCAVENGER HUNT

Children love scavenger hunts and they can be a great way to help develop kids’ problem solving skills while having fun at the same time.

Using a variety of items around the house, both personal and impersonal items, and placing clues in each room the children can spend time solving each of the clues and progressing along the hunt to the end where their treasure awaits. Each stop in the hunt can reward the hunters with a piece of a puzzle to be solved at the end which can give a clue to where the treasure is ‘buried’.

Clues can be riddles to help develop lateral thinking, or provide problems to be solved before they can move along and depending on the child’s development can be tailored to fit their abilities and existing level of education without being too hard or too easy. 

Of course, there are many different ways and games in which to keep children entertained indoors while also keeping them educated; these are just a few ideas to help you out and you’re sure to think of more ideas or ways to adapt these ones to ensure your kids have the best time indoors.

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If you would like more information about our DJ courses for kids in London, Manchester, Birmingham or Oxford UK just contact us!