20 lockdown-friendly activities to help you survive this half term

Are these half-term holidays really going to be any different from every other day this year?

Are we all going to be tearing our hair out and reaching for the ‘special occasion’ cupboard by the end of each day – again? Is life starting to feel like one long episode of déjà vu?

For the sake of sanity, it’s probably best to take some holiday days between yourselves (if you can) and break up the monotony by enjoying some family activities and having some fun, without the additional stress of work to add to the crazy. Even if it's half a day here and there to carve out some meaningful time together, it will make a world of difference to your overall wellbeing as a family.

But thinking of beneficial ‘stuff’ to fill a morning or an afternoon, when we are all trapped inside is not always the easiest of tasks, especially when you are juggling the hell out of life as it is. So, without further ado, here are a whole load of ideas to take the edge off the week.

Getting Messy

1. Recycle it – big box toy base

Let’s face it, with the new online shopping addiction, the boxes are piling up, and kids love cardboard boxes more than the stupidly expensive stuff that came in them. So create a designer dwelling, a lego base, or even a sprawling estate for some favourite toys. I’m a fan of papier-maché, made with flour, water and old magazines or newspapers. Giving your fancy architecture a good all-over layer of papier-maché will make it stronger and look less like cardboard. Once dry, the kids can use paints, ‘wallpaper’ and fabric scraps to decorate and furnish their creations.

2. Paint a masterpiece

Get inspired by a famous artist by picking one out and learning about them and their work. Then try making a masterpiece or two in their style, using up some of those boxes as canvases. The more adventurous might go for Pollock or Bansky, the more refined might prefer a renaissance master. Whoever you choose, get the whole family involved if you can; push back the furniture, cover the floors and get arty.

Check out the inspiring Background Bob (@background_bob) for inspiration and tips for painting onto cardboard – I'm in awe of this kid.

3. Easy arty option

There are pre-packaged options if you are short on time. Try Lots of Lovely Art – where everything comes to you in one handy box. It is really beautifully curated and put together, and a real treat to get through the letterbox.

4. Sculpt it

3D modelling is educational and entertaining. Find some famous or thought-provoking sculptures online and make some simple ‘claydough’ to get the sculpting started. Below is a claydough recipe made with basics that you probably have at home in the cupboards. You can make different colours, add scents with essential oils, or keep it plain and simple. You can even add things like twigs and leaves from the garden, or colourful tidbits from the recycling bin – the zanier the better!

Basic Claydough Recipe

Makes 1 large egg-sized ball – 10 mins prep time

You will need

a??8 tbsp all-purpose flour

a??2 tbsp salt

a??60 ml warm water

a??Food colouring (a few drops)

a??1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1.Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.

2.In a separate jug/cup, mix the water, food colouring and oil.

3.Pour the wet mix into the dry mix and gently combine with a spoon.

4.Sprinkle a little flour onto a clean work surface and turn out the mixture.

5.Knead it all together to form a smooth, pliable dough.

6.Can be stored in the fridge for several days (in an airtight container).

5. Redecorate

My kids are always bugging me about decorating their rooms, and we always have leftover paint lying around – so let them go for it, I say. It’s a great way for them to actually tidy their rooms as well, because they have to clear it to paint it. If you are feeling more ambitious, make a plan for a family room and do it together. Moving furniture around also changes up the monotony of the same four walls we’ve all been staring at. If it's a disaster, it can always be repainted – no one is coming around to visit anyway – so it’s a win-win!

Tip: Start a Pinterest board that everyone can add to as they get their design juices flowing. Or go through old magazines lying around the house and make a non-virtual (gasp!) pinboard.

Getting Active in lockdown

6. Orienteering

We have all been going to the local park and treading the same paths, so let’s go off-piste a bit. Get a map of the park from the internet and some tracing paper, print the map out and big as you can, and have a look over it to see where you’ve been and what you’ve seen. Any hidden nooks you haven’t explored yet?

Decide on the perfect place for a winter picnic and get the kids to trace the map and create their own adventure trail leading to the picnic spot. You can even add some basic N, S, E, W directional skills and use a traditional compass or compass app.

7. Family workouts

We have a husband and wife team that do Pilates and family fitness workouts with us via Zoom. They are both very patient with the different ages, fitness levels – and our bickering! It’s also a great way to kill an hour and get some exercise in. The Pilates has been great for showing the teenagers new breathing and stretching techniques and takes them away from the stresses of online schooling. It’s liberating to sweat it out and get rid of some excess energy, too.

You’ll find our fitness superstars here:

https://lauradanielspt.co.uk/

https://www.willdanielshealthcoach.com/

8. Nerf target assault course

Create targets on the back of boxes, and number them with points. Make as many as you like – we have spray paint in the house, which is awesome for ‘getting your Banksy on’ too. (Safety check: make sure spray paints are non-toxic and always give age-appropriate supervision.) When your targets are complete, set them out in any safe outdoor space, or just around the house if all else fails. Get camo’d up and kitted out with nerf paraphernalia. Set a run time, then take turns keeping score and running the target course. Repeat until you all get bored enough to start looking for the missing darts.

9. Go on a treasure hunt

Check out some techy GPS-based treasure hunts at Geocaching. Simply register, pop in your location and see what adventures are going on near you.

10. Explore the city with a walking tour

As long as you stick to any local lockdown guidelines, you could take advantage of the quiet streets and explore your town or city a bit while no one is around. Check out GPSmyCity: Self-Guided Walking Tours and pick a route. Once you download the app you can listen to all the facts about where you are. Remember to wrap-up warm and stay safe.

Getting Guilt-Free Screen Time

As much as we want them to be off screens, especially given all their online schooling, the reality is, we often need that golden moment of quiet to meet a deadline, join a zoom meeting - or even just to go to the loo in peace. To change it up for half-term, here are some of what we call ‘guilt-free’ recommendations...

11. Curated content channel

For the younger ones, feel safe in the knowledge that all the content on Highbrow is educational and curated by parents specifically for their kids.

12. On-line storytelling

To kickstart the power of make-believe, try Fabled. This creatively clever website encourages storytelling – there’s a really great book available, too.

Have interactive zoom catch-ups

As much as we are all over the zoom thing, and so over online quizzes, we have F.F.F. (aka forced family fun) every two weeks. We use this time to set competition-style challenges with family and friends, so we interact and learn rather than just watching the screen.

For older family members...

13. Masterchef dessert edition

Each household picks a dessert to make and then they have one hour to make it and present it back to the group. We were super-impressed with the creative talents of the grandparents.

14. Clay-ictionary

Each household comes to the party armed with clay. The host then sends a WhatsApp message to one of the teams to give them a themed object to sculpt. The rest of the group has to guess what it is – the team that guesses correctly gets a point, as does the sculptor’s team. Even the teenagers enjoy this one.

For the younger ones...

15. Class party

If, like my son, your kids are not seeing their peers, utilise that dreaded WhatsApp parents group and arrange a Zoom party with some classmates. Online entertainment package prices vary from ￡100 to ￡300 for an hour or so, depending on whether you want kits sent out, or just some good old-fashioned fun. You can split any costs with the other parents – and it’s well worth it for happy kids and an hour of peace.

The Giggle Company is perfect for the younger ones and has been tried and tested by a friend.

Sharky & George caters for slightly older kids – they even have a virtual escape room.

Getting Mindful

16. Boredom dice – activities

Use a dice template and print it out as big as you can. Now sit down with the kids and think of six of the most awesome things they can do on their own and how much time to spend on it. Write each thing on one side of the dice, until you have filled out all six.

Encourage the kids to come up with their own ideas and choose things that would normally be a treat. This will help them to feel empowered and in control of their quality alone time. They might like to watch a favourite movie from start to finish, or enjoy an uninterrupted hour on a favourite computer game. (Staying up late is not one I’d advise, though, as this hinders you the next day and messes with your own plans for the evening) So curate as needed, to make sure all the activities are in the realms of sanity.

Once all six are decided, you can write/draw them on the die printout and assemble it ready for rolling. Now, whenever you really need a break, just bring out the boredom dice.

17. Walking maps

Our middle child goes for a walk every day without fail, to calm her head. She even came up with a fun way to mix up her daily walks and explore our local area a bit more. Go into Citymapper and plot your location and it will come up with circles to mark out areas, distances and walking times. Print it off and pick some routes to explore. We numbered ours, and roll a dice to pick the route for the day.

18. I am Squarehead – books & activity packs

This super-cute set of I am Squarehead books helps kids to deal with the pressures and issues that they sometimes think their parents won’t understand. The creators have also put together some awesome activity packs for schools, which are free if you buy the book set. The offer is open to parents at the moment, and well worth taking advantage of.

They have also written a really useful mindfulness pack – again, initially for schools. It's super informative and brimming with lots of simple things you can do as a family. They have added this to the downloads when you buy the set of books and I highly recommend printing it out and going through it as a family. It’s written for kids, so gets straight to the point and cuts out all that sometimes overly complex jargon.

19. Get gardening in lockdown

Gardening is known for calming the mind and for imparting a sense of achievement and responsibility. Head to B&Q and get some compost, plants and anything else you need to get potting! if you have a garden, get outside, now is the time to pull up any weeds, get the soil turned - nice dirty work. It's not the easiest time to grow things due to the cold, but you can grow Lily bulbs, or try some hardy broad beans.

If you don't have a garden, create an indoor plant haven and breathe in all the benefits, you can pick any really. We like Cheese plants as they are easy to maintain, but any work really. Pick a pot, you can find one that can be decorated if you like. Repotting the plants, watering them and creating a care plan is a great sense of responsibility for kids.

We love these monthly kits from Mud & Bloom for helping younger kids to learn all about plants and the likes.

20. Paint by numbers

This is definitely more mindful than messy, and more puzzle than arty. It's a nice combo, super relaxing, and you can get them for most ages now – even the youngest can give it a go. It might not turn out as it should, but it's more about the process than the finished product anyway. Pop on some calming music, gather around the table and detox from screens.