6 Ideas to Try Right Now
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#1·20–30 min
Cardboard Box City
🛒Materials: Cardboard boxes, markers
- 1Collect cereal boxes and tissue boxes.
- 2Draw windows and doors on them.
- 3Arrange them to build a mini city.
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#2·5–10 min
Tape Maze on the Floor
🛒Materials: Painter's tape
- 1Use tape to create a maze on the floor.
- 2Challenge your child to walk only on the tape lines.
- 3Add 'obstacles' like pillows to jump over.
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Use a timer to make it a challenge!
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#3·15 min
Cloud Dough (2 ingredients)
🛒Materials: Flour, baby oil
- 1Mix 8 parts flour with 1 part baby oil.
- 2Let your child knead and shape it.
- 3Add small toys for extra play.
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It smells amazing and cleans up easily.
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#4·20 min
Kitchen Chemistry: Slime
🛒Materials: PVA glue, baking soda, contact lens solution
- 1Pour a full bottle of PVA glue into a bowl.
- 2Mix in 1 tsp baking soda.
- 3Add contact lens solution 1 tbsp at a time, kneading until it comes together.
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#5·30 min
Design a Business: Lemonade Stand Plan
🛒Materials: Paper, pencil
- 1Name your business and design a logo.
- 2List your product, price, and costs.
- 3Calculate: how many cups to sell to make a £5 profit?
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Real maths with a purpose — far more engaging than worksheets.
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#6·30–45 min
Write and Illustrate a Mini Book
🛒Materials: 5 sheets of paper, stapler or string, pencils
- 1Fold 5 sheets of paper in half and staple along the fold.
- 2Page 1: title and author's name (them!).
- 3Write and illustrate one scene per page — 4 pages of story.
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Ask: 'What's the twist at the end?' — 7–8 year olds love a plot twist.
