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Fun activities to support children and young people during holidays.
We have compiled a list of helpful ideas related to:
Visual and tactile timetables
If visual timetables need revisiting, a break in the school schedule could be a good opportunity to reinforce their use.
You may need to start from the beginning, involving your child in as much of the process of designing them (pictures, images or photos), making them, and sharing in the responsibility of initiating their use throughout the day.
The advantage of reinvigorating use of visual or tactile calendars during holidays is that you are using fun activities to reinforce a new routine.
Introduction to using visual schedules
- The Why & How of Visual Schedules (YouTube video, PATINSProject)
- Getting your children into a routine - DIY Routine Board (YouTube, And then she said) - this video is a practical guide.
Learning through play
Use play to stimulate talk. The Communication Trust offers a range of resources to help you with that:
- Resources for parents - a wide range of resources for parents to help all children develop their speech and language skills.
- Summer talk - activities designed for holidays.
- Raa Raa the Noisy Lion - downloadable activities to do alongside the BBCs ‘Raa Raa Lion’.
Philosophy as play
Debates and discussions can be great fun. This IOE blog article is full of great ideas to stimulate lively conversation during lockdown:
Whole family play
A range of ideas for games and activities for children with disabilities:
- Fun things to try with disabled children (Family Lives website)
At-home experiment ideas for all ages and abilities:
- At-Home Resources for Kids (and their grownups) on KiwiCo website
Fun lockdown activities for all ages:
- 40 fun things to do with the kids in lockdown (Wales Online website)
Play and wellbeing
Playfulness and movement: BBC Bitesize have compiled some interesting ideas for increasing physical activity for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities:
- How physical activity can support children with special educational needs and disabilities at home (BBC website)
A glimpse into how play can be used therapeutically. This activity can be carried out with an adult trusted by the child, to help understand loss and bereavement:
- Healing Heart Play Therapy Activity (YouTube, Pam Dyson)
Resources
- San Diego Zoo website - amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour!
- Yellowstone virtual tour (National Park Service website)
- Access Mars website - explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover.
- 40+ Best Indoor Activities (Busy Toddler website)
- SwitchZoo website - play games and learn all about animals
- PBS Kids website - play with favourite show characters and learn too.
- Louvre online tour (Louvre website) - travel to Paris, France, to see amazing works of art at The Louvre with this virtual field trip
- Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China (The China Guide website) - beautiful and makes history come to life.