With several weeks of school holidays left its time to start planning activities to keep the kids occupied so as not to lose your sanity with the dreaded words "I'm bored" on repeat! Here I've compiled a list of fun activities that are also sustainable. I will be trying all of these things out on my three little ones too.
Julie is one of our Biome bloggers who generously offers her experiences to us all as we move through our sustainability journey. If you would like to become part of our Biome Blog program, just go to the Green Living Guide and contact Tracey for more information. In the meantime, let's here more from Julie....
School Holiday Green Activities
1. Treasure Hunt.
Make a treasure hunt in the garden. You could hunt for jewels, chocolate or best of all, objects that occur naturally. Make a list of easy clues like; find something white and fluffy (dandelion) or long, thin and brown (stick). Give them a little bucket or basket, make the list a long one, sit back and watch them hunt.
2. Night Watch.
Stay up late one night, get rugged up and go exploring. Take a torch or solar lamp and explore all the nooks and crannies in the yard, look under rocks and up in trees. Instead of sleeping, find out what goes on outside at night. Bonus - they will be super excited about staying up late!
3. Collect Seeds.
Go to the markets and buy an assortment of fresh organic fruit and veg. Pick items that have obvious seeds. Take them home and whilst eating them get the kids to collect the seeds. Get their little hands all slimy and teach them that they can plant these seeds and watch them grow.
4. Plant Seeds/sprouts.
If your seeds aren't ready, grab some organic seeds or sprouting seeds and get planting. Prepare a plot in the garden with good soil and let the kids do all the planting. Or another super easy way of watching seeds grown is through sprouts. You can purchase sprouting containers or just make your own. Put in some seeds, keep them moist and within a few days you will be able to eat them. It's super quick.
5.Encouraging Bugs to the garden.
Teach the kids the difference between good bugs and bad bugs when it comes to veggie gardens. Encourage more bugs to your garden, by making your garden bug friendly. You could plant more flowers, install a bug house or even install a native Australian bee hive (Aussies bees are stingless).
6. Nature walks.
One of my children's favourite green activities! Go exploring in the daytime. Get the kids to start being more mindful about the wonderful world around us. Talk about how things grow and how different things are important in our eco system. Get them to smell flowers and listen to the sounds of nature.
7. Baking/Cooking.
One sure way to get kids more interested in eating good food, is getting them to cook with it. Whip up some kid-friendly vegan desserts. You'll find these are usually bake free and taste delicious. Rising in popularity, there are plenty of recipes to choose from.
8. Flower Press.
Purchase a flower pressing kit, or simply make your own. Pick some flowers from the garden, or go to the local markets and purchase some. Get the kids to make pretty patterns and dry them.
9. Candle Making.
This one is probably for the older children and adults, but little kids can always watch. You can purchase 100% Australian bees wax from Queen B and they have premade kits to make your own. Not only is it a great experience to make your own, but I promise you will enjoy the end product too.
10. De Clutter.
Set a day (or maybe 2) and de clutter! This will not only teach your kids charity, it will also encourage mindfulness - next time we want something... do we actually need it? It will also get them playing with stuff they had forgotten they even had. You might find after you de clutter, your kids will be entertained for a couple of days playing with their old toys again.
11. Build a Book Corner.
Encourage reading whilst they are young. Help them enjoy reading by creating a book corner. Find a quiet corner of the house and fill it with cushions and soft things. Provide a few books and don't forget to climb in with them and read a book or two to them to get them started. And don't forget to enjoy every minute. Julie
