Keeping our children engaged during the school holidays

School holidays are here again! And as parents, one of the top questions on our minds is - How to keep the children engaged during school holidays so that they are happy and learning? 

We want to make sure that our kids are engaged during a long school holiday, but with working from home, managing the house and errands to run, we need to get creative! 

To give you a bit of help, here are Star Papaya’s top 6 tried and tested tips on keeping your little ones engaged at home, without turning the TV on! 

Tip 1: Fuel their imaginations
A kid’s best friend is their imagination! ⁣⁣

Give their imagination some fuel, introduce stories and discuss the characters with them to bring the stories to life. Help them find props to play out the stories with imaginary friends - a home-made tent, some pots and pans, paper boats in a bowl of blue water or an imaginary train made by dining chairs and sofas! Ask questions to help put themselves in the shoes of the characters. Would the bears like to invite Goldilocks back for tea? Will she bring some cake to apologise for running away earlier? What would you do if you were Goldilocks? Or the little bear? A few mins of ‘set up’ time and they’ll be on their way to a beautiful imaginary world. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣Suggested activity: Frozen Unicorns

Frozen Unicorns is a fun activity that’s sure to keep children engaged for hours. Freeze your child’s favourite characters - unicorns, dinos, animals, fishies - in a bowl. Add some food colour or glitter to the water to make it even more fun. Set up the frozen chunk in a tray, and let them play! Some prompts - ask them to ‘rescue’ their friends, take them for a swim, build an island for the friends.... and let their imaginations run wild! ⁣⁣

Tip 2: Sensory Play

Our little ones really lose themselves in sensory activities, especially ones that make a mess! Allow them the space to have some sensory fun either on your balcony, bathroom floor, kitchen floor or with some water-proof sheets in the living room. It will require some clean up, but also a couple hours of independent play! ⁣

⁣We love activities that involve colour, water, and safe edible materials. Sometimes a couple of buckets and a few utensils buy us an hour or more!⁣

⁣Suggested activity: Water bead treats⁣

⁣Next time you make orange juice, save the orange skin for some play. Water beads + Orange cups = hours of fun! Counting, sorting, ice-cream making - kids really enjoy it. Add on an ice-cream scooper, freeze the orange cup ice-creams... frozen water beads disintegrate into beautiful rainbow crystals when mixed with water. Guaranteed hours of creative sensory play! ⁣

Tip 3: Themed play dates

 

⁣When imaginary friends need a break, real-life friends step in! We love having little friends over and find that a little planning goes a long way in keeping the playdates peaceful and independent! Some of our kids’ favourites include tent “sleepovers”, afternoon teas, and pretend beach holidays. Lego building, pretend train rides and art projects are also good ice breakers when the friends are new! And if you have the space and appetite for a little mess, then sensory activities are a definite hit on play dates. ⁣

Tip 4: Give them their fill of attention early in the day

Our little ones are braver explorers when they’ve had their fill of our love. Forget the world for some time early in the morning to give them your undivided attention, it really goes a long way in them being happy and independent for the rest of the day! ⁣

Tip 5: They can be our little helpers, making them feel responsible & engaged in daily activities⁣

⁣Ask for your little one’s help with everyday tasks as much as you can. Top up your attention throughout the day by actively asking them to help, either it’s setting the table at lunch, or putting the dishes into the sink, or just giving you a 10 second shoulder massage. ⁣

Make them feel involved in keeping the day organised and positive. This gives them a wonderful sense of responsibility and control over the day, keeping them happy and engaged. ⁣

Tip 6: Hours of imaginative fun with Story Play

A COVID-19 lockdown idea, the Star Papaya StoryBox is designed for hours of imaginative and independent play for your little one. Spend a few minutes setting them up, and then watch them dive into a world of stories.

Effortless for parents, put together thoughtfully for little ones to play and learn, our StoryBoxes bring favourite stories to life in creative and fun ways. We’ve spent many relaxed mornings and afternoons while our kids busy themselves with the world of #storyplay

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