After a long year of home-schooling, keeping your family occupied this summer might seem like an impossible task. 

With the schools breaking up it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why we’ve listed our top five favourite summer activities, to inspire your planning and keep your family entertained. 

1. Go on an at-home safari

If your family likes getting out and about why not try an at home safari. This is something you can do even if you don’t have a lot of outside space.

Like on a proper safari trip, start by mapping out the wildlife you want to see. Instead of the ‘big five’, which typically includes lions and elephants, you choose five local species to search for. 

In the UK some of our wildlife includes animals like foxes, birds like robins or insects like earwigs.

For an added step, why not play safari bingo? Make a list of ten local creatures and assign three per person. Make sure that no one’s bingo combination is overlapping. When you’re out and about, cross each creature off as you see it. The first person to spot all of their safari creatures is the winner! 

2. Grow a new plant 

The summer holidays are the perfect time for getting outside and learning about nature. 

Even if you don’t have a garden, you can easily grow strawberries or radishes on your windowsill. You could also have a go at cress in a dark cupboard. Simply find the right seeds, a plant pot and get started! 

If you have a competitive streak try holding a sunflower growing competition as a family, each child would be in charge of their very own sunflower plant and you can see which grows to be the tallest. 

Did you know the tallest ever sunflower was over 30ft (that’s more than 9 metres!)?

Tasks like this are great to teach your little ones about responsibility and care whilst introducing a new skill (and even growing some delicious food!).

Check out these ten plants that are easy for kids to grow in the summer.

3. Make your own pizzas 

Another creative way to encourage learning a new skill is by making your own pizza. My family has Italian roots and getting my children together to cook in our home was always a very special experience. Plus, pizza making can be a great activity to keep even the most boisterous of children occupied, with the promise of a delicious dinner at the end. 

If you’re busy, you can buy a pre-made pizza base and simply get creative with your toppings. Or if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can make your own dough. 

Why not get your chef’s hat on and use this easy recipe to make your base from scratch?

Either way, the best part will be sampling the toppings. Some of my favourites include mozzarella cheese, spinach and (controversially) egg. By contrast, my children love everything from olives to salami. 

Getting creative with your toppings can be a great method to encourage your family to try new things and experiment with different flavours. 

4. Make a summer bucket list 

If you’re running out of ideas for summer holiday activities, creating a summer bucket list can be a great way to involve your children in the planning. 

Grab some colourful pens and paper and get started. You can also include different category prompts to spark their creativity. Some of my favourites are: 

• Friends I would like to see
• Things I would like to do in the house 
• Something new I would like to do 
• Somewhere outside I would like to go 
• Somewhere I would like to go again 

Adding categories can also help guide them away from an afternoon ‘visiting the moon’ and towards more tangible activities like ‘go to the park’. 

5. Hold a talent show 

A great way to boost your child’s confidence and nurture their hidden talents is by holding a talent show. 

Let your family know that they need to prepare their acts in whatever form they would most like. Some basic ideas include singing, magic or even making up a game for everyone to play. The more creative the better! 

To avoid knocking anyone’s confidence, a great way to reward the effort of your contestants is through personalised prizes. Think awards for ‘the most enthusiastic’, ‘silly’ or ‘outside of the box’. 

Following your grand show, you could also make a more permanent prize for the participants to keep. Check out this video tutorial to make an easy paper rosette if you’re feeling creative. 

It’s also great fun to get your A Girl For All Time dolls involved. For example, Nisha, Your Modern Girl loves singing and would be a great addition to any musical performances.

A talent show is also a great non-screen activity to inspire their creativity and have fun as a family.

Check out our ‘Play’ tab for more craft and activity inspiration. Why not try making your own family tree?