Fresh air and learning go well together. These activities work in a backyard, local park or beach and turn time outside into exploring, measuring and noticing.
Slip, slop, slap: pack hats, water and sunscreen, and check the weather before you head out.
17 free activities
Hide clues around the house that can only be unlocked by solving a maths problem. Each answer points to the next hiding spot.
Indoor or outdoor · Hands-on · easy
You'll need: Paper or sticky notes, A pencil, A small 'treasure' (a snack, sticker or note)
A printable bingo card of reading challenges — read in a cubby, read to a pet, read a comic — to keep books fun all holidays.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, Books from home or the local library, A pencil or stickers
Roll a die three times to pick a character, place and problem, then tell or write the story.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: One die, This page printed or read from the screen, Paper (for writing the story, optional)
Mix bicarb soda and vinegar to make a colourful eruption and discover what a chemical reaction is.
Outdoor · Hands-on · easy
You'll need: Bicarbonate of soda (2 tablespoons), White vinegar (½ cup), A small cup or bottle…
Become a weather scientist for a week: observe the sky, measure rain, and compare your notes to the forecast.
Outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, A clear jar and a ruler (for a rain gauge), A pencil
Explore your backyard or local park to find, sort and sketch living things — no collecting required.
Outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, A pencil, A magnifying glass (optional)
Fold three paper plane designs, run fair tests and find out which flies furthest — and why.
Indoor or outdoor · Hands-on · easy
You'll need: A4 paper, A tape measure or long-step counting, Paper and pencil for results
Draw a map of your street or local area with a key, compass directions and a scale.
Indoor or outdoor · Hands-on · medium
You'll need: A large sheet of paper, Pencils and colouring pencils, A ruler…
Go on a safari for circles, triangles, rectangles and more — snapping photos of shapes hiding in plain sight around the house or park.
Indoor or outdoor · Hands-on · easy
You'll need: A phone or tablet with a camera (or paper and pencil to sketch), A list of shapes to find
Sixteen fun writing prompts to tick off over the holidays — from describing your perfect sandwich to writing a letter to your future self.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, A notebook or exercise book, Pencils and coloured pencils
Run your own mini Olympics in the backyard or park — time the races, measure the throws and work out everyone's average score.
Outdoor · Printable · medium
You'll need: This page printed, or a results table drawn on paper, A tape measure, A stopwatch or phone timer…
Record sunrise and sunset times for a week, work out the length of each day and graph the pattern to see how daylight changes.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · medium
You'll need: This page printed, Internet access with a parent's permission, or a printed almanac, Graph paper or plain paper and a ruler…
Learn the four main cloud families, then head outside to spot them, name them and guess what the weather might do next.
Outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, A pencil, A blanket or towel to lie on…
Turn a plastic bottle, sand, gravel and cotton wool into a layered filter, then test how well it cleans muddy water.
Outdoor · Hands-on · medium
You'll need: A large clean plastic bottle (an adult cuts it in half), Cotton wool balls or a coffee filter, Clean sand (about 1 cup)…
Take a notebook outdoors, collect words with all five senses, then write haiku and a shape poem inspired by what you find.
Outdoor · Printable · medium
You'll need: This page printed or a notebook, A pencil and eraser, Coloured pencils (optional)…
Interview a grandparent or family elder about their childhood and life, then turn their stories into a timeline or keepsake to share.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · medium
You'll need: This page printed, A notebook and pen, A phone or tablet to record audio (with permission, optional)…
Seven days, seven small acts of kindness. Tick them off, talk about how they felt, and see how kindness spreads.
Indoor or outdoor · Printable · easy
You'll need: This page printed, Paper, pencils and colouring pencils for cards and notes, Gardening gloves (for the litter pick-up)
