If, like me, you’ve spent a hefty amount of time setting up Pinterest-level creative activities for your children, only to have them spill glitter everywhere and stick things for a couple of minutes before they get bored, you’ll know that arts and crafts are not always all they're made out to be.
Momfluencers may wax lyrical about how their child spent hours creating a wall mural using paint, pipe cleaners and stick-on googly eyes, but I’ve often found that sticking, cutting, stamping and scribbling only holds a little person's attention for so long.
In fact, the time spent hoovering up glitter and then finding it in the most random places for the next few weeks takes longer than the actual playtime.
With the school term over, whether staying in the UAE or jetting off, entertaining children is a huge part of the summer for parents, so here are eight alternatives I've tried first-hand with my three children who range in age from five to 11 years.
Water balloon sports day
A favourite way for my family to cool down in the heat is with a spot of water balloon baseball or tennis. As the names suggests, it involves throwing a water balloon in place of a ball and can be done in the shaded area of your garden or at the local park.
Another option for smaller spaces or for those who don’t have sports equipment is water balloon catch, in which you count how long the children throw the balloon between them before it breaks.
Make a movie
Most children have iPads for school, so download a filmmaking app for them to make their own short movie. Better yet, have them plan the film from conception to execution by putting together a plot, dialogue and storyboard.
Useful apps include iMovie, Filmora and CapCut, although the last doesn’t have parental controls.
Make potions
Potions are a big thing in my house and keep my three boys endlessly entertained. An early morning nature walk will yield all manner of flowers, petals, grass, feathers and pebbles, all collected in a bag. Once home, provide big bowls along with kitchen cupboard staples such as food colouring, flour and dried pasta and let the children loose to mix up and create an array of different potions.
Keep the balloon up
One of my mottos is never to underestimate the playing power of a simple balloon. Not even a gas-filled one, but a simple blow-it-up-yourself version that’s been a staple in birthday party bags for decades.
Simply blow up the balloon and challenge children to keep it in the air as long as possible, while timing them. Our rules are quite strict, and if the balloon even hits furniture, it’s over.
Break a house record
Tallest tower constructed from cardboard kitchen and toilet roll holders? Longest paper chain ever made? Most Goldfish crackers you can fit in your mouth? The list of house records you can challenge the children to make or break is endless.
Also feel free to mine some of your favourite holidays for things the children enjoy doing. Apple bobbing doesn’t have to be confined to Halloween and musical chairs is not just for birthdays.
Melt stuff
This is an experiment the UAE summer was made for. First, find things in the house that melt – butter, an ice cube, chocolate, a scoop of ice cream, a crayon, some cheese and marshmallows. Place them in bowls outside in the garden or on a windowsill where they can be observed and have little ones try to guess the melting times of each.
Design a comic or newspaper
Either start from scratch or print out a template online, then challenge your children to create their own newspaper by reporting on the things that have happened that day. Alternatively, task them with creating a comic strip or book and coming up with their own characters and story. Printable comic books are available at www.canva.com.
Box creations
If you are still on an activity that entails some aspect of arts and crafts, boxes never go out of style. Collect boxes of different sizes, from cereal boxes to larger Kibsons and Amazon ones and challenge your children to create something from them to continue playtime with or in.
This can be a house, a giant diorama, a car, a computer or more – and bonus points if they work together.
