Things to do during this half term at home

Keeping the kids occupied this half term may be a little harder than usual, with many kid-friendly places like playgrounds, cinemas, attractions and theatres not open. Lockdown has meant that half term is not all that different to term time, we’ve put together some different ideas to help in keeping the kid’s boredom at bay this week. 

Hogwarts Digital Escape Room

Try your hand at this magical virtual escape room – you can take part as a family or by yourself. Created by an American librarian in Pennsylvania, the Harry Potter themed escape room combines team-building exercises, trivia questions and puzzles to solve. 

Take a look around the Natural History Museum Museum

You can take a 360 degree look around the Natural History Museum, without any visitors. Stand beneath the Blue Whale skeleton, discover 300,000 specimens or even check out their Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.  

Discover the British Museum’s collections

Click on the musical timeline fretboard which lets you discover objects from the Museum’s collection. It guides you through the history of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Europe, taking you back to 2,000,000 BC. 

Listen to a free audiobook on audible 

While schools are shut, Audible have made their audiobooks for kids free. You can listen to classic children’s books like Harry Potter and Winnie-the-Pooh – as well as stories for Tweens and Teens. 

Go on a virtual Safari

Wild Earth brings Safari to you, with virtual Sunrise and Sunset Safaris available for free for kids. The 45 minute safariLIVE takes you on a tour of some of the most iconic wildlife areas in the world. You can connect with the expert naturalists as they drive through the African wilderness, answering your questions as they go. 

Have a bake off and enjoy a picnic

BBC Good Food has lots of lovely recipes. You can create the perfect picnic treats and then make the most of the glorious weather and head out for a family picnic.

Take an online art class 

Is your child the next Picasso? Skillshare have 16 free drawing and painting classes for kids, which range from 11 minutes long to over an hour. You can learn how to paint a castle, draw a unicorn or create a floral landscape. 

Make your own kite 

Let’s go fly a kite! Flying a kite is a timeless, family fun activity and Countryfile have put together a simple guide for making your own kite. So you can get making and hope for the right weather conditions to go and fly it. 

Learn an instrument 

Get free guitar, bass or ukulele lessons – Fender are offering three months of free lessons when you sign up to their website. You can have the lessons from your phone, tablet or computer – learning to play songs you love from bite size lessons. 

Have your own sports day

As Sports Day is cancelled for the kids this summer, why not have your own family sports day? You can have an egg and spoon race, running race and wheelbarrow race – both the adults and the kids can join in.