Are you tired of seeing your children constantly glued to their phones and laptops? Does it seem that they spend too much free time gaming and consuming low-quality content on their social media and YouTube channels? If you are looking for some great activities that all the family can enjoy, then continue reading. All these hobbies have been hand-picked to ensure they offer a mix of fun and learning and will be ideal when the summer school breaks come around and the children are looking for inspiration on a rainy day. Here are just 6 activities that will be enjoyable for all the family and offer an opportunity to learn new skills.
1. Go on nature walks together
As the summer months get closer and closer, the weather starts to improve, and thoughts turn to the great outdoors. It is a hugely beneficial family activity to take walks together in the countryside and a sunny weekend should spell an ideal opportunity for this. As well as getting the benefits of fresh air and gentle exercise, you can take this as an ideal opportunity to instruct your children about the natural world. Why not encourage them to spot birds and together as a family try to name everyone you see? Whilst outdoors you can also do such fun activities as doing bark rubbings. All you need are some crayons and some pieces of paper. Simply place the paper over the tree bark and rub the crayon on it whilst pressing the paper firmly against the tree. In a short amount of time, you will have created some unique and educational artwork!
2. Cooking as a family
Cooking is an overlooked skill in these modern times but serves as an excellent life skill for all your family. Whenever possible take the time to cook from fresh as home cooked meals with fresh ingredients tend to have higher nutritional contents and less processed ingredients than ready meals. Cooking together as a family can be great fun and is of immense benefit to your children. When they grow older and take their first steps into adult life, whether it be by going off to college or getting their first flat, cooking healthy meals is an invaluable skill to have. When the kids are young, start by giving them quite simple cooking preparation tasks that does not involve the use of knives or food processors. As they get older build in more complexity into what they can do to assist until they reach a point where they can safely cook full meals with a minimum of supervision.
3. Foster a family pet
Most children simply love animals and to have a family pet such as a dog or cat can teach your children excellent caring and animal husbandry skills. Instead of buying your family pet from a private seller or local pet store, why not adopt an abandoned pet that is known by the animal refuge to be safe around children? In the US alone, every year 6.5 million cats and dogs need to be taken to animal sanctuaries because of abandonment by their previous owners. Give these animals a second chance and offer them a loving family home where they can receive the affection and attention that they deserve.
4. Make your own cuddly toys
You may live in an age of high technology but for most young children having their own selection of cuddly toys will never go out of fashion. Every child loves having their special toy to snuggle up with and it is surprisingly easy to be able to craft one yourself. Simply buy the required fabrics and stuffing from suppliers such as reallymaria.com and watch some instructional videos on how to create your dream toy. With a bit of patience and skill you can make toys that will be both fun to design and lovely to give to your children. Remember that sewing may not be suitable for younger children so in their early years it will be better to do the sewing parts yourself and encourage them to choose fabrics and decide on the designs.
5. Take the family fishing
Fishing is one of the world’s most popular hobbies and is enjoyed annually by approximately 55 million Americans. It offers all the beauty of the outdoor world and can be a thrilling activity when you get a bite on your rod and see the float dip beneath the surface of the water. Remember that it makes perfect sense to use barbless fishing hooks and to take a keep net with you so that the fish can be caught, admired and then released with a minimum of discomfort to them. Fishing can be quite a skill when it comes to tying lines and hooking on bait but ensure that younger hands do not go near the fishing hooks as these can be exceptionally sharp.
6. Do some volunteering work
We live in socially and environmentally aware times and by undertaking volunteering activities as a family you can improve your children’s education of both society and the environment. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to give back to your local area and can be a truly fulfilling experience. If you want to raise family awareness of environmental issues, consider joining organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Their ongoing mission is to raise awareness of global environmental issues such as the growing number of endangered species and the risks that are posed to humanity because of climate change. Organizations such as this offer a range of both local and international volunteering opportunities which promote social responsibility and improved environmental awareness. You could be doing anything from simply cleaning rubbish from your local park areas to undertaking global trekking to raise money for environmental charities.
To sum up
This article has looked at just 6 of the meaningful and interesting activities that you and your family can undertake together. They offer a broad scope of hobbies and interests that incorporate getting into the great outdoors and understanding nature and the environment to learning new skills or those that will be beneficial for you and your children as they get older.