The Ultimate Summer Guide to Family Activities
With the arrival of warmer weather and longer days, summer has well and truly announced its arrival across the country. The timing could not be better as lockdown is beginning to ease ever so slightly, so we're able to spend more time outside - provided you maintain the appropriate distance for other people outside of your household.
So, now that people are able to get out more and explore the great outdoors, we've put together some of the best activities for keeping the family entertained through summer whilst still conforming to social distancing guidelines.
Time for a picnic
Now is a great time to take your dinner out into the great outdoors with a family picnic to a nearby outdoor spot, giving you an al fresco dining experience, everyone can enjoy on the warmer days. It can be as simple as popping a picnic blanket down in your own garden and eating outside for a change or wrapping up some treats in a basket and taking it over to a local park. We often feature great green spaces on the inspiration so keep an eye on the site for inspiration.
This also gives you a great opportunity to get some assistance from some little helpers in the kitchen, asking them to get their favourite sandwich fillings out and maybe helping to prepare your picnic spread. Simple, small tasks around the kitchen can help your kids get excited about the prospect of the picnic and feel included in the larger planning of it.
If your kid enjoys learning about the world around them and is always curious about how things work, this can be the perfect time to help engage their brains and get hands on with science. You can find loads of simple yet exciting science experiments you can do at home with your little ones which will help them learn while having fun.
Most of these household experiments are things you're able to do with general household items you'll have knocking around in drawers and cupboards, so you'll be able to find a good selection which will pique the imagination of your children. Making homemade ice cream is a great example which lets kids get their lab coats on while having a tasty treat to enjoy in the sun afterwards.
Vegetable patch
While it requires some spare green space and a bit of patience, growing vegetables or plants is another hands on activity for kids that don't mind getting their hands dirty. You can start growing some beginner-friendly vegetables from seeds which need less maintenance and care then other vegetables, or you can plant some shoots which can give kids a sense of achievement without having to rely on the seeds sprouting.
Carrots and courgettes can be great options which are simple to grow and will yield a good amount of veggies which you can use to cook some meals with your kids, or you can opt for some even more straightforward cress which is easy indoors which you can then pop in sandwiches.
Letting your creative spirits free can be an enjoyable activity for both kids and grown-ups, giving young kids a way of expressing themselves and adults a way to get creative in a way they don't usually get to in day-to-day life. This can be creating something from scratch or even following a guide on designing your own fairy wings, perfect bedroom or another craft that can give your children something to play with after they've finished making it.
You can use crayons, colouring pencils or paints - anything that can let you throw your thoughts onto the paper. If you're painting, why not take your art outside? It can be a great way to minimise the mess inside and give you some inspiration for what to draw.
Woodland walks
Heading out into the great outdoors to wander a nature trail is a fantastic, structured way of getting outside and making the most of the sunshine. There are plenty of trails and woodland walks dotted about, so a quick search online will help you find the ones closest to you so you can get out and start exploring.
Depending on where you go, you can even do a little wildlife spotting while you walk to help keep the little ones interested and motivated. Some places like Natural Trust or RSPB sites might have ready-to-go wildlife checklists, or you can make some yourself with common animals you might encounter on your walk. Wanting to up the pace a little bit and go on a run? We have produced a handy guide to great running routes near Berkeley developments.
It's only natural that your kids will have bundles of energy while we're spending more time indoors, so why not get the kids moving using inventive obstacle courses. This can help them to burn off that excess energy if they're having trouble sitting still, as well as getting silly with the challenges. So long as you have a safe, appropriate space, you can create an indoor or outdoor obstacle course that uses things from around the home, like crawling under duvets, hula hooping or pretending to swim in a paddling pool.
If you have the equipment to hand, getting in some simple ball games can be a fantastic way to get rid of that excess energy. Whether that's doing little penalty shootouts, silly catching games or keep up with tennis balls, get creative using what you have to get you and your little ones up off the sofa and outside moving about.
It can be tough to constantly be entertaining your children, especially if you have other things on your plate to handle, to striking a balance between setting kids off doing activities on their own and engaging in thing with them is key while getting through lockdown. We understand how valuable outdoor space can be at this time, which is why lots of our developments feature large gardens or have fantastic woodland areas nearby where you can enjoy the outdoors with your family.
If you're interested in learning more about our property developments, feel free to get in touch and we can show you properties which are perfect for families who need a little more outdoor space.