National Play Day - What to Play and Do

It’s National Play Day this week (Wednesday 2nd August), so here are some top ideas for play!

National Play Day - Playing on a Shoestring

Quite topically, the theme of this year’s National Play Day is Playing on a Shoestring. There are a myriad of activities that are either free or cost very little money (such is my frugal nature) and here are five bonus ones to get you started.

• The classic - let’s make use of a box. Take your box on a zoo adventure for the day - you could turn it into a car, a bicycle or a train to get you there. Then stack some boxes to turn it into a giraffe or an elephant. Take a picnic for lunch and turn your box into the picnic table. You can often pick up free boxes from a supermarket or local shop - just ask.

• Paint a fence (with water). Give your child a bucket of water and some paintbrushes and let them loose on your fence. They can paint until their heart's content and then it dries and vanishes again. The same can be done with paving.

• Vegetable pictures. Cut potatoes in half and then carve out a shape in the potato (ensure an adult does this part, it can be quite fiddly). Now dip the potato into a tray with paint and transfer it onto some paper. Need some inspiration? Check out the Wiki page on it.

• Shadow pictures/shows. With just a cereal box, some baking sheet paper, a torch and some black paper, you could make your shadow puppet show at home. Here’s the guide on how to do it.

• Create a miniature world. If you have leftover old trays (aluminium ones from a lasagne or a butter container will do) then you could make a miniature world, or village at least. Use junk items, such as moss to represent grass, weeds for small trees, and small boxes and toys to create the world of your choice. Try a Jurassic, dinosaur land, a jungle or a playground.

National Play Day - Rainy Day Ideas

If you’re looking for ideas to do indoors on a rainy day then scroll down. This section is all about getting out in the rain and embracing the downpours! Just pop on the right clothing and find out what activities you can do.

• Create a mud sculpture. t could be a mountain (plain and simple) or you could get creative and sculpt a face, a rocket or a whole village scene! All you need is water and mud (and maybe a waterproof/apron 😉).

• Make chalk pictures on the pavements. The chalk colours are brighter when they’re used wet, so it’s an ideal opportunity to get drawing.

• Scavenger Hunt. Pretend you’re adventurers and go on a scavenger hunt through the woods. Look for insects, rainbows, muddy puddles, umbrellas and more. For a great starter on what to look for, try here.

• Become a photographer. Grab a waterproof camera or put a tablet/phone into one of these great inventions, go outside and capture all the fun. After you’ve finished photographing people, spend some time taking close-up shots of nature. An image of a leaf with a single drop of water on it can look breathtaking!

• Rainaindrop races. Make a line (using a whiteboard maker) on the inside of the window, pick a raindrop each and watch it race from the top to the bottom.

National Play Day - Under 5’s

Play is at the heart of our young people’s development. Through play, children can develop physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. They can develop greater resilience, confidence and agility and so much more. Play should never be underestimated.

• Make salt dough. Working in a similar way to plasticine, salt dough can be made with a simple recipe and food colouring can be added to create a rainbow of colours. Once you have your model, then you can bake it in the oven and keep it. Find out more about salt dough, its recipe and instructions, here.

• Blocks. Blocks, whether they’re wooden or plastic, are such a versatile play toy. Build them up in a tower and knock them down. Build a bridge or a robot. Put letters on and practice phonic sounds.

• Ball games. A great way to practise gross and fine motor skills, but also just lots of fun. Roll the ball to each other to practise stopping the ball, and releasing it. Start by sitting on the floor and move to kneeling and standing. Make it more fun, by stopping the ball with different parts of your body.

• Act out your favourite story. Pick your favourite story, maybe it’s The Colour Monster by Anna Llenus. Now, instead of reading it, act it out. Books with repetitive parts are great for this. You could try The Gruffalo or How To Catch A Star.

• Skittles. A great one for those with a bit of a competitive edge. If you don’t have skittles you can fill up some old orange squash bottles with a little sand or water and try to knock them down with a ball. To make the game easier, use a larger ball or stand closer.

National Play Day - Computing

OK, I agree, sitting on a computer all day is far from ideal. However, if they must use a device at points in the day, let’s try and steer them away from damaging YouTube short videos and onto some more interactive games. All of the games and apps below, require the user to do something that gets the child moving or performing an action.

• Brickit app. I’ve only just found out about this app recently but it looks great. The idea is that you spread out your Lego on a surface and use the app to scan what you have. It will then give you suggestions of what you can make, based on what you’ve got.

• PSB Kids. This website has a whole host of different games to explore. The great thing about this site is that there aren’t any pop ads and games can be played on a tablet, smartphone or PC/laptop.

• Animated Drawings. Again, this can be played on a tablet, smartphone or PC/laptop, though because you are adding images, a smartphone or tablet is probably easier. Take a child’s drawing (done on paper) and upload it to the app. Now use the buttons to make your picture move.

• Motion Maze. This game encourages physical activity whilst you play. It’s an interactive maze, where players must walk, jog or run in place to get the character on screen through the maze. Search and download it at the Google Play Store or Apple Store.

• Move Like Me. Move like me is a little bit like the handheld game of Simon Says in the 80s. The game will give you a series of dance moves that you must repeat back, the game will then extend it to another move and you repeat it back and so on. This is a game where parents and children can play together. Search and download it at the Google Play Store or Apple Store.

National Play Day - Nature Play

Getting outside into nature can help our children be happier and less anxious as well as enabling better focus and attention when needed. Here are a few ideas to get them excited about going outside.

• Leaf pictures. Pick a variety of leaves and see what pictures you could create. Here’s a great one from First Cry Parenting. See what is possible.

• River sightseeing. Find a safe local stream. Either don your wellies, sea shoes, or jellies or go barefoot and see what wonders you may find as you amble up or downstream. You might see butterflies, fish, birds, dragonflies and more.

• Tree Climbing. Who doesn’t love a bit of tree climbing? Pretend your yur a character from a story and make it an adventure. Follow these tips from Into Nature for safer climbing.

• Matchbox Treasure Hunt. I remember doing this when I was a child. The objective is to put as many items into a matchbox as possible but you are only allowed one of each item (e.g. one blade of grass or one daisy, etc). Matchboxes are probably not ideal now, so a similar size box or container will suffice.

• Go Stargazing. Have you ever found yourself in a remote part of the country on a clear night, looked up and saw the most amazing gallery of stars? Well, why not make a night of it? Take a blanket, sleeping bags, and a flask of hot chocolate and go to a place where artificial light is minimal, lay back and marvel at the sight above. You could even take your binoculars and pick up an astronomy book at the local library.

National Play Day - Board Games

Board games are the heart and soul of our family and I would argue that if you don’t like board games, it is only because you haven’t found the board game for you yet.😉 Here are some of my favourites.

• Dice. Not technically a board game, but one of my favourite pieces of equipment for more structured games. You can make up lots of different games for this, but one of my favourites is called Risk. Here are the rules 👇.

• Ludo. Always a classic, Ludo can be played from a young age.

• Monopoly. If you’re looking for a more complex game, then Monopoly could be the one for you. We have the version with an automated banker and the game is much quicker with no one being able to be the “cheating banker”.

• A set of playing cards. The games that can be played with one set of playing cards are virtually endless and the rules for games can usually be found on the Internet somewhere.

• Uno. Uno is a family game that is just one set of cards. The instructions are fairly straightforward, where you follow the colour or number of the card that was laid before you or you put down a wild card.

National Play Day - Indoor Play

And finally, let's talk about indoor play. There are going to be days when you can’t or don’t want to go outside. Fair enough. But the fun can still continue. Try these.

• A tea party. Make the invites, gather the teddies, bake the scones and we’re ready for a quaint little tea party in the comfort of your own home. There are so many fun and different opportunities in this activity.

• Build a den. Turn the furniture upside down. Gather up the bedsheets and throw them over the top. Scatter some cushions and blankets inside. Now, grab some popcorn or sweets and snuggle down to tell some stories to each other or maybe watch a film.

• Indoor party games. Play music statues or musical bumps, pass the ballon or hide & seek. For more games, check out the website from Good to Know.

• Junk modelling. Don’t throw away all of those boxes, cereal packets and milk cartons. Save them for an indoor day and let their imagination take them to wherever they fancy.

• Make a kitchen band. I wish I could say I’ve done this one and it was fabulous. But the truth is that all that noise is a bit much for me. Nonetheless, some are much braver than me and so please do get out the pots and pans from the cupboard, the cheese grater and the metal jug and go crazy creating the most fun Kitchen Band of all time. I’ll just get my ear defenders now.

So that brings me to the end of my final list. I hope you can try some of these ideas over the holidays and please let me know your opinions on any of them in the comments. Also, if you have any additional ideas that should’ve made the list, let me know.

Thanks for reading.

Helen 👋