Before you know it the long summer break will be over and your children will be returning to school.

Make the most of time together whilst still keeping those young minds active and building great memories for the future. You don't have to spend every day of your summer holiday outside. Pick a rainy (or unbearably hot) day and try our fun indoor activities.

1) Cinema

It is almost guaranteed that a family-friendly film will be released just in time for the summer holidays so that can be a perfect way to spend the afternoon when the weather isn’t at it’s best. Alternatively, you could have a ‘film afternoon’ at home with maybe a few friends. The children could be involved in making their own pizzas and snacks beforehand and then settle down to watch a favourite DVD.

2) Theatre

A treat that many children don’t immediately think of, is going to the theatre. Some of the popular London shows are true spectacles and an experience that will be remembered for many years afterwards. But even if you are not within travelling distance of London, you may be lucky enough to find a show that suits you performed by one of the travelling theatre companies in a more local venue.

3) Museums

Gone are the days of museums being endless corridors of glass cases full of dusty exhibits. Nowadays, they are a lot more interactive and visitors can really get involved while they are learning. A visit to a museum is a tremendous way to bring history to life and if you can find an exhibition that correlates to a topic they have been learning at school all the better.

4) Arts and Crafts

All children enjoy getting out the glue and creating something wonderful. Keeping a box full of pieces of material, card, clean food packaging, items collected from a beach walk or nature ramble is an ideal way to have a resource handy when those creative juices start to flow. Or for something a little more structured you could let them adapt an old t-shirt or invest in some sewing or knitting kits from your local haberdashery store.

5) Cooking

It is important for all children to have some experience of cooking but aside from it being an important life skill, producing something for the whole family to enjoy is something that gives a great sense of pride to children. Just make sure that they realise that washing up afterwards is all part of the fun!

6) Free the Imagination

Children are usually brilliant and finding ways to amuse themselves if they are stuck indoors for the day, but if they are struggling to come up with any ideas you may like to suggest some of these:

  • Building a den from old sheets, cardboard boxes and upturned tables etc. They can then take a picnic tea inside and play some games.
  • Writing a short show and performing it. Young children always enjoy dressing up and can make their own costumes to really make their production come to life.
  • Shooting a video. This can take on many forms: an advert, a cooking show, even a music video to their favourite song.
  • Compose some music with homemade instruments. Music can be made on almost anything. Give the children a collection of plastic containers with some rice or dried pasta to create shakers, boxes and elastic bands to make brilliant ‘guitars’, wooden spoons and pots can be used to assemble a drum kit and plastic or cardboard tubes can be used as ‘wind instruments’ and then let them make sweet music.

7) Science Experiments

One of the favourite lessons in school is practical Science. It may be the element of discovery or just the fact that, quite often, they never know what to expect until it happens, but a successful experiment is a great way to learn more about how the world around us works. Clear a suitable area and ensure that old clothes are worn if things are likely to get messy and let them get to work in their very own laboratory.

8) Treasure Hunt

Create a treasure hunt in your house, or garden if the weather allows. Leave clues to lead from one place to another and then finally to the treasure. This can be a bowl of goodies or a voucher for a day out for example. If you want to be really adventurous the clues can also involve tasks such as eating unknown food blindfolded and having to guess what it is, retrieving the clues from bowls of jelly with only their mouths or piecing together a cut up photograph of the where the next clue is hidden, This is something where you can let your own imagination run wild too!

Are you looking for new ways to engage your child over the holiday period and to keep their mind active?

Why not try out our FREE downloadable Summer Packs – filled with Maths, English and Science worksheets and useful revision tips – to help them get a head start for the next academic year?