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Fun At Home Activities

June 2021

Are you trying to keep your little ones amused during the Summer Holidays and looking for some stay at home fun activities?

We have pulled together some fun, easy and creative at home activites for the whole family to join using some ingredients that can be found at home.

1. Homemade Playdough

What you need:
For one playdough ball, mix together:

8 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp table salt
60ml warm water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Food colouring (optional)

How you do it:
Make sure you have a workspace that can take a decent amount of messy dough. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl then in a separate bowl mix together the water, a few drops of food colouring and the oil. Pour the coloured water into the flour mix and bring together with a spoon. Dust a work surface with a little flour and turn out the dough. Knead together for a few minutes to form a smooth, pliable dough. If you want a more intense colour you can work in a few extra drops of food colouring.

Store in a plastic sandwich bag (squeeze out the air) in the fridge to keep it fresh.

2. Bubble Snakes

What you need:

A large bowl or container to put the bubble mixture in
Some dish soap
A jug of water
An old plastic bottle
Sharp scissors  (an adult will need to cut through the plastic bottle)
An old clean sock
An elastic band or a piece of string
Some food colouring or non-toxic coloured powder
A bit of space

How you do it:
First make the “Snake Maker” – Take the plastic bottle and give it a good wash. Now cut the bottom off the bottle with the scissors. You’ll need to do this part for your child! Take the old sock and place it over the cut off bottom of the bottle. You can secure it with the elastic band or a bit of string

Now it’s time to get bubbly. The messy part starts here – Put a good squirt of dish soap into the bowl or container, add a small splash of water to make the mixture a bit more liquid. Dip the sock end of the bubble maker into the liquid and give it a good soak. Lift the bubble maker out and give a good blow through the other end of the bottle. Once your little one has got the knack of making bubble snakes, they can add some colour. By dropping different splashes of colour on to the sock the soap bubbles will come out like rainbows. The bubble snake maker is finished when there is a stream of colourful bubble snakes.

3. Balloon Painting

What you need:

Balloons
Child-friendly paint
Cardboard or large sheets of paper (easel pads, for example)
Large safety pins
A funnel

How you do it:
Make sure you have a workspace that can take a decent amount of messy paint and paint splatters. Start by filling the balloons with paint, you can use a funnel for a cleaner result, or enjoy the sensory fun alongside the children and fill the balloons without a funnel. Close the balloons’ opening at the top with a simple knot and use a safety pin to poke holes in the bottom of the balloon. Embrace any whoopsies that may occur as the children apply paint to the cardboard by squeezing it out of the balloons. If the balloon falls onto the cardboard, just embrace as the splatters as part of the creative process.

4. Colourful Melting Ice Cubes

What you need:

Ice cube trays
Food colouring, or other non-toxic dye
Water
A large plastic container, or outdoor area
Towels that can be stained

How you do it:
This is one of the simplest activities on the list, but it provides great messy fun for little ones. Simply fill the ice cube trays with water and add a few drops of food colouring. Once that’s done, add the colourful cubes to the plastic container and take it outside. Then, let the children enjoy themselves.

5. Tie dye T-shirts

What you need:

Fabric dye
Rubber bands
Rubber gloves and apron
Clean cotton t-shirt, preferably plain and light in colour
Two large containers (one for water, one for dye)

How you do it:
It will get messy so start by covering all work surfaces with plenty of newspaper and wear gloves and an apron. Bind sections of the t-shirt tightly with rubber bands – these areas won’t be dyed and will create rings or starburst patterns. Prepare dye according to the packet instructions. Add a cup of salt to the mixture to boost the dye colour. Fill a large bucket with hot water and dunk your shirt in. Wring out excess water. Plunge the wet t-shirt into the dye bath and stir regularly with a long spoon for 10-30 minutes, depending on how dark you want the colour. Remove the t-shirt, rinse under warm, then cool water until the liquid runs clear and lay flat to dry. Then wash seperatley and leave to dry, then wear!