Five websites to visit these school holidays

School holidays are coming up! And that means several weeks when the kids are at home, needing stimulation and entertainment. While it may be tempting to turn on the TV and let the kids watch movies and shows all day to avoid the complaining and inevitable sibling fights, the holidays are an opportunity to strengthen family bonds, teach your kids something new and give their brains extra stimulation. Here are five websites that will give you ideas to keep your family entertained and happy all holidays.

Pinterest

Pinterest is THE place to visit if you’re looking for fun craft or DIY ideas to do with your kids. Simply create an account, search for something you’d like to do (for example, “craft with pipecleaners”) and gaze in wonder at the thousands of results that pop up, perfectly illustrated with pictures so you can see exactly what each craft entails. Even simply searching “kids craft” will turn up enough great ideas to keep your kids entertained all holidays (and probably all school holidays for the rest of their childhoods)!

Crash Course (or Crash Course Kids)

Crash Course is a YouTube channel devoted to education. The videos are fast-paced, highly entertaining and flawlessly produced, covering topics from World History to Biology to Philosophy. There’s also a new series on Gaming, which will teach keen gamers some of the science and history behind their favourite hobby. For older teens Crash Course will keep them busy and learning for hours, and there’s also a kids version for younger scholars covering scientific topics from gravity to food chains.

Pram Walks

If you’ve got littlies in the pram taking your kids for a walk might feel like an impossible task. That’s why Pram Walks was created. With hundreds of pram-suitable walks across Australia catalogued on this site, you’re sure to be able to find one close to you. And even if you don’t have any kids in a pram, these walks are flat, easy and take place close to amenities like toilets and shops so they’re ideal for short legs and small bladders.

CSIRO DIY Science

If your kids are scientifically minded (or got inspired watching Crash Course!) then this site will make them very excited. There are dozens of kid-friendly experiments listed on the site, with full instructions for scientific success. Plus, each experiment concludes with an explanation as to how and why things happened the way they did so your kids won’t just make a mess for no reason!

The Brick Testament (now The Brick Bible)

School holidays normally means no kids club or Sunday school. So if you’re looking for a way to creatively engage your kids with God’s word, check out The Brick Testament (in the process of moving to a new site called The Brick Bible). The creator of this site illustrates Bible passages with LEGO figurines and uploads the photographs. It’s a great way to share Bible stories with visual learners, and kinesthetic learners might love to recreate the images with their own LEGO! The site also has content warnings for some of the more adult passages in the Bible, so you’ll be able to steer clear of content your kids aren’t quite ready to see illustrated yet, even if it is only with yellow plastic toys!

Remember: school holidays might be stressful but they are also a special opportunity to spend more time together as a family and enjoy your kids while they are young. Have fun learning and growing together!

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