Outdoor Activities for Winter School Holidays

by Kylie Archer, Kidgredients

Winter school holidays can be a great time to engage in outdoor activities despite the colder weather. Here are some fun outdoor activities that you can enjoy during the winter school holidays.

Bushwalks

Choose a less beaten track and take your picnic, use a fold-up picnic blanket so you don’t need to rely on benches and enjoy a nice long walk together as a family. Make sure to check the local restrictions and adhere to any changes in your area. If you have a reluctant walker in your party- set them up as a leader I find giving my little reluctant walker a purpose- i.e. leading the way- makes the whole experience much more fun! It works even better if he has a stick to point in the direction we are going and a map!

Bike riding

Having a bike rack means you aren’t limited to the local area- so we can pop the bikes on the back of the car and take them somewhere to nice bike paths that are just for bikes- which is an awesome option when you have kids who are just off training wheels!

Scavenger hunts

Grab a scavenger hunt list off the web and a few GLAD SNAP LOCK Reseal bags and get hunting! There are lots of Aussie lists out there that will keep kids of all ages busy. We scavenger hunt when we are bushwalking for extra interest. Kids love to fill their pockets up with the treasures from their adventures and this is a sure-fire way to keep them interested.

Collecting and creating

Collect shells at the beach, of different rocks on walks and bring them home and get creative. There are wooden frames available at Bunnings called memory boxes, which have a fair bit of space between the backing and the clear front, so you can fill them up with your treasures to keep for later.

Building forts

If the weather isn’t on your side- then get creative inside. A few pillows, a couple of blankets and some chairs and you’ve got everything you need to build a fort. We use pegs, bulldog clips, elastic bands, heavy books, anything we can find to create the fort! I’ve got some battery-operated fairy lights from Christmas that they use to decorate their fort, then they lie in it and read and do colouring. Apparently, all activities are better in a pillow fort!

Cooking and Baking

When it comes to the ultimate social distancing activity for the school holidays, you have to get baking! Whether you decide to decorate cookies (use a GLAD SNAP LOCK Reseal bag for icing- it’s mess-free and super easy- just snip the corner when full to do the icing), get baking (check out this easy egg-free recipe here) or cook dinner together, there are loads of fun ways to get the kids involved and having fun.

Stage a family cooking challenge and make everyday meals lots of fun!

Kylie blogs at Kidgredients and is a Mum to two primary school kids. Her yummy family-friendly recipes are designed to get the kids into the kitchen and have the whole family eating together. She uses her background as a primary school teacher and delivers lunchbox talks at local primary schools encouraging healthy eating habits in school kids.