8 Family-Friendly Activities for your April Break
With widespread closure of schools, businesses, and state parks, parents can be hard-pressed to find something to occupy their students’ time during this April vacation. Additionally, with Gov. Sununu announcing that all schools are to continue online instruction for the rest of the academic year, some families may feel a loss in momentum in their home-learning.
Fortunately, academic institutions across the globe have made plenty of projects, exhibits, and educational information available to the public. We’ve compiled a list of some of the fun and instructional activities for you to try out with your child during this vacation.
The James Dyson Foundation’s Engineering & Science Challenges
Link: https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/challenge-cards.html
If your child loves building, designing, and testing, he or she will absolutely love the set of challenges issued by The James Dyson Foundation. You can download a PDF with 44 unique challenges based on engineering or science—like building a bridge out of spaghetti, creating an underwater tornado, or building your own compass! Each activity comes with a complete set of instructions, some are even explained in an easy-to-understand video.
If you want your children to keep their brains engaged during their break from schoolwork, The James Dyson Foundation’s Challenges will do just the trick!
Schoolkit.co Educational Activities
Link: https://www.schoolkit.co.nz/ideas-to-steal
Schoolkit.co, an educational organization from New Zealand, has a wealth of home projects to take on using basic items you can find laying around the house. Projects include designing your own flag for your house, designing an imaginary animal, and many more! These projects are guaranteed to bring out your child’s creativity and keep his or her brain engaged while away from schoolwork.
Georgia Aquarium Webcams
Link: https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/beluga-whale-webcam/
If your child loves marine animals, check out the live–streams of beluga whales, puffins, sea otters, and many more that have been provided by the Georgia Aquarium! You and your child can browse through different tanks and exhibits, while also learning more about the animals on their website.
Virtually Tour the Louvre
Link: https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
Always wanted to take a trip to France? Well, now you can! The famed Louvre has provided a digital tour on their website as a way of allowing people from across the can globe see some of the most impressive, historic pieces of artwork in history. Walk down the halls of the Egyptian Antiquities exhibit, or learn about famed artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and many others!
Rove the Surface of Mars
Link: https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
This one is REALLY cool! NASA has teamed up with Google to provide a 3D simulation of the surface of Mars! After a brief explanation of the day that Atlas 5 carried the “Curiosity” rover to Mars, a trip lasting over 8 months, you’re able to click around the surface of Mars and discover incredibly fascinating information about its soil, atmosphere, and much more!
Paint Night with Bob Ross
Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/BobRossInc
Looking to do something with the entire family without needing to leave your home? Head to your local paint store or DIY store (Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, etc.) and pick up some oil paint through their curbside pick-up, whatever canvas size you’d like, and some paint thinner, and browse the hundreds of episodes of “Painting with Bob Ross” on YouTube. You can follow along with Bob as he guides you through the painting process, or you can blaze your own path and see where your imagination takes you! Whatever you decide, you’ll share a lot of laughter and fun with your family along the way!
Get Outside!
It’s no secret that online learning requires more screen time than we’d like. So, during this vacation, why not get outside and enjoy the fresh air, get active, and take a break from the screens. Ride a bike around your neighborhood. Play catch in the yard. Use sidewalk chalk to set up a home-made obstacle course. Build a fort out in the woods—anything that gets you out of the house, enjoying the outdoors! Keep in mind that many other parents will be looking to get their kids out of the house during vacation, so trips to Mount Major or other hiking trails may be a little crowded. Keep social distancing in mind as you plan.
Family Game Night
Link: https://playtivities.com/20-family-game-night-ideas/
If the weather doesn’t allow you to get outside during vacation, we’ve listed plenty of activities that’ll keep you and your children busy throughout the day. However, when things start to slow down towards the end of the day, you might want to dust off that Monopoly Board and have a family game night! You could play the classics like Monopoly, Life, Sorry!, and others, or, you could get really creative and try one of the games on this list from playtivities.com! Ski Races? Balloon Bouncing? Pie Eating? There are plenty of wacky, goofy, hilarious games you and your family can play!
We pray that you and your family enjoy some downtime together over break. We’d love to hear about how you spent April vacation. If you try any of the above recommendations, be sure to let us know by sending an email to photos@pcaschool.org!