Healthy ideas for holidays at home
Looking for some activities to entertain the kids at home these school holidays?
If the price of fuel has left you looking around the house for things to do these school holidays, why not give our healthy holiday activities for the home a go. We’ve come up with six activities involving fruits and vegetables to keep children entertained from the comfort of your own home. These range from quiet activities that need minimal supervision to some that are a little more upbeat for the whole family to enjoy.
1. Our kitchen rules
Have a go at setting up your own home restaurant, complete with hand-written menus, family favourite recipes, and decorations too. Find recipes that are nice and simple (preferably no sharp knives!). Aim to include a new fruit or vegetable where possible to make this a fun family activity that will keep the kids happy at the same time as teaching them to be adventurous eaters.
Need some inspiration to get you going? You can find instructions on how to set up your own home restaurant here.
Download, print and decorate a kids chef hat here.
2. Fruit and vegetable mosaic
Put those old supermarket catalogues or newspaper ads to good use and recycle them for a creative quiet time activity. Ask your kids to use the pictures of fruit and vegetables they find to create a collage (you may need to help younger children cut out the pictures), decorate a hand-drawn fruit bowl, or place them onto a picture of their own imaginary farm.
Better yet, set them a challenge that will get them creative and curious, like designing a car constructed of vegies, or an animal made entirely of fruit. The only limit is their imagination, and you can reuse the produce pictures you cut out over and over.
3. What’s that vegetable or fruit? Putting taste buds to the test....
Trying new foods in a fun and low-pressure setting is a great way for kids to overcome fussy eating and resistance to new tastes and textures. This activity allows children to enjoy exploring familiar and unfamiliar foods, and can also encourage them to try their favourite fruits and veg in a way they haven’t before.
All you need is an assortment of fresh produce cut, chopped and prepared in a variety of ways, and something to use as a blindfold. Have your child guess which fruit or veg they are touching or tasting, or get the family involved for a few extra chuckles.
For activity instructions click here.
4. Drama time with vegetables
Drama is a great way for kids to express emotions, build their confidence and have fun all at once! Get the creative juices flowing with a vegetable puppet theatre, or challenge the kids to develop their own vegetable and fruit advertisement. While they may not all get eaten, any positive experience involving healthy food is a step towards a yum at the next mealtime.
For activity instructions click here.
Break out the little lab coats and try some of our fun school holiday science experiments that don’t require a degree in rocket science to set-up. We’ve got a selection of cool and colourful activities, and some are even edible at the end!
Older kids can get a great introduction into how plants grow with our colourful leaves activity, and any age will be amazed with the magic of acids and bases in our incredible edible experiment, Unicorn noodles.
6. Mini Farmers
Getting the kids into the garden and growing their own fruit and vegetables is great for their learning and development, and here’s why:
- Encourages healthy eating.
Kids have more attachment to produce they planted, and are more likely to eat or at least try something they have grown themselves. - Helps with sensory development and building fine and gross motor skills.
Much like getting into the kitchen to help chop, stir or mix, kids can perform many simple tasks in the garden when establishing a vegie patch. You can also teach good hand hygiene at the same time. - Teaches your children about responsibility and patience.
This can be a great introduction to delayed gratification. Focusing on the size, shape and colour changes as the gardens grow can start a lovely conversation around learning to be patient.
Not sure how to get started with your vegie patch? Check out our upcoming tips on planting produce at home…