Six school holiday activities for the whole family

The approaching school holidays are a welcome break for lots of families.

Holidays can't come soon enough?  Here are six fun activities you can do with the whole family.

In this article we look at six ideas to help you keep kids busy during the Term 1 school holidays.

Be Healthy was created by VicHealth to provide helpful tips and advice on how you and your family can stay healthy. You can read more Be Healthy articles here.

Six school holiday activity ideas for Victorian families

1. Check out the Together Victoria website

The Together Victoria website has loads of suggestions for school holiday entertainment. There’s a huge variety of things to explore, from virtual school holiday programs and ideas for getting crafty, to tips on trying something new like making short films at home.

Visit their school holidays activities page to see what your kids might be interested in.

2. Burn energy and get outside

These school holidays are the perfect time to use the warmer weather to get outside and get active.

You might like to go on a bushwalk, in which case we have some great tips and locations for people who are just looking to get started. You might even just want to check out a playground or park in your local area. While the weather is milder, it’s still important to be sunsmart, as the UV from the sun can still damage your skin on cloudy days.

3. Get back on the bike (literally)

As the saying goes, it may be true you never forget how to ride a bike. The school holidays are the perfect time to dust off your bike, skateboard, scooter or rollerblades and take the family for a ride. Remember it’s still important to avoid getting too close to others.

If it’s been awhile between rides, Be Healthy has some great tips for getting back on your bike here.

4. Work on wellbeing

While getting out and about is fun sometimes some quiet time is needed. Mindfulness activities are a great way to help your kids develop resilience, and Andrea from Kids Thrive shared links to some great options for kids to try at home:

• 21 days of mindfulness boot camp
• Your secret treehouse meditation

You can read our article with more Kids Thrive activity suggestions here, including ways to get them involved with daily tasks to help you around the house.

5. Get cooking

Did you know that kids are more likely to try fruits and veggies if they help cook with them? The school holidays are a perfect time to get kids excited about cooking easy healthy recipes. If they like them, you can even use them for school lunches when school returns!

Here are some recipes your kids will love – all given the tick of approval by the dietitians in our healthy eating team:

• Easy lunchbox quesadillas
• Leftover curry veggie parcels
• Easy veggie fritters

6. Make learning fun with a day out

Museums, galleries and zoos are the perfect opportunity to take kids on a fun day out where they can learn as well.

Museums Victoria’s facilities (Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and Immigration Museum) are fantastic for teaching kids all about natural history, science and our state’s multiculturalism, while the NGV is perfect for kids with creative flare. Zoos Victoria is always a family favourite and has a vast array of animals to visit across three locations, with a strong message around protecting animals and our environment.

There are plenty of ways to keep kids entertained these school holidays. Whether it’s getting outside and enjoying nature, fuelling imagination at home, going for a bike ride or cooking, there is something for everyone.

For more VicHealth articles on how to look after your health in 2021, check out:

• When is the right time for kids to walk to school?
• Easy leftover school lunchbox ideas