If you’re looking for activities to keep toddlers and young children entertained this summer then we’ve created a guide just for you.
From local events and days out to science experiments and getting outside to explore, there’s plenty of ideas to try.
Here’s our guide to staying active this summer:
LOCAL EVENTS:
Sunday July 28, 11-5pm, Beaumont Park:
It’s 2018 Gala day at Beaumont Park , fun fair, traditional games, craft and charity stalls, real donkeys, dog show, LB Brass playing at the Bandstand, burgers/hot dogs, curry stall, cake stall, plant stall, cheerleaders and lots more.
Cartoon Capers: family storywalks for under 8s.
Don fancy dress and join Kirklees Libraries who are heading outdoors to explore in cartoon character themed storywalks. It’s most suitable for under 8s and dates are as follows:
Thursday July 26 - 2pm, Birstall Library and Information Centre.
Monday August 6 - 10.30am, Crow Nest Park cafe, Crow Nest Park.
Tuesday August 7 - 2.30pm, Kirkburton Library, Turnshaw Road, Kirkburton.
Wednesday August 8 - 2pm,, Marsden Mechanics Hall, Peel Street, Marsden.
Thursday August 9 - 10.30am, Greenhead Park Conservatory, Trinity Street, Huddersfield.
The Big Summer Festival, Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, Halifax, from July 21-September 2:
Age 1 – 2 years £5.25; 3+ years £12.95. Come rain or shine, the Eureka! Big Summer festival will take over the museum’s grounds, offering a fun mix of science busking, interactive storytelling and craft activities, plus kids (and grown-ups) can try their hand at coding, animation and more with a changing programme of digital activities.
Visit www.eureka.org.uk/event/big-summer-festival for more.
THEATRE:
Lawrence Batley Theatre: Lost and Found, Saturday August 4, 55 minutes, £8.
Based on the award-winning book by children’s author Oliver Jeffers. This simple story of true friendship comes to life with puppetry, songs and music.
It tells the story of a little boy who found a penguin at his door. He didn’t know where it had come from or who it belonged to. The penguin looked sad and the boy thought it must be lost.
But no one seems to be missing a penguin. So the boy decides to take the penguin home himself, and they set out in his rowing boat on a journey to the South Pole. But when they get there, the boy discovers that maybe home wasn’t what the penguin was looking for after all.
Visit www.thelbt.org/shows/lost-and-found/ to book.
DAYS OUT:
Paddle in the waters edge at Burnsall, there is nearby parking (fee charging), an ice-cream van, toilets and shops selling outdoor toys.
Alternatively, the river’s edge beyond Standegde Tunnel in Marsden, is a great place for little ones to paddle, plus you can explore the Standedge visitor centre and take a trip on the boat.
Leeds City Beach:
Millennium Square will transform into an urban beach once again this summer, promising an oasis of fun from Saturday 12 August until Sunday 3 September. Entry is free but around the beach will be a selection of pay on admission children’s rides and activities including the popular Jungle Funhouse, Bamboo Bungees, Miama Surf and Waikiki cars. It’s open from 10.30am to 6pm.
Seaside at the Pit:
The National Coal Mining Museum hosts a seaside over summer, July 21-September 2
In addition to the usual pit activities and outdoor play area, there’s a giant sandpit with deckchairs; family crafts and beach huts.
The Maize Maze, Cawthorne:
It opens on July 21 for the summer season.
As well as the maze there’s pedal go-karts, hoppers and bales alongside traditional and themed games/puzzles and water games.
Visit www.maizemaze.co.uk/home.aspx for details.
Fun for all the family
GET OUTDOORS:
Get creative in the garden:
You don’t need to splash the cash as there’s loads of activities you can do for free.
Home-grown ideas include making a den; creating a treasure hunt for children; camping out in the garden; make a ‘splash zone’ in the garden with buckets of water; get your hands dirty and make a mud kitchen with old pots and pans.
The Woodland Trust’s Nature Detectives has some great ideas for children aged up to two.
Online activity sheets include encouraging tots to listen to the sounds of summer, a floral sensory activity, going on a mini-beat hunt and colouring pages to print out.
Visit the Woodland Trust activity pages by clicking here for more details.
FARMS:
There’s loads of farms within travelling distance, here's just a few:
Cannon Hall Farm is a great day out for all the family, with toddler-friendly outdoor play too.
Visit cannonhallfarm.co.uk for details.
Little Owl Farm in Saddleworth is perfect for toddlers (and older kids too).
The family-run farms is small, but you can get up close to the animals and feed the animals, which includes rabbits, goats, owls and donkeys.
Visit www.facebook.com/LittleOwlFarm for more details.
Stirley Farm, Huddersfield, the monthly Nature Tots for under 5s will run on Friday August 3.
The farm also hosts Stirley Summer Fun days for children. For dates visit www.ywt.org.uk to explore events for children at Stirley Farm and other Yorkshire Wildlife Trust sites.
SCIENCE IDEAS:
Ideas to do at home (or in the garden) can be an introduction to science.
Fizzy magic: Mixing baking soda and vinegar is a great way to introduce ‘chemical reactions’ and science to young children.
Baking Soda is alkaline and reacts with acids such as vinegar. The fizz produced is brilliant fun for children to get stuck into - and make it more fun by adding food colouring or ice. Parents can try this first to see how it reacts.
You can also make fizzy paint by adding food colouring, cornflour/plain flour, water, baking soda and vinegar.
Create a colour lab: set up a colour laboratory with water, bubbles and different containers. Use food colouring or paint and let children add them to water to exploring colour mixing.
Introduce them to gravity: get balloons and fill them with varying amounts of air, play throw and catch with balls and balloons and talk about how gravity affects how they fall.
ARTY PLAY:
Paint rocks: collect rocks, give them a make-over and then leave them in village centres as a surprise for people to discover.
Start saving boxes, loo rolls, plastic bottles and so on: use toilet rolls and paint them different colours and use them as giant threading beads on string; make a ‘hungry caterpillar’ a ‘snake’ or more with them.
Manipulate loo rolls into different shapes (a circle, square and triangle are easy) and use them for mark making.
