By Kate Hodges
26th July 2023
DO WHAT A GREY PLAY
Holidaying in ever-so slightly disappointing summer weather? Need some alternatives to lying on towels or swimming? Try these shore-fire fun seaside ideas.
Fossil hunting is fascinating and even the youngest hunter might find something extraordinary (the most impressive dinosaur footprint found in a decade was discovered by a four-year-old girl in Wales) Learn the basics here, and read about the ethics of finding preserved creatures and plants here. If you’d like to learn from the experts, Lyme Regis Museum runs fossil-hunting walks; book yours here
Alternatively, get active and take advantage of these emptier sandy spaces by playing beach games such as touch rugby, superhero cape races, or writing in the sand.
Shells are the perfect, free, art material. Spend a morning collecting some pretty ones and try making a mathematical mandala – a great way to learn about art and numbers, or blob crayons on heated shells. Hang these seashell-covered letters on your walls, and be reminded of holidays every time you see them or make this stylish, seashell-encrusted wreath for cool coastal style. Perhaps you might try making a sun-kissed seashell wind chime; paint these happy houses and create your own wooden town, or try something a little more refined and make these on-trend striped wood decorations. This elegant candelabra will look good year-round, while a simple game of noughts and crosses gets a chic overhaul with this simple-to-make beachcomber version. If you’d like to try something a little more far out, why not attempt to create this seaweed-and-driftwood kite?!
DO AND EVENT FUN TIMES
Next Wednesday is National Play Day, and this year’s theme is – appropriately – playing on a shoestring. There is a focus on everyday low-cost or no-cost play adventures that children can enjoy at home and out and about. Join in the fun at an event near you – there’s a map here. There’s a big celebration at the Young V&A; artists Malarko and Shepherd Manyika are running creative workshops, there are design challenges and the Play Gallery is open to explore. Find out more here.
EVENT BRUM BRUM!
Last summer’s Commonwealth Games helped put Birmingham on the cultural map, and this year’s Birmingham Festival 23 looks set to bring even more fun to the city. Find free entertainment every day in Centenary Square, from cutting-edge acrobatic dance shows to sound baths, party picnics, choirs, bands and beats. The event opens this Friday with One City, A Thousand Memories, hosted by BBC presenters Ayo. Akinwolere and Kaylee Golding and featuring the Dhol Blasters, athletes from Team England, The Choir With No Name and Friendly Fire Band. Find the full programme here.
RECIPE CUT AND DRIED
It’s National Preserving Awareness Week! Find out more about pickling, fermenting and canning here. Why not try the ultimate planet-friendly cuisine – snacks cooked by solar power? Try making healthy sun-dried fruit, chillis, sun-dried tomatoes or steep sun tea slowly over a warm day (we like black tea and lemon, but peppermint also works well). For a bigger kids project, why not bake biscuits using a simple, home-made solar oven, or, if you have more time, build this ‘proper’ version for your garden.
LEARN AND MAKE BURNING BRIGHT
Saturday is International Tiger Day, celebrating one of the planet’s most striking, awe-inspiring animals (learn more about them here and find a tigers toolkit here). Rather depressingly, numbers of the magnificent beasts have dropped by more than 95 per cent since the beginning of the 20th century. Show your love for the creature by creating a tiger-themed magazine mosaic, folding an origami big cat, or making a tiger mask and grrrr-ing around the house.
FEELING OVERWHELMED? This summer, many families will struggle financially. Childcare prices eat into budgets, and the rising cost of living is affecting most of us. New research from Family Action shows that over three quarters of parents and carers are worried about activity and entertainment costs this summer, while almost half feel more stressed and anxious about the holidays than excited. Family Action believe that every child and family deserves to make happy memories during the school break. If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, FamilyLine can offer free emotional support and practical guidance via telephone, text, email or live chat. Find out more here.
WHAT WE ARE EATING Leftover cake ice-lollies A fantastic combination of two treats, Bee Berrie shares her favourite way to use up knobbly bits of cake! Find the recipe here
WHAT WE ARE READING Meet the young graduate who lives in an old people’s home: “Cake, candles, banter, games, laughter, fresh air. Teun Toebes remembers his recent birthday as a total blast. He and his pals – Christi, Janny, Jopie, Ad. All of them just hanging out, shooting the breeze, savouring the moment, enjoying life.
It doesn’t bother him that they are all at least three times his age. Nor that they might have forgotten the event by now. They are his housemates. The people who this 24-year-old care ethics graduate has chosen to live with – first as a broke student researcher looking for a cheap room, now as a friend, ally and campaigner.” Read more here
