End of term and half term breaks can be quite expensive at times for parents. Days out can rack up huge costs, and end up making a big dent in your back account. Especially as the cost of living has risen, it is important for many to cut down on costs wherever they can.
However, there are many free and low cost activities that can be just as fun as some as those more expensive days in the school holidays, and here a few ideas that you could try out yourself.
Scavenger hunts are an easy low cost activity that can be done at home. You could hide sweets, chocolate eggs or other treats around your home or garden. To add more excitement you could do this timed to see who can collect the most within a time frame, or have clues between each object that help you search them out.
Walking is a great exercise, and can support many areas of development. Something as simple as going for a walk can help your child learn about their environment and how it changes between seasons, as well as observing different creatures and their young. For very young children and babies, spending time in the outdoors can be a great support to visual stimulation and eye development.
Museums in the UK are free (some do ask for a voluntary contribution), and can be a fun day out for both adults and children. Museums are great for learning about history, and appreciating cities, times and important figures.
As we often find ourselves swamped with rubbish and waste, junk modelling is a fun (and free) way of making use of things that would just be cluttering up the bin. You could work with your child on a project, or give them the freedom to experiment with materials to make whatever they desire.