Children of all ages can help with make simple cakes and biscuits.  Very simple sponge cake recipes can be found in cook books or on the Internet.

 

You can then make icing just using icing sugar and water - add some food colour for even more fun!

 

You can buy quite cheap decorations such as "sprinkles", jelly tots or rice paper characters.

 

Or you can miss out all of the above a buy a cake making kit that comes with all of the above for just a couple of pounds.

 

Very little ones will love stirring the mixture and feeling the texture with their hands.  Older children can help put the mixture in the baking tin or paper cases.  And they all love decorating - once the cakes have cooled of course!

 

Savoury things to try include mini pizzas on half a muffin, cheese straws and also marmite pinwheels made from pastry spread with marmite, rolled up and cut into small "pin wheel" sections.

 

For the price of a ticket you can take your local bus or train to another town and back.  You don't even need to be going anywhere!  Babies and children will love seeing new things out the window and you can have games to spot the animals, lorries and cars.

 

It's best to have this outside for obvious reasons and do keep an eye the children under 3 don't drink the water!

 

For a twist on this idea you can fill the bowl with rice, lentils or pasta and children will love running their hands through the grains and tipping them from one pot to the other.  Again, best outside unless you want to be vacuuming up rice until Christmas and this is not recommended for young children that will eat the dried grains.

 

Just a pot or bowl of water and a paintbrush will mean your child can spend ages making patterns on the patio, path or wall!  This is also excellent for slightly older children to build up their shoulder muscles, crucial for learning to write once they start school!  Encourage them to do anti-clockwise shapes with the paint brush!

 

Sunflowers are a great starting plant for young children as they are pretty foolproof!  You just need some small plastic flower pots,a small bag of compost and sunflower seeds.  Even babies can help with the compost and they will love the texture - just don't let them eat it and clean them well afterwards! 

 

Put the compost in the pots and push down fairly firmly, make a hole with your finger and put in a sunflower seed, fill the hole up and water well.  These can be placed on a window sill and will grow in a couple of weeks.  Once several leaves have formed they can be moved to a larger pot outside in a sunny position.  Encourage your children to water them and measure how tall they are getting!  The stem may need to be supported by a stick or cane as it grows.

 

You can then save the sunflower seeds for the birds in the Winter (see above!)

 

Even babies will enjoy this one and it's a lovely way to introduce social skills!  "Mr Bear, would you like a cup of tea?"

 

Involve the children at all stages in laying out the blanket, filling the teapot and in the tidying up too!

 

Encourage the children to make up actions for the songs using their imagination.  They could be a tiger, a spaceman or a piggie - depending on the song of course!

 

 

Babies will just love the music and movement that the older children or you do!

 

 

Also take a look at www.whatson4littleones.co.uk and search for "School Holiday Activities" for special events and classes on near you!  Or check out the details of the many activities we have listed in your area as often school holiday classes and groups are mentioned here.