Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
February Mid Term activities in Edinburgh
Updated: 1/2/2015
Why not embrace all that the blustery winter has to offer rather than diving into warm hibernation? Yes, it may be dull, damp and dreary outside but by staying indoors you could be depriving yourself of many spectacles that happen every day outdoors during the winter months. Take a step past the threshold and discover what is happening in the local area this February and March...
February Half Term at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Queen’s Gallery
Visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse during the February half term holiday, from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 February, and search for the animals that adorn this amazing building from dragons and unicorns, to dogs, lions and even a monkey.
Get creative and visit the Palace Family Room and make an animal mask from Monday 17 to Friday 21 February at 11am to 3pm. All activities are free with standard admission price. Also, explore The Queen’s Gallery during February half term with the Royal Collection’s Art Spy Family Activity Bags, available every day. Put on an Art Spy disguise and go on a secret mission to find out about the work of Thomas Rowlandson, a famous caricaturist from the turn of the 19th-century. Create a cartoon strip, find out about fashion of the time and lots more! Don’t forget to get a One Year Pass and enjoy free re-admission for a year when buying tickets directly from the Royal Collection. When visiting the site simply ask the staff to stamp your ticket on your first visit. For full details of events and dates visit www.royalcollection.org.uk/whatson
Fantastic February at Edinburgh Leisure
The February half term break comes around quickly for many parents, and keeping kids happy and active can sometimes be a challenge. However, Edinburgh Leisure’s fantastic choices of multi-activity Activator camps across the city are certain to give children some early spring bounce. The Royal Commonwealth Pool offers swim based multi-activity camps and, as the host venue for the diving at this year’s Commonwealth Games, where better to let kids get into the spirit of the Games?
Activator camps provide a mix of sports with games, arts and crafts, and life skills such as First Aid and cold cooking. The camps, which are open from 8am to 6pm to help working parents, also offer climbing at EICA (Ratho), tennis at Craiglockhart, gymnastics and trampolining at Gracemount or water-based fun at Drumbrae. For further information visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/courses/junior/holidaycamps
Rainy Day Ideas
Pitter-patter, splash-splosh – the echo of those huge raindrops streaming against sodden windowsills and dripping roofs can be a major disruption to a day of planned activities! The option of an outdoor exploration or leisurely browse suddenly becomes limited and all thoughts are diverted to indoor recreation. The question is – what can the children do on a rainy day? To avoid being challenged by the inevitable pangs of boredom that children often succumb to on wet days, develop a creative plan that will transform a bleak drizzly day into one full of fun-filled interest. To provide a little inspiration Primary Times has provided some rainy day ideas here:
Visit an indoor attraction
Fortunately, most British attractions are well-equipped for the wet weather and offer an abundance of indoor play activities. Soft play frames, twisty slides, scramble nets, and brightly coloured ball pools are a blessing for highly energised children, whilst attractions such as museums, aquariums and cultural centres will provoke interest and educate. Sports centres are popular with visitors on rainy days who are lured by the appeal of a swimming pool and vast sports halls are ideal for children to run around and exercise in the dry.
Brave the outdoors
Children’s TV favourite Peppa Pig loves jumping around in muddy puddles and many youngsters would agree this really is a fun activity! Sometimes there’s nothing better than wrapping up warm and stepping outside draped head to toe in waterproofs to brave the elements. The fresh air will do the children a world of good and will give them some respite from the warm, dry conditions of home. Pull on the wellies and let them splash in the puddles Peppa Pig style – after all they’ll get wet anyway! On their return, a soft fluffy towel and steaming mug of hot chocolate will be a welcome treat after such a revitalising walk.
Bring the cinema to the home
Draw the curtains, serve up cartons of popcorn, pop on a favourite DVD or connect to the internet to download the latest blockbuster – and voila - you have a picture house in the comforts of your own home. Alternatively, treat the kids to a film at your nearby cinema or there may be a family friendly matinee performance happening at a local theatre. Look out for those last minute tickets that are sometimes sold at reduced prices.
Direct a Play
Many children love to perform, act, dance and sing in front of a friendly family audience and will happily spend hours dreaming up a truly original theatrical display. They’ll probably need some form of creative direction so encourage them to use their imaginations to produce a unique set of characters and inventive storyline. Construct a stage from household props and make costumes from a variety of unused material – simply let the children’s creative energy flow – the results are sure to be entertaining! Of course, it goes without saying, that the favourable audience will applaud such efforts and will subsequently boost the confidence of the children.
Host a Games Tournament
Encourage a bit of healthy competition by hosting a Games Tournament. Invite a few of your child’s classmates around to take part in a cross section of mind-challenging and luck based games to give each child a chance of winning. Rummage through the cupboards to dig out those traditional board games such as Connect 4, Scrabble, Junior Monopoly, Cluedo, Twister and Game of Life, or alternatively teach them some classic card games such as Trumps or Rummy. These traditional games can be a welcome alternative to computer based games as communication is usually face to face rather than screen based. If a particularly exuberant group of children visit, Charades is always a great game to play and of course has the added benefit of building vocabulary.
Produce a magazine
Creative minds are needed to produce a magazine and as children are the masters of original thought they are sure to create an interesting publication. As the rain pours down outside let the children labour away indoors at the kitchen table, cutting and pasting the original way using adverts and images from old magazines. Perhaps they can produce their own version of Primary Times listing all their favourite attractions and events!
Emulate the Great British Bake Off
Baking is a wonderful activity to do on a rainy day that can easily pass an hour or two. Recreate perfect teatime treats, tasty cakes and elaborate pastries with the children who will love to stir up the sludgy consistency of a cake mix and decorate cakes with a mixture of sweet coloured icing and an assortment of candy toppings.