Entertaining your kids isn’t just about keeping them occupied, stimulate their imaginations and get them learning too!

Spending quality time with your kids is always fun, however, keeping them entertained can be a struggle sometimes. Not only is it good to keep them occupied and entertained, but making sure that they are getting something out of their entertainment is important, too!

Here are five activities that you can do with your kids that are sure to interesting and educational, as well as entertaining:

1) Backyard veggie patch

This can be a great way for kids to learn a bit about nature and how plants grow, and they’ll get to see and eat the results of their hard work. Growing carrots is a good place to start because they’re relatively easy to grow, even for beginners, and they’re versatile to cook with. You can buy seeds from hardware stores like Bunnings, and the packet will have instructions on how to plant, maintain and harvest the carrots.

If you don’t have enough room for a veggie patch, a good alternative is to go on a day trip to a strawberry farm that lets you pick your own strawberries.

2) Origami

There is an endless variety of arts and crafts activities that you can do with your kids. One example that’s great for all ages, even parents, is origami. It starts off pretty simple with the classic origami crane design and can get more and more complex as your kids get better at it.

This is an excellent way to engage your kids with something creative and entertaining. You can even have a schedule to do a different origami design each week. The options really are endless, and you can find all the designs and information you need online.

3) Costume playing

Getting dressed up as their favourite character can be really exciting for kids, and it’s a good way to make playtime even more entertaining. Whether they want to get dressed up as a Disney princess or a superhero, it’s a great way of engaging their imagination and can be a very rewarding experience if you get involved as well. These days, it’s also easy to find great costumes through an online costume retailer.

Playing in a costume is just like playing with toys except that your kids get to become the character as well. And once you have the costume, it can double as a Halloween costume and it may even come in handy for themed birthday parties or book week at school.

4) Library activities

Most local libraries have interactive activities for kids that are entertaining and educational. These include things like story time, games, videos and multimedia, and, of course, lots of books! The exact activity that you choose to do will depend on what your library has available and the age of your kids. If they don’t have much on offer, you can still have a great time by going and reading kids’ books together. Dr. Seuss books are a good place to start since they’re classic and appeal to a wide age range, including adults!

This can be a great way to spend time with your kids; they can socialise with other kids their age, and you can meet other mums. And it’s never too early to teach your kids about how important and useful libraries can be.

5) Bake a carrot cake

Baking with your kids can be great fun, and they’ll start to learn skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives. If you decide to grow carrots from the first suggestion, a great way to use them in the kitchen is to bake a carrot cake. This is a good way to make a treat that isn’t too sugary since you control what goes into it and there are recipe variations that can suit almost every kind of allergy and dietary restriction.

If you’re growing your own carrots, this is a great way for your kids to learn about the whole process of food, from the garden to the plate. But baking a carrot cake together is still a fantastic activity even if you get all the ingredients from the supermarket.

These are just five suggestions for things you can do with your kids to keep them entertained and get them learning. There are many more ways that you can do just that, and you’re the best person to come up with more ideas since nobody knows your kids like you do.

What do you LOVE to do with your kids? SHARE with us in the comments below.

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