The summer holidays are fast approaching! For children, it is synonymous with freedom, travel, sea or mountain, games, and often time spent at the grandparents. For parents (and grandparents!), it is sometimes a headache because they need to get creative on how to occupy their little ones when school is over.

Summer is obviously synonymous with sunshine and warm weather, so outdoor games are a must! But summer can sometimes bring surprises in terms of weather, and it's not uncommon for parents or grandparents to have to plan indoor activities when it's raining for a long time.

Don't panic, this is the perfect opportunity to offer indoor educational activities, so that children not only stay busy but also develop skill sets that will be indispensable in their adult lives.

Here is our selection of outdoor and indoor activities for summer holidays that will keep your kids busy during those school-free summer months

Montessori sensory courses

A Montessori sensory course is an ideal activity to do in the garden, and requires only a limited amount of equipment that can easily be found at home. It consists in creating different "stations" with different materials that the child will have to discover with his senses, especially the sense of touch.

To easily create a course at home, simply take a few cardboard boxes and fill them with various materials, such as cotton, foam, bubble wrap or sand. The children are then invited to take off their shoes and walk barefoot through the different boxes. This activity is a huge success with younger children, and gives them the opportunity to discover new textures and sensations, as well as to experiment and develop their sense of touch!

Treasure hunts

Here is another outdoor activity that appeals to a large number of children, both young and old. And it doesn't require any special equipment!

For a successful treasure hunt, we start by identifying a certain number of elements that can be found by the children in the garden or near the house. They can be very varied elements such as :

• insects (ants, ladybugs, butterflies, etc.)
• plants (flowers, mushrooms, grains, leaves)
• small objects that have been hidden beforehand (small cars or playmobiles for example)

Once the elements have been identified on a piece of paper, the goal is for the child to find them and then collect them in a small box or jar.

This activity is ideal for children to develop their autonomy and sense of initiative. Indeed, equipped with his identification sheet, it is up to them to go on an adventure and try to identify and locate the different elements.

Careful!: don't forget to release the ladybug at the end of the activity and to provide rewards for the children (for the winner but not only!).

What to do in case of bad weather?

Summer can sometimes bring surprises in terms of weather, and it's not uncommon for parents or grandparents to have to plan indoor activities when it rains or gets cold for a long period of time.

Don't panic, this is the perfect opportunity to provide indoor educational activities to keep kids busy but also develop skills that will be essential in their adult lives.

Building sets

Building sets are a must for keeping children busy on bad weather days and allow them to develop a wide range of skills, such as fine motor skills, concentration, patience and logic.

The Petit Menhir wooden educational game is a building set like no other! Based on the principle of free and open-ended play, there are no predefined rules but children are free to play as they wish. The instinctive rule is of course to stack the little menhirs on top of each other and create the highest tower, but there are an infinite number of ways to play it and we are always surprised by the imagination of children!

There are also educational cards to be used with the Petit Menhir game, which were designed by two wonderful teachers, and which can be used to teach the alphabet or to develop useful skills such as dexterity and 3D representation. These educational cards are offered as free eBooks with every order of the Petit Menhir wooden game.

The many ways to play the Petit Menhir educational game make it an ideal activity for rainy summer days!

Drawing workshops

Drawing is a great activity for rainy days and has many educational and developmental benefits for children. It allows children to express their emotions and fits perfectly into the concept of Montessori pedagogy since there are generally no rules.

The educational benefits of drawing are numerous. It helps build self-esteem, develop communication skills, work on imagination and strengthen hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills for the youngest children.

The other advantage of drawing workshops is that they require very little material. Children can do it with just a blank sheet of paper and some colored pens. It is ideal for parents and grandparents surprised by bad weather and forced to improvise an indoor activity at the last minute!

Don't hesitate to tell us your favorite activities to keep your kids busy during the summer holidays, and to share your playful moments with us!