25 kid-friendly activities in and around Winnipeg to make summer holidays fly by
If they've whizzed through your list of carefully planned activities, eaten all the snacks in your well-stocked cupboards and are now prowling the house like feral creatures in need of stimulation, worry no more.
Here's your tear-out-and-keep list of 25 things to do with your kids this summer holidays (which you can, with some clever rejigging, use in autumn, winter and even spring). And while it's by no means exhaustive, it's definitely a start. (Asterisked suggestions require minimal or no adult participation or supervision.)
Part 2 will run July 22. Thought of something we've missed? Email av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca with your suggestions.
1. Create a family scrapbook. Include details of funny occasions, favourite memories, special events. Assign a page for each family member to write their favourite things, such as food, drink, colour, country, number, best friend, star sign.
2. Teach your parents the latest viral dance, make them practise and then perform it for you while you judge them.
3. Make a stop-motion film. Write and storyboard a script, fashion the characters from playdough or clay then then shoot your movie on your parents' phone.
4. Design your own board game. Get inspired by looking at games you play together and make one that includes everyone's favorites elements.
If your child is musically inclined or fearlessly sings with abandon, putting together a band could be a fun summer activity to do. (Cottonbro / pexels.com)
5. Start a band. Write a song with a simple melody, rehearse and put on a performance. Use real instruments or fashion some from household items like pots, pans, bottles, glasses, spoons.
6. Write your own comic based on everyone in the family's favourite fairy tale.
7. Choose a country and learn how to cook its national dish, write a shopping list (see No. 19), then make it together for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
8. * Set up a spa. Mash bananas and honey together for a homemade face mask, slice cold cucumbers into circles and use to de-puff eyes and make a footsoak with Epsom salts and some essential oils. (Parents can be customers.)
9. Create your own Would You Rather game and explain the reasons behind your choice.
10. Play Bingo.
11. * Have an indoor scavenger hunt. (Parents can download a suggestion list.)
12. Put on a talent show — tell a joke, sing a song, play an instrument, do a magic trick, act out a scene from a play, write a poem and recite. make a funny face, eat a hot dog in two bites. This is your chance to show off what you can do!
13. Learn, or teach, a skill — hammer a nail, sew a button, make scrambled eggs, water the plants or feed a pet.
14. Make a family tree and see how far back you can go.
15. Organize a family sports day with activities such as egg-and-spoon race, sack race or running backwards while clapping your hands.
See how long can you balance on one foot before you fall or how many star jumps can you do in 30 seconds.
16. Design a shapes-course using just outdoor chalk. Include gaps you have to jump over, twisty lines and spirals.
Do the entire thing once and then do it all again, this time with plastic bowls or cups of water on your head. Try not to spill.
House sparrow (Matt Goerzen / Brandon Sun files)
17. Download a list of birds native to your area and see how many you can spot and tick off on a walk.
18. Make your own potion stations outside with shaving foam, corn starch, dish soap, baking powder, white vinegar, food colouring and water.
19. Take your ingredients list (see No. 7) and go grocery shopping for your national dish meal.
20. Start a neighbourhood Little Free Library and *stock it with books you no longer read for others to borrow — this is a bonus activity, as it helps you declutter.
21. Go to the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and catch a family-friendly show. Keep an eye on the Free Press website from Thursday onwards for the latest reviews to help you pick the right one for your family.
22. Visit your neighbourhood library and pick books for each other.
23. Explore the Milky Way
It's best to wait until the new moon to check out the Milky Way. (Manitoba Museum)
Astronomer Scott Young recommends getting away from the city lights. (Manitoba Museum)
Head away from city lights on a clear night, ideally near new moon phase. You don't have to go far; just outside of the Perimeter Highway is fine.
Several parks are on the edge of the city and have big parking lots without street lights that work great: Birds Hill Park to the north, La Barriere Park to the south and Beaudry Park on the west side are just a few examples.
Bring along reclining lawn chairs or a blanket so you can lie back and stare straight up. You will see thousands of stars, and the hazy band of light known as the Milky Way.
If you have binoculars, scan the Milky Way and you will find star clusters and clouds of gas where stars are being born.
— Scott D. Young, Planetarium astronomer, Manitoba Museum
24. Build your own adventure
Building a fort outdoors helps kids learn co-operative skills. (Jody Watson photo)
For me and my two boys, who are seven and 10, our happy place is in nature. When indoor environments can fuel sibling rivalries, nature is calming.
Their play turns creative and co-operative, often building bridges, forts, or hideouts together. We follow simple rules to keep it safe:
• If a stick is longer than your arm, it should be dragged not carried.
• Only use sticks from the ground — nothing living.
• Test builds for sturdiness as you go.
• No climbing.
These guidelines help them focus and problem-solve, making our time outdoors fun and grounded in teamwork. Nature truly brings out their best.
— Jody Watson, senior director, education & programming, Assiniboine Park Conservancy
25. Find some flowers
Gaillardia aristata is just one of the many wildflower varieties children can learn about this summer. (Manitoba Museum)
Diana Bizecki Robson, curator of botany at the Manitoba Museum (Manitoba Museum)
Manitoba has more than 1,500 species of wildflowers. This summer, consider getting to know some of their names. Pick up a field guide to wildflowers from a bookstore or your local library, and see how many you can find.
You can visit native Prairies and aspen forests within the city Winnipeg in areas such as Assiniboine Forest, Living Prairie Museum, Little Mountain Park and the Transcona Bioreserve.
A little farther away, Beaudry and Birds Hill Provincial Parks have many hiking trails through a variety of ecosystems.
Remember not to pick any wildflowers, though, as they provide important food for the birds and the bees. Instead, consider posting photographs of the flowers you find on a website like iNaturalist, to help scientists understand plant distribution in Canada.
— Diana Bizecki Robson, curator of botany, Manitoba Museum
AV KitchingReporter
AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV.
Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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