Big ideas for small holiday gaps
12 Summer Learning Activities for Kids (Ages 5–8)
Start with one game: turn three toys into a shop, hide a trail of reading clues or see how many coins a paper bridge can hold. The twelve ideas below practise reading, writing, maths and noticing things, using books, paper and everyday bits. Each has a first move and an easier or harder version for children roughly aged five to eight.
You get the paper out. Your child asks whether this is homework. A promising start.
Give them a job instead: run the shop, find the treasure, rescue the toy stranded across a pretend river. There is reading or maths in all three, but there is also something worth doing. These activities work in summer, half-term or a rainy weekend. Pick one that fits the mood; there is no twelve-game timetable to finish.
Summer learning activities at a glance
| If they fancy… | Try | Get out |
|---|---|---|
| A book | 1. Reading detectives | One picture book |
| Finding treasure | 2. Reading clue trail | Paper, pencil, a hidden toy |
| Making you laugh | 3. Three-picture comic | Paper and pencils |
| Being in charge | 4. Pretend shop | Three toys, price labels, play money |
| A quick maths game | 5. Race to twenty | A die, paper and pencil |
| A picnic | 6. Paper-plate fractions | Paper circles and counters |
| Building something | 7. Paper bridge | A4 paper, books, ruler, coins |
| Going outside | 8. Nature tally | Paper and pencil |
| A trip | 9. Holiday map | Paper and a map or leaflet |
| Giving instructions | 10. Paper robot | A drawn grid and a toy |
| A guessing game | 11. Missing object | Five objects and a tea towel |
| Getting ready for school | 12. Uniform checklist | Clothes and paper |
Five- and six-year-olds may need you to read the instructions or write their words. Seven- and eight-year-olds can often take over the labels, totals or rules. Use the easier and harder ideas according to what your child can do today. Keep coins, dice and small counters away from younger siblings.
1. Become reading detectives
You need: a picture book. First move: look at the cover and ask, “What do you think has gone wrong here?” Take turns giving one prediction, then open the book to find out.
Pause at a useful picture and ask your child to find a clue: a character hiding, a muddy footprint, a face that gives the game away. After reading, ask which clue was the best. You can read the story aloud while your child does the detective work.
Easier: point to two faces and ask which looks surprised. Harder: ask, “What made you think that?” and find the picture or sentence that supports the answer. Try the same question on a different book tomorrow.
If your child is reading the words themselves, start with a book that fits the sounds they know from school. For help choosing books and practice tools, see the reading programmes guide.
2. Hide a reading treasure trail
You need: four slips of paper, a pencil and a toy to hide. First move: hand over a clue that says “Look under the chair”, with a little chair drawing if needed.
Put the next clue under that chair. It sends the finder to a shoe, then a cushion, then the hidden toy. Stay nearby to help with a word without taking over the hunt. Once the treasure is found, swap jobs: your child writes or draws the clues for you.
Easier: use two picture clues and read the words together. Harder: write a riddle instead of naming the place, such as “I keep your toes warm”. Stick to places a child can reach without climbing.
3. Draw a three-picture comic
You need: paper and pencils. First move: draw three big boxes. Choose a ridiculous problem: a dinosaur has eaten the bus, or the cat has stolen everybody’s shoes.
Box one shows the problem, box two shows an attempt to solve it, and box three shows what happens. Let your child tell the story while you write a caption if that gets the comic moving. Speech bubbles can be one word: “Oops!” does a lot of work.
Easier: draw together and let your child dictate. Harder: add a second character who makes matters worse, then write the ending as a postcard to a friend. For more ways to play with the words your child is learning, try these spelling games.
4. Open a pretend shop
You need: three toys, paper price labels and drawn or real coins. First move: give the teddy a 20p label, the car a 30p label and the ball a 50p label. You are the first customer.
Buy the teddy and car. Ask the shopkeeper to work out the total: 20p + 30p = 50p. Pay with 50p. Next, buy just the 30p car with a 50p coin and ask for 20p change. Swap roles so your child gets to make a purchase too.
Easier: price the toys at 1p, 2p and 3p and pay in 1p coins or matching drawn circles. Harder: give the customer a 100p budget and ask which two different toys they can afford. Counting up from the price to the amount paid is one way to find the change.
5. Race to twenty
You need: a die and a score sheet, or a drawn number track from 0 to 20. First move: each player starts at zero and rolls once. Move that many spaces or write down the number.
On each turn, add the new roll to your total. The first person to reach or pass twenty wins. If you have seven and roll four, count on: eight, nine, ten, eleven. Play one round, then let your child change the winning target.
Easier: race to ten and count objects as you go. Harder: you must land on twenty exactly; a roll that takes you over twenty means staying put. Ask which numbers would win on the next turn.
6. Share a paper picnic
You need: a paper circle, a pencil and six counters or drawn berries. First move: fold the circle into two equal parts. Each half belongs to a picnic guest.
Share the six counters equally between the two halves: three each. Point out that half of six is three. Open a second circle, fold it in half and half again, then unfold it to see four equal quarters. Put four drawn sandwiches on it and give each guest one.
Easier: share four counters between two toy guests without naming fractions yet. Harder: share eight counters between four guests, then show that two quarters of the paper circle cover the same amount as one half. Equal parts are the important bit.
7. Build a paper bridge
You need: three A4 sheets, two equal-height stacks of books, a ruler and coins of the same denomination. First move: put the books about 8cm apart and lay one sheet across them.
Add coins one at a time in the middle until the bridge gives way. Write down how many it held before falling. Try a fresh sheet folded into a concertina, then another with its long edges folded upwards. Keep the gap, paper type, coins and place you add them the same each time.
Easier: make two shapes together and ask which will hold more. Harder: record the result for all three, draw a new design and test the prediction. There is no target coin count to beat; compare what your own bridges do.
8. Make a nature tally
You need: paper and a pencil for a walk. First move: draw three things to spot: a bird, a yellow flower and a round leaf. Add one mark beside the picture each time you find an example.
Stop after a short stretch rather than trying to count an entire park. Which category had the most? Which had the fewest? Leave plants where they are; spotting is enough.
Easier: look for one item and draw a line for every sighting. Harder: organise marks in groups of five, then turn the results into a bar chart at home. Keep the categories and length of walk the same if you want to compare a second outing.
9. Let your child plan a holiday map
You need: paper and a local map, visitor leaflet or destination website. First move: choose three stops, such as the station, a park and an ice-cream shop, and ask your child to draw a route between them.
Add a key: a tree means park, a rectangle means station, and a cone means the important ice cream. Use the real map to find out which stop comes first. On the outing, let your child tick off each place.
If a bigger trip is coming up, explore the places you’ll be visiting together. For example, Hello Door County’s Wisconsin guide has maps, parks and lighthouses to choose from. Your child can pick three stops and turn them into their own picture itinerary.
Easier: draw the route from your front door to a familiar playground. Harder: compare two possible routes, explain the symbols on the real map and estimate which is shorter.
10. Programme a paper robot
You need: a three-by-three grid on paper and a toy that fits inside a square. First move: put the toy in the bottom-left square and draw a star in the top-right square.
Write four arrows: up, up, right, right. Move the toy one square for each arrow, using up to mean towards the top of the page. Does it reach the star? Now your child writes a route for you to follow exactly. If the toy ends up somewhere unexpected, change one instruction and try again.
Easier: use a row of three squares and one or two arrows. Harder: add a blocked square or a second stop the robot must visit. These are paper directions; you do not need a coding app or a robot kit.
11. Play “What’s missing?”
You need: five familiar objects, such as a spoon, sock, toy car, pencil and book, plus a tea towel. First move: look at the objects together and name them before covering them.
Your child turns away while you remove one. Lift the towel and ask what is missing. Swap roles. When you are the guesser, get one wrong on purpose and let your child explain why.
Easier: start with three objects and no time limit. Harder: remove two, or ask your child to describe the missing object without saying its name. It is a guessing game, not a test of how good their memory ought to be.
12. Turn the uniform pile into a checklist
You need: clothes, paper and the school’s clothing list. First move: ask your child to sort a small pile into tops, bottoms and pairs of socks. Count what is in each group.
Let them make a picture list of what still fits and what needs replacing. A tick means ready; an empty box means check. If you are browsing back-to-school uniform pants for girls, compare the colours and pull-on or fastening styles together, then add the choice that matches your school’s list. The shop game has acquired a useful real-life job.
Easier: match socks and count the pairs. Harder: write quantities on the list and work out how many more you need. Three pairs ready plus two missing makes five pairs altogether.
Questions about summer learning
What are good learning activities for a six-year-old at home?
Start with reading detectives, the treasure trail or a pretend shop with small prices. All three let you adjust the reading or counting without changing the game. For more choices, Oxford Owl’s six-year-old activities include word games, storytelling, dice and cooking ideas.
How much holiday learning should children do?
For these games, try one short round and see whether your child wants another. Ten minutes can be a handy starting window, but it is not a required daily dose. If school has suggested particular reading or practice, use that advice to choose a game. A book you read aloud together can be the whole activity.
Where can I find free summer learning ideas?
Books, a pack of cards and paper cover a lot. Libraries lend reading materials and often have family activities; check the local programme. The GOV.UK library finder covers England and Wales. The National Literacy Trust also has Summer of Literacy ideas for reading and writing enjoyment, with downloadable guidance requiring an account.
What if my child wants a tablet game?
Choose one that fits what they are practising, then try the same idea away from the screen: count out a score, read a clue or make a word from letters. The reading programmes comparison can help with reading choices. Set up accounts and spending controls before handing over the device; the online safety guide walks through the settings.
What about summer learning for an older sibling?
Give them a bigger project: plan a day out within a budget, turn the comic into a short story or design a bridge and explain its results. A subject programme can offer another route for teenagers: Oxford and Cambridge Summer School offers independently run programmes through Oxbridge Summer Scholars for ages 14–15 and 16–19, with subject streams and small-group tutorials.
