The time between the end of a school year and the start of a new one can feel long and from a memory perspective considerable forgetting occurs. Engaging children and young people with different activities can help to counteract forgetting and boredom. In today’s digest, we highlight different activities and free resources.

1.      Primary games & Secondary games, BBC Bitesize 

BBC Bitesize hosts a variety of mini games for children and young people that tap onto different subjects (e.g., maths, history, science…). They are all free to play and children can pick and choose.

2.      Fun Learning for Kids & OxfordOwl 

The Fun Learning for Kids website features different activity cards that can be printed out and children can work on them at their own pace. There are literacy and numeracy exercises and all of them are nicely formatted to spark interest. 

The OxfordOwl website is similar and features activity sheets for children up to 11 years old. This resource also has a creative writing section and storyteller videos.

3.      Wild Challenge, RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) 

These are nature-based activities for children of all ages to engage them with learning about nature and the environment. Why not build a bird feeder yourself and learning something about its importance for birds along the way?

4.      2023 Summer Reading Challenge, Nike and Rebel Girls 

Why not embark on a reading challenge this school break? Young people and children can set their own goals, check off items, and earn badges. There are more reading challenges out there and this is just one example. Feel free to browse others on the internet.

5.      Primary and Secondary Summer Challenges 2023, NRICH, University of Cambridge 

Each weekday (between 10 July and 1 September) a new math problem or game will be posted on their website for children and young people to solve. Feedback is provided by letting learners compare their solution to the correct solution.

6.      Summer Art Challenge 2023, Studio Jocelyn 

Finally, I really liked the idea of this art challenge. Re-create a famous painting and – maybe – add your own twist to it. This year’s painting for the challenge is ‘Girl with the pearl earring’ by Johannes Vermeer.   

For those interested in art competitions for children in general, here is a list of various competitions taking place this year.

From time to time, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:

Digest #165: Inclusive Teaching

Digest #166: Perfectionism in Education

Digest #167: Should we give up on growth mindset?

Digest #168: Introduction to ChatGPT

Digest #169: Announcing Our New “Ace That Test” Book!! And Other Books We Enjoy