Celebrating Children’s Week - Play activities for the whole family

It’s currently Children’s Week - a national celebration running from 22-30 October that recognises the talents, achievements and rights of children.

Each year the theme of Children's Week highlights a particular Children's Right. The theme for 2022 is "All Children have the right to a standard of living that supports their wellbeing and healthy development", lifted from Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A crucial part of healthy development for children is play. Through play, children can learn about themselves and the world around them while improving their cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing. This helps them develop the skills they need for the rest of their lives. 

This Children’s Week, we asked our paediatric team to share some of their favourite activities for kids that embrace the importance of play for a healthy lifestyle. Let’s find out how to make Veggie Funny Faces, Fruit Kebabs and Grass Heads!

How to make Veggie Funny Faces

This is a great activity for those who want to make healthy snacks fun. 

Step one: Choose your ingredients. You can get creative with this and choose ingredients you love, or something you’ve always wanted to try! Top tip: choose ingredients with a range of colours.

Suggested ingredients: 

• Cucumber
• Carrot
• Cherry tomatoes 
• Alfalfa bean sprouts
• Avocado
• Mushrooms
• Hummus drips
• Pita bread

 Step two: Assemble your materials! 

Suggested materials:

• Child safe knife
• Chopping board
• Spoons
• Plates 

 Step three:  Using a child safe knife, chop up your veggies. If you’re not sure how, ask an adult to help you chop up your veggies. 

Step four: Use your chopped up veggies and other ingredients to make funny faces. If you’re using pita bread, you could use this as the base of your funny face. 

The whole idea is to have fun and get as creative as you like - there are no rules!

You might like to use grated carrot or alfalfa sprouts as hair and cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices for eyes. 

Step five: You did it! Now it’s time to eat your veggie funny face, bon appetit! Enjoy eating your healthy snack. 

How to make Fruit Kebabs

We all know eating fruit is important for our health and wellbeing. Fruit kebabs make eating fruit fun! 

Step one: Buy your fruit. We recommend choosing fruit that is in season as this is when it is most delicious, nutritious and affordable. It’s better for the environment too. Try to include all colours of the rainbow.

Suggested ingredients:

• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe/rockmelon
• Kiwi fruit
• Apples
• Pears
• Banana
• Pineapple
• Blueberries
• Grapes

Step two: Get your materials together to prepare your fruit. 

Materials: 

• Kebab sticks/skewers
• Child safe knife
• Chopping board
• Bowls
• Plates

 Step three: Chop your fruit! You might want to ask an adult to help you with this part. Some fruits like pineapple, apple and kiwi will be best in small pieces, while others like blueberries and grapes are better off whole.

Step four: Push pieces of fruit onto your skewer. Add as many fruit pieces as you like. Try to include all the colours of the rainbow.

Step five: Nice work, you’re done. Enjoy the fruits of your labour.

How to make Grass Heads

Grass heads are a fun and crafty activity that you can do as a family and enjoy the results for weeks or even months to come. With a few different items you may already have around the house, kids can create their own grass head friend and watch them come to life. 

Step one: Gather your materials. You’ll need:

• Empty plastic container (you can reuse one you already have like an empty takeaway container or yoghurt tub)
• Stockings
• Scissors
• Coloured paper 
• Craft glue
• Elastic bands
• Pipe cleaners 
• Googly eyes
• Sphagnum moss 
• Grass seeds or chive seeds
• Spray bottle

Step two: Cut the feet off your stockings. You’ll need one foot for each grass head. We recommend cutting them anywhere between the ankle and the knee of the stocking. 

Step three: Fill the stocking with a spoonful of grass seeds or chive seeds. After you’ve done this, add enough sphagnum moss to reach the size of a tennis ball.

Step four: Tie the stocking in a knot so it forms a ball shape. This is the head! The rest of the stocking will hang below (don’t chop it off!)

Step five: Now it’s time to create the face for your grass head.There are no rules for this part, remember playing around with creativity is the fun part. 

Stuck for ideas?

• Tie an elastic band to create a nose
• Stick on some googly eyes with glue
• Use pipe cleaners to create eyebrows or a moustache

 Step six: Decorate your plastic container. This is where your grass head will sit. You could add some coloured paper, draw on it or glue on extra materials - creativity is key. 

Step seven: Fill half of your yoghurt container with water and place your grass head on top of the container, with the tail of the stocking dangling in the water. This is how the water reaches the grass seeds so they can sprout. 

Step eight: Place your grass head friend near a window with lots of sun. Don’t forget to water them regularly using a spray water bottle, and make sure there is still water in the plastic container.