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Copyright © Summersdale Publishers Ltd 2006

Text by Faun Harkin
Illustrations by Alex Hallatt

Condition of Sale
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by 
way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise 
circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it 
is published and without a similar condition including this condition 
being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

Summersdale Publishers Ltd
46 West Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1RP
UK

www.summersdale.com

Printed and bound in Great Britain

ISBN 1 84024 066 0

Disclaimer

The author and the publishers cannot accept any responsibility for 
any loss, injury or damage as a result of the use or misuse of the 
information or any instructions described in this book. The activities 
in this book must only be practised under the supervision of an 
adult. 

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Please note

Unless otherwise mentioned, everything in the 
‘What you’ll need’ sections in this book can be 
bought as child-friendly products from any good 
toy or stationery shop. You should never let your 
child handle anything which is not suitable for their 
age, and you should supervise them during every 
activity. If any task is inappropriate for a child, this 
is clearly stated in the instructions. Remember 
always to put newspaper or an old sheet down for 
any task involving potentially messy products such 
as glue, paint or glitter.

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INTRODUCTION.............................9

CLASSICS FOR A NEW
GENERATION..........................................11
  A Simple Box..............................12
  Miles’s Board Game..................15
 Scrapbook 

Diary........................17

  Make a Time Capsule................18
 Racing Fish...............................20
  Large or National Museums......21
 Puppet 

Theatre..........................22

 Marble Maze..............................24

HOME  RECORDING STUDIO.....27
 Read-along Books....................28
 Household Band.......................30
 Musical Hats..............................33
  Name That Song.......................34
  Dance and  Interpretation..........36

ARTS AND CRAFTS..............................37
  Shell  Pots...................................38
  Small or Local Museums...........40
 Picture Frame............................41
 Pebble Painting.........................43
  Papier Mâché Hat......................44
 Cut-out Faces............................46
 Spy Messages...........................47
 Funky 

Fabric..............................48

  Make a Puppet...........................49
  Make a Book.............................52
 Country 

Houses.........................54

  Make a Family Newspaper........55
  Make Paper Beads....................58
  What the Moon Said..................60
 Two-in-One Pictures..................61

PAINTING.....................................63
 Bubbles.....................................64
 Snail Trails.................................65
 Art Galleries...............................66
 Marble Effect.............................67
 Hand 

Painting............................68

 Time Traveller............................69

FUN  IN  THE  KITCHEN........................71
 Make Playdough.......................72
  Salt Dough Creations................73
  Life-sized  Picture.......................75
 Make Bubble Liquid..................76
  Make a Volcano.........................78
 Slime.........................................79

BAKING............................................81
 Gingerbread Cut-outs...............82
 Crumble 

Topping........................84

 Marzipan 

Fruit............................86

 Castles......................................88
  Mini Marzipan Battenburg.........89
  Peanut Butter Creams...............90
 Secret Messages......................91

PARTY GAMES.......................................93
  Find Your Way Home.................94
  Table Shove Penny....................96
 Window Bingo...........................97
  Make a Map...............................99
 Adventure Games...................100
  Mr Wiggly Toes!......................104
  Pin the Nose on Daddy...........105
 Fish Race................................106
  The Tidy-Up Game..................107
  Create a Crossword................108
 Hot 

Potato................................109

  Put on a Show.........................110
  Make a Map.............................112

GARDEN  FUN.........................................113
  Rosalie’s Bird Feeder..............114
 Feeding Ball............................115
 Rain Catcher............................116
  Post-It Note Alphabet Game...118
  Make a Grass Ball...................119
 Sunflower Rac.........................120
 Park Fun..................................121
 
INTERNET RESOURCES..................122

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

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9

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

It’s an age-old complaint, but children really do 
grow up so quickly. One minute you are sitting 
with your newborn baby in your arms and then 
blink – they’re off to school. Blink again and they 
are taking driving lessons, and before you know it 
they won’t even be back at weekends to get their 
laundry done.

So instead of relying on the TV to entertain them 
during their precious early years, why not make the 
time to have fun with your children while they’re 
still willing. Playing games, teaching young minds 
new skills and creating priceless memories are 
the perks of being a parent. I can still remember 
the activities my mother did with me when I was a 
child, and can appreciate now how they enriched 
my childhood. Wouldn’t you like your child to be 
able to say that about you?

The ideas in this book are very simple, require no 
artistic talent (if they did I wouldn’t be able to do 
them) and use nothing that any parent wouldn’t 
normally have somewhere in their home. 

So what are you waiting for – get home and hope 
for rain!

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11

CLASSICS FOR A NEW 

CLASSICS FOR A NEW 

GENERATION

GENERATION

How many of us have spent a small fortune on 
something shiny and plastic for our children 
that requires 27 batteries, only to find them later 
playing with the box it came in, the fabulous new 
toy laying discarded on the floor? All the activities 
in this section are simple and timeless, and there 
are plenty of ideas for variations and twists on a 
classic theme.

When undertaking any activity that requires glue, 
PVA glue is a must. It is a wonderfully efficient 
and versatile fixative, and for the untidily creative 
it dries clear.

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12

A Simple Box

A Simple Box

A cardboard box combined with an imagination as 
vivid as a child’s can lead to exciting and limitless 
possibilities. The following are just a few easy-to-
create ideas to provide hours of versatile fun.

What you’ll need

 • 

 

A cardboard box (such as one a new appliance might  

  

 

come 

in)

 • 

 

Scissors 

Optional:
 • 

 

Sticky 

tape

 

•   Pens or paint

 • 

 

String

 • 

 

PVA 

glue

 

•   Blu Tack or similar 

 

•   Wrapping paper or wallpaper

 • 

 

Glitter

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13

What to do

Creating a home
Using a pair of child-friendly scissors, your child 
can cut windows in the box to turn it into a castle, a 
fort or a house. Give them some colouring pens or 
paint and let them go wild adding bricks and bright 
patterns to their makeshift home.

Creating armour
Cut off the bottom and top of the box so that it will 
go over your child’s head and around their body. 
Glue or tape two lengths of string from the front to 
the back, making shoulder straps so that they can 
move around freely without having to hold up their 
new armour. They may want to decorate their attire 
with glitter or paint.

Other ideas
The possibilities for a cardboard box are endless. 
Your child could turn theirs into a car, an ambulance 
or an animal – anything they like. A vehicle simply 
needs wheels, a steering wheel and a ‘special 
powers’ button (allowing them to go super fast, fly 
or be ejected). An animal only requires a painted 
face and stringy tail, plus the necessary spots or 
stripes. 

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14

TOP TIP

TOP TIP

If you have several boxes, why not create a town 

with your child? Build some houses and shops 

and cut oblongs of cardboard to make roads. A 

matchbox glued at one end to a lolly stick and 

carefully coloured in (glue some paper to the front 

of the box if necessary) makes a great traffi c 

light, which can be made freestanding by pushing 

the bottom part into a ball of playdough.

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15

Miles’s Board Game

Miles’s Board Game

This is probably my favourite rainy day game, and 
it came about after a badly organised move meant 
that my son’s toys and games were a thousand 
miles away for four weeks. We decided to try and 
make our own version of the classic board game.

What you’ll need

 

•   Sheet of A3 paper or card 

 

•   Pens or crayons

 • 

 

ruler

 • 

 

dice

What to do

Draw a grid on the paper, dividing it into 64 squares 
(8 by 8) and numbering each square, starting at the 
bottom left of the grid. Write forfeits and rewards 
that are relevant to your child in some of the squares 
– the sillier the better.

For example:

‘Left Teddy on the train – go back to square 15 
to get him.’
‘Tidied your bedroom – move on 3 places.’
‘Put your pants on back to front – miss a go.’
‘Shared your toys – move on 5 places.’

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16

Your child can be in charge of colouring in all the 
squares and adding details such as the snakes, 
ladders, train and pants.

TOP TIP

TOP TIP

If you want to make the game a little harder, 

include a quiz square: whoever lands on it has to 

answer a question posed by an opponent. Questions 

could be on any subject, from TV trivia to maths 

problems, and you could also include challenges 

– e.g. Name 5 things which can be found in a 

bathroom.

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17

QUICK IDEA

QUICK IDEA

Scrapbook Diary

Scrapbook Diary

A perfect time-filler for children of almost any age. 
Keep hold of tickets or leaflets from a day out, and 
on a rainy day encourage your child to draw a 
picture of what they did or saw on their trip. Older 
children can write about the experience, adding 
details about who came with them, any funny 
moments and so on. You can add photos and 
other relevant items, such as leaves or flowers from 
a country park or a wrist band from a funpark. The 
scrapbook can be added to regularly.

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01/02/2006   14:50:33

01/02/2006   14:50:33

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