Bank Holiday Weekend Activities for you and your children!

It’s all go, go, go this weekend with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place. We are lucky to have a four day weekend this week and many of us are wondering how to spend it. Fingers crossed for some lovely weather to boost our spirits and get us out into the sunshine.

However, the challenge of a four-day weekend poses the inevitable question; how do we keep our children entertained? 

The Platinum Jubilee is such a special once-in-a-lifetime occasion and so naturally, we want to mark it and make it memorable for our little learners! 

If you’re looking for some jubilee activities for your children this weekend, then keep on reading and give them a bank holiday fit for royalty… 

According to our sources, rumor has it that there will be sunshine this weekend! Is there a better time for it? We don’t think so- take this chance to get a breath of fresh air in the garden or your local park and get crafty whilst you’re at it. 

Before leaving your home, make use of an old bag or pot that you may have that can be used for collecting items on your walk. 

You can then ask your children to collect as many (clean) items as possible such as petals, leaves and twigs as close to red, blue and white as they can find (or, any three colours they can find in the local area). 

Once these have been collected, they can be taken home and given a quick wash and dry before the art begins. 

Simply taking a piece of A4 paper, some PVA glue and paint if you would like to get really creative, see if your children can recreate the Union Jack with the items that they have collected. 

Not only have your children had the experience of getting out and about, they now have a cool piece of artwork for them to remember this fun weekend! 

If you’re looking for more jubilee crafts for your children this weekend, get the paints and glitter out again and discover your inner artists! 

Once again, when out on a walk in the local area, why not see if you children can find a cool rock to take home with them. Bonus points if it’s smooth and easy to decorate!

Following a quick wash and dry when you get them home, the rocks are now ready for decoration. 

Children can use paint, glitter, pens and glue to personalize their very own rock and make a platinum jubilee paperweight for their memory box! 

If they date it and sign it, they will always have a memento for the year of the platinum jubilee which will be an iconic piece of the family history one day. 

For those families that absolutely love the quiz shows, why not create your very own at home? 

This activity is ideal if the weather doesn’t turn out quite as we hope and will keep you all occupied for hours. 

You can split members up into teams or compete individually and test your knowledge with this fun facts for children quiz! 

We’ve included ten example questions here but you could add as many as you like, even adding in different rounds for children’s differing interests and ages. 

1. How many years is Queen Elizabeth II celebrating on the throne in 2022?
2. What element is this year's jubilee named after?
3. What is the name of Her Majesty’s eldest son? 
4. What fruity flavor is the platinum jubilee pudding? 
5. What colour is the Jubilee weekend logo?
6. The winner of Britain’s Got Talent gets to perform somewhere very special if they win. Where?
7. The last memorable jubilee celebrated by The Queen was in what year? 
8. Which television channel will be broadcasting The Queen’s Platinum Party? 
9. What is The Queen’s Birthday Parade traditionally referred to as? 
10. During this parade, where do The Royal Family typically stand and wave to the public?

Give these questions a go and see how you do! Why not create some more custom-suited rounds to compete against one another! 

Do you have old and tired kitchen equipment such as bowls, cups, jugs or more? 

Why not put them to good use one last time and let your children go mad in your garden?

As we mentioned in our fun fact quiz, there was a platinum pudding competition recently to create a brand new dessert for the jubilee celebrations. Whilst many of us may have missed the chance or just not known where to start as our baking prowess isn’t the best, your children can have a competition of their own. 

Using items they find in the garden such as mud, leaves, sticks and stones, children can use those old kitchen utensils and bake some mud pies in their own competition to see who can create the mud pie of the jubilee! 

Getting involved in messy play is great for supporting your children’s interaction with the world and different environments. 

Children will learn all about how different substances work, move and combine, giving them a developed knowledge of the natural world around them. 

Whilst this may seem to be a messy option, mud is easily washed away with water and a sponge but the memories are permanent! 

Who will be crowned the Platinum Jubilee mud pie winner?!

This is one of the most engaging activities for everyone in the family and we are so excited to share this with you. 

There are so many elements to this activity that it might keep you going for the whole weekend!

Have your children draw small sticker-sized drawings of The Queen, a Corgi and the Union Jack. There can also be other assorted drawings that take their fancy too!

You can then take these drawings and stick them to items around the house, making sure that your children don’t see where you’re sticking them. 

Once you have hidden these drawings, it’s the parents’ time to get creative. It’s time to think of some riddles that will lead them to the stickers that they have just created. Here’s a few examples:

1. If you want to see The Queen, perhaps you should look where we would store a baked bean!
2. Can’t find The Union Jack? Have you tried looking in somewhere we may pack? 
3. If you’re looking for somewhere to rest your crown, maybe go to the place where you like to lie down. 

Write your riddles down onto little slips of paper that will tell them where to find their stickers. You can either hide a prize behind every sticker, or give a bigger prize to whoever completes the hunt first!  

This should keep the whole family occupied for hours- just don’t forget where you’ve left the stickers!

So, there you have it! There are plenty of activities here to keep you and your family entertained over the bank holiday weekend! Let us know if you complete any of these activities by tagging us (@pentagonplayuk) on social media. Have a great long weekend! 

For more tips and ideas for Outdoor Play, check out more of our blogs now!