IT’S a bank holiday weekend – but Home Times has got you covered with ample ideas to keep children entertained.

Today, Blairvadach Outdoor Centre has taken over our twice weekly education pullout.

And the outdoor experts are giving lots of engaging ways to help young people be healthy, active – and even learn a little.

If this isn’t enough to keep you going, Blairvadach also has an excellent online resource for pupils who should have been visiting the outdoor centre.

See the Home Workbook here: tinyurl.com/y9jop7nl

TRAVERSING

Traversing is a type of climbing, but rather than climbing up or over something, the challenge is to climb around or along it.

The key here is to stay low and stay safe, please don’t put yourself or others at risk.

As a good guide your feet should never be higher than your knees if you were standing on the ground.

What can you find on your daily exercise that you can ‘traverse’ around?

Walls, fences, kerbs, trees, tree roots, kerbs… the list is endless, be creative.

Do you find it easier using the tip of your toes, the inside edge or outside edge of your foot?

Do you need your hands to support you, try letting go with one hand at a time to balance, maybe even both at once.

Whatever you find and challenge yourself to do, remember the aim is to stay low and safe, while remain-ing off the ground for as long or far as possible.

Glasgow Times:

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNTS

Equipment: A camera or phone with a camera.

Set yourself a challenge to take a certain number of photos on a theme or a challenge.

You could search for...

Colours of the rainbow – Can you find all the colours in your local area?

Ten textures – Can you look for trees, leaves, rocks, soil, manmade and natural materials?

Letters Of the Alphabet – Can you find signs with every letter?

Glasgow Times:

TIME LINES

Equipment: Long string or rope, a good sense of balance.

The idea is you have to keep your feet firmly on the rope or string. Then you have to re-arrange yourselves in order using some of examples below.

lAlphabetical order, Age order, Height order

lName a point in history and ask children to place themselves in order of when it happened, say, the first man on the moon or the Battle of Hastings.

lLife cycles of a creature such as a frog or butterfly or a fly.

lEven numbers, odd numbers or spell out a word.

OLD-SCHOOL CHALK GAMES

Use chalk or stones to mark make and draw on the pavement.

Ideal for some old games such as hopscotch or target bean-bags.

Glasgow Times:

OBSTACLE COURSE

Can you create an obstacle course in your local area?

You could climb over things, balance along things, throw a ball into the bucket and more.

If you have a local space, nature can often provide logs, steep banks, slippy balance stones and more.

SMELL TRAIL

With fewer cars and planes around, it is easier to smell things.

Take your nose for a walk and see what things smell, and can you describe the smell?

Remember that there are some things that have a smell we would not often seek out – find out if your local tree smells, or if the air has a smell to it?

What has changed now there is less traffic?

Glasgow Times:

HIDE AND SEEK RAINBOW ROCKS

Equipment: Different size rocks and paint.

Find and paint the rocks then place them in your local area for people to find.

You can make as many as you like, paint them or write a message on them, its up to you.

The idea is that once you find them, you move them somewhere else for someone to find so the game continues.

SUPERMARKET SWEEP

How good is your memory?

The rules!

lOutdoors – While you are out for your daily exercise.

lThis game is based on the alphabet from A – Z.

lThis is no ordinary supermarket; this supermarket sells absolutely anything you can think of.

lRemember this game is all about having fun, whilst stimulating your brain, be creative with your shopping list.

lFor example – A could be ardvark, B could be bathtub, C could be cornflakes.

lAre you ready?

lDecide who will be first.

lYou need to start with this phrase: “So today i am at the supermarket and I am going to buy some...

lThat person tells you their shopping item, starting with the letter A.

lThe second person says the phrase then and adds the first person’s item beginning with the letter A before adding their new item to the trolley, beginning with the letter B.

lThis continues until you reach the letter Z.

lBut remember: you must say the phrase each time and you must repeat all the shopping items in alphabetical order before adding your own.