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WeBuyBooks Summer Holidays Activities
WeBuyBooks Summer Holidays Activities
Book-Related Summer Activities to Do with Your Kids This Summer
We all know that finding the perfect activities for children during the summer can be a bit tricky, especially when kids grow up so quickly! With this list of engaging book-themed activities, we hope to ease your stress and let you in on our favourite resources, listed by age so you can make the most of this summer and for future summers to come. All resources are easy to download and can be printed off. So, let’s get going!
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, ages 0-5)
Elmer the Elephant Puppets
Delightfully cute and playful, create these Elmer puppets for your children and watch their imaginations come to life! David McKee’s beloved character features as an easy to assemble paper puppet, just cut him out and stick him on a lolly stick and you're ready to go. Ideally, print Elmer out on card for maximum durability and laminate for a long-lasting finish. This template features Elmer in a variety of poses, so the children have a readymade puppet show to go! Ready to watch their storytelling journey begin?
Elmer the Elephant Puppets
Delightfully cute and playful, create these Elmer puppets for your children and watch their imaginations come to life! David McKee’s beloved character features as an easy to assemble paper puppet, just cut him out and stick him on a lolly stick and you're ready to go. Ideally, print Elmer out on card for maximum durability and laminate for a long-lasting finish. This template features Elmer in a variety of poses, so the children have a readymade puppet show to go! Ready to watch their storytelling journey begin?
Personalised Book Labels
These literacy labels let your child pick out a reading label that looks like them! Help them find a label, then cut it out and place on their nursery bag, their letter books or on their bookshelf. The labels encourage little ones to identify themselves and the stories they love. The labels have space for a name tag so if your child enjoys practising some letters, this is a wonderful way to introduce them to something they can personalise. Whether you use them as bookshelf decoration or to identify their first ever book collection, these labels are a lovely activity for a budding book lover’s summer.
Personalised Book Labels
These literacy labels let your child pick out a reading label that looks like them! Help them find a label, then cut it out and place on their nursery bag, their letter books or on their bookshelf. The labels encourage little ones to identify themselves and the stories they love. The labels have space for a name tag so if your child enjoys practising some letters, this is a wonderful way to introduce them to something they can personalise. Whether you use them as bookshelf decoration or to identify their first ever book collection, these labels are a lovely activity for a budding book lover’s summer.
Nursery Rhyme Posters
Looking for some playful rhymes to sing to your children this summer? The Nursery Rhymes Poster Pack is full of classic rhymes you’ll remember from your own childhood, perfect for early years in helping develop their language and listening abilities. The cards feature beautiful diverse illustrations from a wide cast of enchanting characters. They’re full of colour and would look fantastic on their bookshelf. These posters might encourage your child to have a favourite rhyme and develop their communication skills faster!
Nursery Rhyme Posters
Looking for some playful rhymes to sing to your children this summer? The Nursery Rhymes Poster Pack is full of classic rhymes you’ll remember from your own childhood, perfect for early years in helping develop their language and listening abilities. The cards feature beautiful diverse illustrations from a wide cast of enchanting characters. They’re full of colour and would look fantastic on their bookshelf. These posters might encourage your child to have a favourite rhyme and develop their communication skills faster!
Key Stage 1 (KS1, ages 5–7)
Colouring Challenge: Personalised Bookmarks
Firstly, your little ones are full of creative passion! This bookmark template allows your child to create a personalised colouring creation to help them begin their reading journey. With an array of eight different patterns to choose from, children can practice their fine motor skills with mark making and colouring in. Owning their own personalised bookmark will give a child a great confidence boost into the new world of reading by giving them a small sense of responsibility over their own early year books and helping them improve in recognising different shapes and letter patterns. They are ideal for small children and are perfect for an indoor colouring activity this summer. When finished, preserve them by laminating, sticking their designs on their bookshelf or using them in their books.
Colouring Challenge: Personalised Bookmarks
Firstly, your little ones are full of creative passion! This bookmark template allows your child to create a personalised colouring creation to help them begin their reading journey. With an array of eight different patterns to choose from, children can practice their fine motor skills with mark making and colouring in. Owning their own personalised bookmark will give a child a great confidence boost into the new world of reading by giving them a small sense of responsibility over their own early year books and helping them improve in recognising different shapes and letter patterns. They are ideal for small children and are perfect for an indoor colouring activity this summer. When finished, preserve them by laminating, sticking their designs on their bookshelf or using them in their books.
Colours Busy Book
We love this Busy Book; jam packed with activities to keep your children entertained during the long summer months! It’s bursting with colour and excitement and includes activities like colouring, mix and match games and odd one out puzzles! A great way to keep them occupied on a long journey, day home or at their grandparents house. The Busy Book is wonderful for children to learn and recognise their colours. With a couple of cut out sections in here, we recommend laminating your busy book before your child gets stuck in.
Colours Busy Book
We love this Busy Book; jam packed with activities to keep your children entertained during the long summer months! It’s bursting with colour and excitement and includes activities like colouring, mix and match games and odd one out puzzles! A great way to keep them occupied on a long journey, day home or at their grandparents house. The Busy Book is wonderful for children to learn and recognise their colours. With a couple of cut out sections in here, we recommend laminating your busy book before your child gets stuck in.
Create your own story map
A great introduction for this age group to create a small story, the story map template allows kids to explore their creative potential by breaking down elements into simple sections. The download offers a range of different templates so children can choose their own way to plan and execute their projects, whether that be through drawing or simple sentences. Stick them up around the house for quick storytelling when they get struck by inspiration! You never know, their imaginary summer games might turn into their first real storyboard.
Create your own story map
A great introduction for this age group to create a small story, the story map template allows kids to explore their creative potential by breaking down elements into simple sections. The download offers a range of different templates so children can choose their own way to plan and execute their projects, whether that be through drawing or simple sentences. Stick them up around the house for quick storytelling when they get struck by inspiration! You never know, their imaginary summer games might turn into their first real storyboard.
Design Your Own Bookmarks
This summer have your children create their own beautiful bookmarks to add to their bookshelf! These simple templates lend well to kid’s creative natures. Maybe they’re inspired from a recent story, maybe they’d like to draw a topic they’ve been exploring? Either way, these versatile bookmarks are great for a day indoors, helping them build on their artistic skills and keeping them entertained. Laminate their creation for durability and celebrate it as a piece of their reading journey, tucked into the stories that they’ll love.
Design Your Own Bookmarks
This summer have your children create their own beautiful bookmarks to add to their bookshelf! These simple templates lend well to kid’s creative natures. Maybe they’re inspired from a recent story, maybe they’d like to draw a topic they’ve been exploring? Either way, these versatile bookmarks are great for a day indoors, helping them build on their artistic skills and keeping them entertained. Laminate their creation for durability and celebrate it as a piece of their reading journey, tucked into the stories that they’ll love.
Key Stage 2 (KS2, ages 7-11)
Book Scanning Fun
This activity is bound to be a summer favourite for both kids and parents! Fancy a declutter and getting some extra cash on the side? With WeBuyBooks, you can scan your old, unwanted books for money back and, at an age where kids grow out of books fast, it’s a great way to recycle and make space for the new literature in their lives. Just download the WeBuyBooks app and hold your phone’s scanner over the barcode on the book – if accepted, it should make a very satisfying buzz and be added to your basket. This is where the fun comes in! Kids can scan their own unwanted books and gain summer pocket money from their sales. Additionally, competitions could be set up to see who can scan the most books in a minute. The winner could receive new books of their choice and/or all the extra cash from their winning sale! Watch out, your children might turn into little book scanning entrepreneurs!
Book Scanning Fun
This activity is bound to be a summer favourite for both kids and parents! Fancy a declutter and getting some extra cash on the side? With WeBuyBooks, you can scan your old, unwanted books for money back and, at an age where kids grow out of books fast, it’s a great way to recycle and make space for the new literature in their lives. Just download the WeBuyBooks app and hold your phone’s scanner over the barcode on the book – if accepted, it should make a very satisfying buzz and be added to your basket. This is where the fun comes in! Kids can scan their own unwanted books and gain summer pocket money from their sales. Additionally, competitions could be set up to see who can scan the most books in a minute. The winner could receive new books of their choice and/or all the extra cash from their winning sale! Watch out, your children might turn into little book scanning entrepreneurs!
Book Bingo
Book Bingo is fun at any age but for this age, where the joy of reading is first discovered, it’s an especially superb challenge for summer. The sheet is designed with a diverse set of goals, from read ‘a book with a dragon’ to ‘a book more than 50 years old’. If kids are unsure what to read or you’re unsure with what to read with them, this is a wonderful tool to expand that reading list and find out what they enjoy. It also can act as a fun ‘book log’. Ticking off each square will give them confidence to read more in the future! Use it as a reading bingo or even use it as ‘Book Search’ challenge. Set teams for each column and see if they can find a book around the house that matches those goals – the fastest team with all the books wins! You could even try this in a library or a bookshop, just be sure to be aware of everyone around you. Either way, try Book Bingo at the start of summer and see how many goals your children can tick off by the end!
Book Bingo
Book Bingo is fun at any age but for this age, where the joy of reading is first discovered, it’s an especially superb challenge for summer. The sheet is designed with a diverse set of goals, from read ‘a book with a dragon’ to ‘a book more than 50 years old’. If kids are unsure what to read or you’re unsure with what to read with them, this is a wonderful tool to expand that reading list and find out what they enjoy. It also can act as a fun ‘book log’. Ticking off each square will give them confidence to read more in the future! Use it as a reading bingo or even use it as ‘Book Search’ challenge. Set teams for each column and see if they can find a book around the house that matches those goals – the fastest team with all the books wins! You could even try this in a library or a bookshop, just be sure to be aware of everyone around you. Either way, try Book Bingo at the start of summer and see how many goals your children can tick off by the end!
Become a Cool Critic
Pull out your inner critic with this book review booklet! An easy and structured way for kids to forge their unique writer’s voice, they can use this resource to create their own book review of their summer reads. The activity motivates readers to really consider both the plot and characters as well as their own opinions on the story. The questions are clear and thought provoking, this review frame booklet lets a budding reviewer feel empowered in their reading choices and is a great choice in activity to keep them interested.
Become a Cool Critic
Pull out your inner critic with this book review booklet! An easy and structured way for kids to forge their unique writer’s voice, they can use this resource to create their own book review of their summer reads. The activity motivates readers to really consider both the plot and characters as well as their own opinions on the story. The questions are clear and thought provoking, this review frame booklet lets a budding reviewer feel empowered in their reading choices and is a great choice in activity to keep them interested.
Reader’s Dice
A fun way to get your child to engage with a book, this 3-in-one dice is a fun and easy challenge. Not only an exciting activity to put together and decorate, it’s also a useful tool in understanding how well children are grasping key themes and characters, practising their comprehension skills in real time. The dice template includes 3 different versions, one for the start, middle and end of your child’s book to keep the reading fun and engaging all the way to the end. Enjoy seeing them make connections, predictions and watch them form their own opinions throughout their new read.
Reader’s Dice
A fun way to get your child to engage with a book, this 3-in-one dice is a fun and easy challenge. Not only an exciting activity to put together and decorate, it’s also a useful tool in understanding how well children are grasping key themes and characters, practising their comprehension skills in real time. The dice template includes 3 different versions, one for the start, middle and end of your child’s book to keep the reading fun and engaging all the way to the end. Enjoy seeing them make connections, predictions and watch them form their own opinions throughout their new read.
Fun Reading Crossword
This charming reader’s crossword puzzle is bound to get your kid’s attention this summer. Watch as they puzzle over this entertaining challenge, using their reading knowledge to complete the activity. A great game for a long journey or a rainy day, crosswords can also be particularly good social activities for kids to engage in with their friends. They can serve as fantastic starting points for children to engage in debates with each other, giving their opinions on different answers and encouraging their confidence when sharing their thoughts. Have you got a big reader at home willing to take on the challenge? You might find they become addicted to clues and puzzles! You never know, you have a mini-Sherlock Holmes in the house.
Fun Reading Crossword
This charming reader’s crossword puzzle is bound to get your kid’s attention this summer. Watch as they puzzle over this entertaining challenge, using their reading knowledge to complete the activity. A great game for a long journey or a rainy day, crosswords can also be particularly good social activities for kids to engage in with their friends. They can serve as fantastic starting points for children to engage in debates with each other, giving their opinions on different answers and encouraging their confidence when sharing their thoughts. Have you got a big reader at home willing to take on the challenge? You might find they become addicted to clues and puzzles! You never know, you have a mini-Sherlock Holmes in the house.
So, there it is, whether they become crossword geniuses, authors, cool as ice critics or book scanning athletes, we hope these activities keep your children entertained and interested in reading this summer.
If you find our suggested kids’ activities useful, why not also check out our Best Books and Reading Ideas for Kids:
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