Explore your own backyard
Just like in the good ol’ days, the backyard is still one of the best places for some fun in the sun. Set to inspire imaginative play and send your little nippers on adventures, Brisbane City Council’s Environment Centres have partnered with free augmented reality gaming app Agents of Discovery to create fortnightly missions that encourage children to explore their own backyard. To start playing, download Agents of Discovery: Wild Backyards Mission (it’s available on Google Play and the App Store), then print out the colourful characters in this document and hide them around your backyard (each character unlocks a new challenge to complete via the app). Then open the app and click on ‘Missions’, search for ‘Wild Backyards’ and create a free account or play as a guest. Are you eager to become a master of the game and send your cute clan on a mission that will have them exploring their own garden? Watch this short video for further instructions on how to play.
It’s storytime, all of the time
Reading to little ones is one of life’s greatest pleasures – but there are only so many times you can read Possum Magic! Sit back and relax for a bit and join Brisbane City Council librarians as they sing songs, read stories and perform interactive shows to entertain your kids. It’s all part of Storytime on Demand – where you can experience the magic of storytime right in your living room. For the tiny tots, there’s a sing-a-long with Robyn and Michele from Annerley Library, or join Sharee from Bracken Ridge Library as she sings songs and delivers rhymes. If you like to recite rhymes, you can also join the chorus singing ‘Humpty Dumpty’ with Sharron and Meg at Toowong Library. Ready your rug rat for Toddler Time with Ashlee and Adrian, who will have your tot laughing along while they read the best-selling children’s book Oi Frog!, or help them learn some sign language at the AUSLAN Toddler Time with Charlotte from Fairfield Library. For the slightly bigger kids, Penny and Plantain bring you a very special storytime from their library to you in the comfort of your home, reading three classic children’s books. Check out Council’s full playlist of library children’s literacy sessions videos here.
Bake it off
It’s always amusing (albeit messy) when you let the children into the kitchen for some fun, quality time spent cooking. Looking for some inspiration? Head to Brisbane City Council’s best food waste recipe blog for ideas on how to make the most out of your leftovers. If you’re yet to get on the banana-bread baking train, then use this quick and easy recipe to turn your brown bananas from wasted food into a sweet afternoon treat. If you’re looking to make something more savoury and you’ve got some extra vegetables in the fridge that are starting to look a bit limp, this fried rice recipe tutorial gives you an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to turning them into a tasty dish for dinner. You can get the kids to throw in whatever greens and legumes you have, saving time and money, while teaching your little ones an important lesson about looking after our environment by not wasting food. To check out the full list of Council’s favourite recipes that help prevent food wastage, head here.
Learning, but make it fun
A lot of parents have shape-shifted into teachers in the past couple of months and home schooling has left them feeling slightly burnt out. So you can make learning fun (and engaging) again, Brisbane City Council has got your back with plenty of online learning activities to keep the kids busy. So they can play and learn online, make tracks to learning hub Busy Things, which offers a wealth of more than 150 activities. It covers everything from literacy to numeracy, creative development and general knowledge, and is a perfect tool for when you’re seeking some silly but educational entertainment. If your kids are little coders they can hop onto Busy Code, an online hub that teaches programming with tutorials, challenges and projects using drag-and-drop coding. There’s plenty more to check out – peep the complete list of online resources for kids here.
Stars in their eyes
While we’re at home more than out, one thing we can do with the kids is take some time to look up. Stargazing is a free and super fun activity that will keep your curious little ones occupied for hours on end. Don’t have any astronomy knowledge? No worries! Council will answer all of your stargazing questions thanks to the expertise of Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium curator and astronomer, Mark Rigby and his knowledgeable team. You’ll find out what binoculars are best to observe the night sky, what size telescope will help you and your family see the stars in more detail and all of the astronomical sights we can spot above us around this time of year. Head here for the most recent ‘Ask An Astronomer’ Q&A and stay tuned on the Planetarium’s Facebook page for upcoming content featuring need-to-know celestial info and cosmic-related insights.
The article was created in partnership with our friends at Brisbane City Council. To check out the best things to do in and around Brisbane, visit Brisbane City Council’s digital neighbourhood.