Free Activities for Children
Ideas for days when you want something fun to do without spending money — at home, online or outdoors.
You do not need expensive craft kits, days out or subscriptions to keep children busy. This page brings together free printables, movement, mindfulness, learning, cooking, gardening, outdoor adventures and simple activities using things you may already have.
Colour, draw & make
Useful when you need a calm table activity, a rainy-day option or something easy to print.
Crayola colouring pages
Crayola has a large collection of free colouring sheets, including animals, seasonal pictures and simple designs for younger children.
Browse Crayola colouring pages →Monday Mandala
Thousands of free printable PDF colouring pages covering everything from dinosaurs and animals to films, games, educational topics and mandalas.
Browse Monday Mandala →Create at Home
Firstsite has free step-by-step creative activities suitable for children aged 4+, including paper projects, animation and simple making challenges.
Try a free art activity →Yoga, movement & mindfulness
Good for burning off some energy, slowing down before bed or helping children practise calm breathing.
Cosmic Kids Yoga
Story-led yoga, movement and mindfulness for younger children. Search the Cosmic Kids YouTube channel for free yoga adventures.
Watch Cosmic Kids on YouTube →Zen Den mindfulness
Short Cosmic Kids mindfulness videos introduce ideas such as breathing, noticing feelings and calming busy thoughts.
Find Zen Den videos →Five-finger breathing
Hold up one hand. Slowly trace up each finger while breathing in and trace down while breathing out. Repeat across the whole hand.
Learn a new skill
Turn some screen time into something children can practise, build on and feel proud of.
Learn a language
Use Duolingo for short language lessons in subjects such as French, Spanish and German. The basic version can be used without paying.
Start learning with Duolingo →Learn some sign language
Choose a few signs to practise each week — greetings, colours, animals, food or family words are easy places to start.
Find beginner BSL videos →Learn chess
Learn how each piece moves, then play mini-games before trying a full match.
Explore ChessKid →Try coding
Scratch lets children create their own games, animations and interactive stories while learning the basics of coding.
Create something with Scratch →Learn to draw
Pick an animal, cartoon character or object and follow a simple step-by-step drawing video. Keep the pictures together to make a holiday sketchbook.
Find drawing tutorials →Learn a magic trick
Try a simple card, coin or disappearing-object trick, practise it in secret and put on a family magic show later.
Get outside
You can turn an ordinary walk into an adventure without paying for an attraction.
Try geocaching
Geocaching is a real-world treasure hunt using GPS coordinates. Search for beginner-friendly caches nearby and take a pen to sign the logbook.
Tip: an adult should manage the account and route with younger children.
Find out how geocaching works →Nature scavenger hunt
See who can find a feather, something yellow, a smooth stone, three different leaves, a bird, a spider web and something that smells nice.
Photo challenge
Choose a theme — circles, letters, colours, interesting doors, tiny things or signs — and photograph examples while you walk.
Birdwatching
Sit quietly for ten minutes and count how many different birds you can spot. Older children can draw them or research their names afterwards.
Bike or scooter challenge
Make a simple route, practise braking and signalling, or set up a slow-riding challenge somewhere safe and away from traffic.
Stargazing
On a clear evening, lie outside with a blanket and see what you can spot. Try making up your own constellations before looking for the real ones.
Cook, bake & grow
Useful life skills that also give children something real to show for their time.
Start gardening
The RHS has free children’s gardening ideas and guides. Try growing cress, salad leaves, radishes, beans or sunflowers.
Explore RHS children’s gardening →RHS gardening activities
Find activity ideas covering seeds, vegetables, wildlife, compost, seasonal growing and garden crafts.
Browse free RHS resources →Kids’ cooking
Choose a simple recipe and let children take responsibility for weighing, mixing and preparing age-appropriate ingredients.
Browse family recipes →Cook along on YouTube
Search for a child-friendly cook-along and pause after each step. An adult should supervise ovens, hobs and knives.
Find kids’ cook-alongs →Create your own café
Children can make menus, write prices, prepare a simple lunch or snack and take turns being the chef, customer and waiter.
Grow from kitchen scraps
Try sprouting dried peas or beans, regrowing spring onions in water, or planting seeds saved from suitable fruit and vegetables just to see what happens.
Podcasts, stories & listening
Ideal for quiet time, drawing, Lego building, long journeys or winding down.
CBeebies Radio Podcast
Short stories, songs and imaginative adventures featuring familiar CBeebies characters, particularly suited to younger children.
Find CBeebies audio →Audiobook afternoon
Put on a free children’s story or audiobook from your library service, then draw a picture of a favourite scene while listening.
Make your own podcast
Use a phone voice recorder to make a family news show, joke programme, book review, sports commentary or interview with a grandparent.
Simple no-screen ideas
Activities that need little or no preparation.
🏠 Build a den
Use blankets, cushions, chairs and pegs. Add books and a torch for a reading hideout.
🧱 Lego challenge
Build the tallest tower, a bridge that holds a tin of beans, a dream house or a vehicle for a toy.
🎭 Put on a show
Make tickets and a programme, then create a dance, puppet show, comedy act or mini play.
🧪 Kitchen science
Explore floating and sinking, make a baking-soda volcano or test which materials absorb the most water.
📖 Make a book
Fold sheets of paper together and create a comic, nature diary, joke book or story for a younger child.
🗺️ Make a treasure hunt
Hide an object, draw a map or write clues, then swap roles and let somebody else create the next hunt.
🎵 Make a playlist & dance
Each person chooses a song, then make up a dance or play musical statues.
🧺 Indoor picnic
Put a blanket on the floor, make lunch together and pretend you have gone somewhere completely different.
Try junior parkrun at Thornes Park
Wakefield Thornes junior parkrun is a free, friendly 2km event for children aged 4–14.
It is listed for Sunday mornings at 9am at Thornes Park in Wakefield. Children can walk, jog or run — it does not need to be a race.
Check the official event page before leaving home in case of cancellations or changes.
Check Wakefield Thornes junior parkrun →Before your first visit
- Register with parkrun before taking part if you want an official result.
- Bring the child’s barcode.
- Arrive a little early for the first-timer briefing.
- Check the event page or social media if the weather is poor.
Have we missed a good free activity?
If you know a genuinely free website, activity, local group or resource that Crofton families would find useful, send it to Crofton Signpost and we can consider adding it.
Send us an idea →