50 Things To Do Together

Playing Together in Cheshire East 

The first 10 of our activities are all ones you can enjoy right here in Cheshire East. 

1.  Visit a Children’s Centre / Family Hub

Our Family Hubs provide a wide range of activities for you and your children.  

Start for Life - There is a range of stay and plays for babies, toddlers and preschool children all planned to ensure you and your child have fun together.   

2.  Visit a Library

There are loads of fun and exciting activities going on in your local library.  Sharing books together is a great way of bonding with your child and will help their learning and development.

Start for Life - It’s never too early to start reading with your baby, they love hearing you talk! Why not visit your local library, get signed up, borrow a couple of baby books and test out your reading voices?

• Our Library's have lots of fun activities for children and young people like lego and craft clubs have a look on their webpage and see what you can enjoy!

3.  Explore the Woods

Visiting a forest / woodland can be an exciting adventure for you and your child. Forests contain a wealth of natural resources that can keep your child exploring for hours.

• Collect conkers - conkers are the seeds of the horse chestnut tree in the Autumn they ripen and can be collected.
• Find your nearest Woodland with the Woodland Trust
• Woodland activities for children and families from Woodland Trust
• Watch this video showing us some ideas for when exploring nature with young children from BBC Tiny Happy People
• Activity idea - create a wildflower painting with BookTrust

4.  Have a Swim in a Pool 

Visit a swimming pool, swimming is a really fun way of a child, parent or whole family of getting exercise.  Children from a few weeks old can go swimming and the younger they start, the quicker they will grow in confidence.

5.  Visit a Lake or a Pond 

You could spot all sorts of wild life at a lake or a pond from Herons, to frogs, tadpoles, fish and so much more. Talking about what you see and teaching your child the names of the animals will really boost their vocabulary . Say things slowly, clearly and repetitively to give your child the best chance of understanding the new word.

• Activity idea - Try playing 'Pooh Sticks' all you need is a stick and a bridge over some running water for this simple game!

6.  Use your Bike on the Cycle Paths 

Grab your bikes and have an adventure!  You and your family can cover miles of countryside and enjoy the great outdoors with ease. Follow the link to find a cycle path near you.

• Follow this link for safety advice and the health benefits of cycling from the NHS Cycling For Beginners 

7.  Walk along a Canal

Canals have been in use for hundreds of years! A long time ago they were  a life line for distribution, now they are mainly used for country walks and narrow boats. They are a wonderful place to share some new experiences with your child. Your child could see a lock in use, count how many windows a narrow boat has, or even try and race a narrow boat that is travelling. 

• Canal safety from the Canal River Trust

8.  Visit a Museum

Museums are a great place for a child to broaden their experiences and understanding. In Cheshire East we have a large number of museums that you can visit. Visiting a museum will help your child to learn more about the world around them, discover more about their local community and connect with local history in your area.

• Have a look what museums are available in your local area

9.  Have Fun in the Park

Head over to your local park and enjoy some time together.  There are so many games you can play such as "Hide and Seek", playing on the swings or keeping it simple with running games.   

• Activity ideas - There are lots of fun activities inspired by Disney favourites such as Moana, Toy Story, Star Wars and more - 10 Minute Shake Up Games from Change4Life

• Find out what is available in Cheshire East parks with the Rangers service

10.  Look Up!

The sky can provide lots of fascinating activities for children and supports their interest in the natural world.  This is a simple way to support our wellbeing as these activities encourage us to take notice and be in tune with our surroundings.  There are lots of fun activities you can try such as:

• When it’s dark at night look for stars - look up to the sky on a clear night and see what you can see.  If your child is really interested and curious the NASA website has lots of information for you to learn more about what you are seeing.
• When it’s light look for clouds - Cloud watching can be enjoyed almost anywhere and can be an endless source of fascination.  This activity connects you and your child to the natural world and encourages creativity.  For this slow, calming activity all you need to do is lay on the ground, look up and watch the clouds.  Explain what you see and what the clouds look like and watch your child’s imagination spark.
• Watch a sunrise or sunset for a magical moment and witness how the sky changes colour 
• Rhymetime - Little ones will love the classic - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Read and Explore the lovely story "Whatever Next" with your young child
• Storytime - My Pet Star from the Booktrust
• Activity Idea - Decorate a telescope  - use an old kitchen roll and decorate this with pens or craft items  then go outside when its dark and look at all the stars. You can discuss how scientists use telescopes, count how many stars are in the sky and look out for shooting stars!

 #50ThingsTogether to share your adventures