Summer Activities for Siblings: 3 Simple Ways to Play with Funphix Together

If you have more than one child at home during the summer holidays, you’ll know that finding an activity everyone is happy with isn’t always easy. One wants to climb and another wants to build. Meanwhile, someone has turned the climbing frame into a shop and would really like everyone to stop walking through the till. The good news is, they don’t actually need to agree on one game.

These three simple summer activities for siblings give children a starting point, but leave plenty of room for each of them to play in their own way.

Create and build something with a place for everyone

Try giving them one challenge: Can you build something that has a place for everyone?

Then leave the rest to them. They might decide they need a high section for climbing and a den underneath. Someone may add a seat, a doorway or a lookout point. Before long, they’re working out how to bring completely different ideas into the same build. That negotiation is part of the fun and chances are, what they come up with will be far more interesting than anything an adult would have planned for them.

Take turns adding to the build

If one child usually takes over, try building in turns instead. Start with something small, then let each child decide what gets added next and see where their imagination takes them. It could be another level, a tunnel, a different way in or, for reasons known only to them, a very important flag on the top.

The idea isn’t to make the build perfectly fair or symmetrical. It simply gives everyone the chance to shape what they’re making. It can also take the pressure off having to agree on the whole thing before they begin.

Keep the same build, but change the game

A finished build doesn’t have to mean the activity is over. Before taking it apart, see what else they can do with it. The climbing frame they built in the morning might become an obstacle course after lunch. A den can turn into a café, a spaceship or the headquarters for a game they’ve just invented.

You could also suggest changing one part of the structure and seeing what difference it makes. Often, that small change is enough to send the play in a completely new direction.

Give them the starting point, not the whole plan

Sometimes children just need an idea to get them going, then space to decide what happens next. That’s one of the things we love about open-ended play. The modular style of Funphix means it can be built, climbed on, changed and rebuilt, so siblings can bring very different ideas to the same set of pieces.

And if their finished creation bears absolutely no resemblance to what they started out trying to make? That’s usually where the best play begins.

Looking for more ideas for the school holidays? Explore our Ultimate Guide to Summer Holiday Activities for Kids for more simple ways to keep children building, moving and creating together.

Want to give them even more ways to build, climb and create? Explore the Funphix range and discover the right kit for your family.