When your child gets home from school, they’re most likely exhausted and bored. After a long day learning in class, the least they want when they come home is an activity that drains them further. Whilst they might just want to pick up the tablet and binge on the latest kids' shows as they snack, there are better after-school activities for them to enjoy.  

As kids grow, we must help them to live healthier lives physically, mentally, and socially. Unfortunately, spending long hours in front of screens doesn’t help with raising a wholesomely healthy child.  Hence, the need to limit screen-time and encourage kids to participate in other healthy activities.

Best After-School Activities For Kids

If you’ve been wondering what else your child can do after school, stay right here with us as we share with you some of the best screen-free after-school activities to help kids relax.

Sports Activities

Sports activities such as ball games, swimming and bike riding are known to boost children’s physical and mental health. Aside from that, they’re fun to play and can help kids relax after school. The best thing is that activities such as swimming and bike riding don’t require a team to play. Your child can play alone and still have a lot of fun.

However, for the sake of their social skills, games such as football and volleyball are equally necessary. These games require children to interact, focus and cooperate with others, building their communication, teamwork and attention skills.

Taking part in martial arts activities like taekwondo and karate is also a great way to improve children’s coordination, balance, flexibility and cardiorespiratory fitness according to a 2022 study.

Nature Walk

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be complicated. An evening walk as you bond with your child might be all they need to unwind after school. This is a great time to simply catch up as a family and talk about school in a more relaxed environment.

The walk can also be a perfect time to learn about nature - the animals, insects, plants and flowers that you come across. To make it more engaging and fun, you can have your little one capture photos of whatever catches their attention along the way and you can help them produce a simple slideshow.

If you have a furry baby, you might as well go with them for an even more fulfilling experience.

Gardening

Does your little one know what it takes to sow a seed and nurture it to maturity? If not, engaging them in gardening as an after-school activity might be a good idea. Kids love exploring and their curious selves will be too eager to see what happens after putting the seed in the ground.

You can try various seeds like corn and potato, or whichever seeds are available to you. It’s worth asking your child what they’d love to plant too as this keeps them engaged and invested in caring for the plants they’ve chosen. Alternatively, you can plant flowers, trees or vegetables together.

So that your child feels like they’re part of the journey, have them water the plants consistently until maturity. The nurturing process will instil values of patience, discipline and consistency. When the flower finally blooms or the vegetables are ready for harvest, remember to involve your child so they experience the joy of reaping the fruits of their hard work.

Music

Music is one of the best ways to relax, not only for adults but also for children. No wonder babies respond to it even when they can’t comprehend a thing. Playing music as an after-school activity could help lighten your child’s mood and even calm them down if they’ve had a difficult day in school.

Additionally, music benefits children by enhancing their emotional intelligence, prosocial skills and academic performance.

Take time to observe the kind of music and musical instruments your child is interested in and help them choose a suitable activity. It could be playing piano, or guitar, singing lessons or even dancing classes. 

Craft

As much as most kids love music, not every child will. And that’s okay. If your child is more of an introvert, they might love crafting. Crafting allows them to get lost in their creative zone while enjoying a little solitude.

After-school activities such as pottery, paper crafts and weaving can go a long way in helping kids acquire life-long skills and values. For instance, with just a pair of scissors and paper, your child can make animals, flowers, and a range of cute paper crafts. Allow them to create what they desire and only help when needed so that they can have more fun and learn to be more independent.

Drawing and Colouring

Another fun after-school activity for your little one is drawing. Drawing allows kids to express their thoughts, feelings, dreams and desires.

Drawing helps children develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, attention to detail and creativity. You can either let your child draw whatever they desire or challenge them to draw something in particular. It might surprise you how talented they are and how much stuff they know.

But what if your child isn’t into drawing? Well, we bet they love colouring, especially using the Little Change Creators Re-FUN-able™ Colouring Sets. With these sets, there’s no limit to how creative a kid can go thanks to the reusable nature of the colouring mats. Colour, erase, repeat and toss the mat into the dishwasher for cleaning when needed. It’s that easy. No mess, no fuss.

Fun Beyond the Screen

Honestly, parenting can sometimes feel like a tough algebraic equation. We’re always trying to solve issues and think about stuff - from what to make for dinner to how best to support our little ones academically. That’s why it’s always easier to switch on the TV or hand your child the phone than to figure out what else they can do after school.

After-school activities are necessary for children’s fun, relaxation and growth. But, they don’t have to be complicated, nor do they need to involve screen-time.  Kids find pleasure in the simplest of things. So, from what we’ve just shared, we hope you find a few activities to help your child have a great time after school.