Fun Activities for Afterschool Programmes

Fun Activities for Afterschool Programmes 4 engaging educational OSCAR activities your kids will love.

1. Create an explosion.

Kids, particularly boys, love blowing things up, so OSCAR activities that encourage this in a safe way are always a good time! Many kid's science experiments involve the thrilling combustions that occur when basic household ingredients are combined. Try out ice volcanoes, elephant toothpaste, exploding apples and watermelons, and glow-in-the-dark explosions. Make your explosions into art by adding food colouring and take kid's creativity to new levels. Here's a link to videos of how to make these ideas come to life.

2. Make music from nature.

Go on a nature or neighbourhood walk and collect your musical instruments—dry sticks, crunchy leaves, rocks and gravel—be creative! Back in the classroom listen to a pop song and identify the role of each instrument, then assign each child a role in your orchestra, e.g. percussionist, drummer, bass player. Investigate why certain sounds occur and how to create them. Improvise together and be serenaded by the sounds of nature and wild imagination.

3. Learn a magic trick.

Google "how to make a coin vanish" and teach it to your OSCAR kids—it's simple with a bit of practice, and they'll love having a jaw-dropping magic trick up their sleeve to show off to family and friends. Keep it educational by bringing in the basic brain and behavioural science behind how it works...it's never too early to learn more about how weird we humans are!  

4. Kill plants...to care for the planet.

Help kids become more environmentally aware with fun OSCAR activities that also teach the importance of conservation. Grow seedlings (another fun educational activity) and then shower them with "acid rain" by adding different ratios of lemon juice to water. Record the effects of a lot of acid rain, a little acid rain, and no acid rain. Then engage kids in brainstorming how we might take better care of our world into the future. 

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