Obstacle courses, story tapes, and plays oh my! You can even go for a hot air balloon ride! Mum and dads, here are 4 great ideas you can sell to your kids!

1.Build an obstacle course

Ever watched Saturday morning television featuring the most amazing obstacle courses and wished you could do them? Well now you can! Grab your pillows and mattresses and get started. Begin by riding your mattress down the stairs and out the door. Run through lined up hoola hoops and then have one of your team-mates wrap you in loo roll. Put on your roller blades and race 30m. then take them off and roll a tennis ball on the ground in an effort to knock down 5 pins. Once you have, hop into a potato sack or pillow case and jump your way to the finish line! Any and all variations to this course are welcome.

2.Put on a play

Grab your friends from around the neighbourhood and assign them each a part in your play. It doesn't matter whether it's a storybook classic or you made it up off the top of your head, it's all fun. Collect whatever props and make-up you can find and start dressing up. After a few practices, invite your friends and family to come and sit in the living room, or outside, and watch. Introduce yourselves and then start performing. Don't forget to bow at the end and thank everyone for coming.

3.Build a hot air balloon

-Find a thin plastic bag. Small garbage bags work well.

-Attach straws together to form a circle with a diameter of about 12 inches

-Tape the opening of the opened bag to the circle of straws

-Cut a 2 inch square out of thin cardboard. Punch 4 small holes into the centre.

-Attach a 12 inch piece of thread to each corner of the cardboard square and then something heavy to the bottom

-Insert candles into the holes, light them and let it float

-Imagine it was you flying on a hot air balloon ride!

4.Make a story tape:

Grab a tape recorder and blank cassette, find a story you love, and make your own storybook tape! Each child can play the part of a particular character, or take turns reading. It's a great way to get kids interested in books and an effective learning tool to help them improve their reading skills. By replaying the tape children can hear their mistakes and work on correcting them. Unlike a play, a tape is something that children can keep and listen to, especially if they're away from home.