The school holidays are upon us! But with this year’s holidays set to be another homebound occasion for most of us, how can parents still make best use of the home to create fun experiences for their children?
With a little creativity and help from Samsung, family time at home can be safe, fun, and exhilarating all at once. Check out the guide below for activities that will knock the socks off your kids, right in your living room!
Explore the World
While our luggage may be stowed away, our sense of wanderlust stays satiated with lifelike visual experiences brought about by Samsung’s latest TV innovations.
1. Uncover the Unknown
With countless immersive virtual walking tours available online, the world is at your feet. Dim the lights, shut the curtains and turn on your Samsung TV to indulge in the sights and sounds of your favorite holiday destinations – all from comfort of your living room!
Watch in awe as every nuance and detail comes to life with rich, accurate color and deeper contrast on Samsung’s Neo QLED 4K Smart TV. Featuring Quantum Matrix Technology, which enables ultra-fine and precise control of Samsung’s exclusive new Quantum Mini LED , the Neo QLED 4K Smart TV lets viewers enjoy great detail in both the darkest and brightest scenes.
The TV also packs in several premium, room-filling audio features, such as Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+), which corresponds audio to the movement of objects on screen, and SpaceFit Sound, which analyzes the TV’s installation environment and outputs immersive sound tailored specifically to the surrounding space. With sound this good, it’ll almost feel as though you’re in another city!
Activity Tip:
• Decide on a travel theme at the start of each week and fill up a bag with ping-pong balls indicating different themes/locations for children to pick from.
• Be creative with these themes – from “safaris of the world” to “deep sea adventures”, the possibilities are infinite!
• Create an activity worksheet to ensure that the experience is an interactive one.
o Ask fun questions such as: How many temples do you see? How many different types of boats can you spot in the marina? How many types of animals can you see in the savanna?
2. Appreciate the Arts
It’s never too early to cultivate the young ones into art aficionados. The world’s most amazing museums are now welcoming virtual footfall through their halls, so take advantage of this by exploring the likes of the Louvre, MoMA New York and even the Van Gogh Museum. Fun fact: MoMA New York also offers guided virtual tours for free!
Samsung’s The Frame lets you appreciate artworks from history’s most renowned artists with a built-in Art Store that makes it easy to browse, discover and download art pieces from leading international galleries. The Frame’s Brightness Sensor can also automatically adjust screen brightness and color based on external lighting conditions, keeping the natural colors of your artwork from changing. Featuring a slim and refined body that blends perfectly anywhere you put it, The Frame looks, feels and hangs like an actual picture frame – making it a piece of art in its own right.
Activity Tip:
• Schedule a museum day and ask your children to pick a virtual museum of their choice.
• Inspire your children further by encouraging them to discover more about an art genre or artist that captured their imagination during the art tour.
Learn new Skills
The school term may be over, but the learning should never stop! Make the most of the school holidays and enrich your kids by helping them understand more of the world outside their textbooks.
1. Feast on Food
Learning to cook is an enriching experience for children as it teaches them about the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet. In fact, there are many kid-friendly cooking recipes available for free on the internet!
You can start off by teaching the young ones how to cook simple dishes like scrambled eggs first. When they’re ready to up the ante, let your budding chefs pick their favorite dishes to try out with Smart Recipes on Family Hub™ – Samsung’s family-oriented smart fridge – which gives users access to many delicious recipes with simple on-screen instructions .
Love this idea but hate the mess that the kids will create? Samsung’s Grill Microwave Oven with Grill Fry includes an easy-to-clean Teflon-coated Crusty Plate that saves the hassle of cleaning up grease or oil splatters from conventional deep frying. And with sheath heater technologies based on an optimal algorithm, fried food is cooked healthier without compromising on flavor or texture.
Activity Tip:
• Create a playlist of simple but fun recipes for your kids according to their age, covering the different mealtimes of the day.
• Pick a recipe per day and integrate the food into their mealtimes. For example, add some fun by asking the children to prepare rainbow popcorn using a microwave as an afternoon snack.
2. Wonder with Workshops
Virtual workshops are all the rage now, and for good reason – they offer countless possibilities for kids to explore new hobbies and passions from the comfort of home. Whether its terrarium-building, art-jamming, meditation or even martial arts, there is bound to be something that can tickle your kid’s fancy.
For a do-it-all screen that lets you switch functionalities seamlessly, you’ll need Samsung’s Smart Monitor M7. Now available in a new 43-inch size that maximizes productivity and enhances entertainment, the M7 lets you set up anywhere without a PC, so your children can dive straight into virtual classes without the hassle of switching on a laptop.
After the kids are done learning for the day, you can transform the Smart Monitor into a complete entertainment hub and stream your family’s favorite movies and shows on Netflix, HBO and YouTube without a connection to a PC or mobile device !
Activity Tip:
• Curate a list of virtual workshop ideas for your kids to choose from – the freedom to choose can yield more genuine interest from them to learn from the workshop.
• Schedule in a virtual workshop and set up an area in the home that is conducive for desktop learning.
• Start a family scrapbook for your workshops and fill up the pages with pictures of your memories together. Don’t forget to journal thoughts or learning points in between pages!
Play to your Heart’s Content
Those who play together, stay together. After all, family gaming is one of the best ways to spend quality time together.
Check out simple board game classics like Uno or Monopoly, or try out The Game of Life and Clue for more of a challenge. Don’t have the physical games on hand? Use Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 and choose from a wide selection of local multiplayer apps for the entire family to play. Whether its Charades or the more tactical Ticket To Ride, the tablet handles gaming on an expansive 10.4” display for ideal visibility for the whole family .
Did you know? The Galaxy Tab A7 also comes with Samsung Kids, which helps parents get their children started on their digital journey in a safe way with the ability to set restrictions on playtimes, apps, and contacts .
Activity Tip:
• Schedule family playtime towards the late afternoon or evening as a reward for having a productive day.
• Dress-up for games and create fun character personalities to add spice and flair to each game!