What to Do This Half Term: Screen-Free Activities for Children and Parents
- Sophie Placido
- Feb 17
- 3 min read
If you’re searching for what to do this half term, you’re not alone. Many parents want simple, meaningful activities that don’t involve endless screen time, expensive days out, or complicated planning.
The good news? Some of the best half term activities happen right at home – and one of the most powerful tools you can use is a story.
The Happy Puppy is more than just a children’s book. It’s a heart-warming tale that helps to build confidence and can be used as a springboard for creative play, conversation and connection.
If you’re wondering how to keep your child entertained this half term, here are some simple, engaging ideas built around reading together.
Why Reading Together Is One of the Best Half Term Activities
When school pauses, routines shift. Children can feel excited, overstimulated or even unsettled. Reading together can help to:
Support emotional wellbeing
Build vocabulary and communication skills
Create calm moments during busy days
Spark imagination
Encourage emotional awareness
And when a story is relatable, uplifting, and easy to revisit, it becomes a book that children ask for again and again.
Half term is the perfect opportunity to make reading feel special – not a rushed activity between school runs and packed schedules, but relaxed, cosy and interactive.
How to Turn The Happy Puppy into a Half Term Activity Hub
Here are some simple, joyful ways to extend the story beyond the page:
1. Create a Cosy Reading Den 📚
Turn reading into an event.
Build a blanket fort
Add fairy lights or cushions
Make warm drinks or snacks
Let your child turn the pages
Creating a special “reading ritual” makes books feel magical, exciting and comforting at the same time.
2. Talk About Feelings 💛
One of the most powerful things about The Happy Puppy is the gentle way it opens up conversations about emotions. After reading, try asking:
What made the puppy feel happy?
Has anything like that ever happened to you?
What makes you feel happy when you’re feeling sad?
Books are powerful tools for emotional literacy – especially during school breaks when excitement, overstimulation and tiredness can mean big feelings start to surface.
3. Design Your Own Happy Puppy 🎨
Why not set up a mini craft session inspired by the story:
Print out the pictures to colour in
Draw your own puppy character
Make a collage of things that make you happy
Create a paper plate puppy mask
You could even talk about what makes your puppy happy – helping to link creativity with emotional awareness.
4. Act It Out 🐾
After reading, take turns acting out scenes from the book.
Take turns being the Happy Puppy
How does the puppy move when happy?
Can you act out your favourite scene?
Role play builds empathy and confidence – and it can burn off a bit of that half term energy too!
5. Write Your Own Sequel 🐶
For older children, writing the next chapter can be a fantastic literacy boost. You could ask:
What happens next?
Does the puppy go on another adventure?
Does the puppy help a friend feel happy?
You can write it together or let your child dictate while you write. This boosts confidence and shows them their ideas matter.
Half Term Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive
When people search “what to do this half term with kids”, it often comes from pressure – pressure to fill every day, pressure to make memories, pressure to keep children entertained.
But half term doesn’t need to be packed with expensive activities or days out. The moments children remember most are often the simple ones – cuddled up on the sofa, laughing at a story, feeling heard and safe.
If you’re planning your half term activities and want something simple, nurturing and screen-free, reading together is one of the most impactful things you can do. Because sometimes, the best answer to “what should we do this half term?” is simply sitting down together with a really good book. 💛
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