Children’s University Australia

Holiday Activities

Each activity in this booklet is worth half an hour in your passport – complete as many as you can

and return them to your school’s CUA coordinator next year!

Activity 1: Holiday Crossword

Activity 2: Writing Challenge Take the view of a family dog. Write a short letter to persuade your human owners that you

deserve your own roast turkey this year. Give at least three reasons as to why you should eat it,

instead of the owners!

Activity 3: Reindeer Comprehension Read the passage below, then answer the questions on the next page

Are these big, furry, hoofed animals reindeer or caribou? The

answer depends on where you live. In Europe and Asia where

they have been domesticated, they are known as reindeer.

People in those areas rely on reindeer to pull sleds or carry

packs. In the northern parts of North America where these

animals roam freely, they are called caribou. In the U.S., we

use the name “reindeer” when talking about the

domesticated animal.

Fur covering a reindeer’s body helps it stay warm in its very cold habitat. Reindeer even have fur

on the bottom of their hooves, which helps them keep from slipping on icy ground. Their big,

broad hooves also work well as paddles when the animal swims across rivers or lakes. And, their

sharp hooves are used as shovels to dig into the snow to find food.

A reindeer calf can walk about one hour after it is born. It follows its mother, staying close to

nurse and for protection. Reindeer live in big groups called a herd. In the spring, herds come

together and form an even bigger group of up to 50,000 animals. Since all the females in

a herd give birth at the same time of year, a reindeer calf has many friends to play reindeer

games with!

In North America, how is a caribou different to a reindeer?

What is a habitat?

How do humans use the animals to make their lives easier?

In what season do the females give birth?

List two ways fur helps the animal live in its cold habitat

Activity 4: Holiday Cooking!

Follow the instructions below to create a delicious treat:

You will need:

12g butter

45g mini white marshmallows

45g cornflakes

Green gel food colouring

Red Skittles/M&Ms

Ask an adult to help you follow these instructions:

Line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper. Although no oven is involved, you will need a place to shape your cornflake wreaths. Weigh the butter and mini marshmallows into a microwavable mixing bowl. Ask an adult to put the microwavable bowl into the microwave. Melt the butter and marshmallows on a high heat. Stir the mixture in 10-15 second intervals. The mixture tends to puff up once melted. Ask an adult to carefully transfer the bowl from the microwave and give it a good stir to be sure that the butter and marshmallows are combined. Use a teaspoon to add a spoonful of green food colouring to the mixture. You won't need much! Give it a good mix. Leave the mixture a minute or two to firm up. Use a tablespoon to scoop up the mixture and place onto the baking paper. Use your fingers to shape them into wreaths. You may find it easier to put a little vegetable/sunflower oil or butter on your fingertips as this will help avoid a sticky mess! Now you can stick the Skittles or sprinkles straight onto your wreaths in a decorative manner.

Activity 5: Summer Sand Art

It’s summer time and what better opportunity to use our fantastic environment to create some

unique sand art.

Travel down to your local beach or your local sandpit and create a sandcastle, a mermaid, a

giant fish – you can make anything you want as long as it’s out of sand!

Take a photo and paste it below as evidence of your creative genius.

Activity 6: Paper Tree

Follow these steps to make your own personal tree! Find yourself four of more pieces of different coloured paper. The more different colours, the better the effect. Take your first page, and use a ruler to draw straight lines of different thickness across the page. Cut the lines at different points so they are all different lengths. Repeat the same process for each piece of coloured paper. Using the below picture as a guide, order the pieces of paper from longest at the bottom of your page, to shortest at the top. Use a stick of glue to stick them down. The strips can either be straight or on angles. Take a piece of yellow paper, and cut out a star. You can then glue the star on top (if you want).

Activity 7: Santa’s Flight Path

Santa has a long, long night ahead of him this coming Christmas Eve, and he’ll need your help

plotting a path on a map and working out some distances.

Firstly, research where the following cities are and plot them on the below map.

Antarctica Canberra, Australia Paris, France

Auckland, New Zealand Delhi, India New York, United States of America

Once you have plotted all the cities, draw a flight path starting in Antarctica and ending in New

York.

Activity 7: Santa’s Flight Path

Use your research skills now to answer the following questions (in kms)

How far is Santa’s first trip from Antarctica to Auckland?

Of all the points on your map, which two are the closest? How far apart are they?

When Santa arrives in Paris, how should he say ‘Merry Christmas’?

There will be a lot of air traffic on Christmas Eve. What is the biggest airport in New York, so

Santa can avoid it?

How many kilometres will the reindeer be travelling in total on this trip?

Activity 8: Sporting Triumphs in 2016

2016 has been another huge year in sport across both Australia and the world. Use your research

skills (or your memory!) to answer the following questions:

1. Which player won the Brownlow Medal in 2016?

2. Which team won the A-League Grand Final in 2016?

3. Which country hosted the 2016 European Football Championships?

4. How old is Kyle Chalmers?

5. How many Olympic Gold Medals did Australia win?

6. Before 2016, when did the Western Bulldogs last win an AFL premiership?

7. Who was Australia’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics?

8. Which team won the 2016 NBA Finals?

9. Which country hosted the 2016 Olympic Games?

10. Which team finished bottom of the NRL in 2016?

Activity 9: Holiday Menu

It’s hard to think about the Holidays without getting excited at all the food on offer!

Use the template below to create a menu for your dream dinner. There must be at least three

courses – and you must describe what each food listed is!

Activity 10: 2016 in Review

Another year has gone by and we’ve all had lots of experiences and learned new things. Have a

think back over your year and answer the questions below:

What is your best memory of 2016?

Did you make any new friends in 2016? Write about them.

What was your favourite song this year? Why did you like it?

What was your favourite thing about your classroom teacher this year?

What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2017?