The weekend rolls around and you’ve got about 48 hours before the next school bell rings. There’s laundry to do, errands to run, but you know that time is moving fast — too fast — and these young, weird and wonderful humans in your house won’t be this age for long. You want to give them a weekend that feeds their brain without turning into a lecture. Something fun that also helps them grow, an experience that affects them in a positive way. It just takes a little thought, a loose plan, and a willingness to participate alongside them.

Start With a Shift in Framing

The best weekends don’t start with rigid agendas — they start with intention. You’re creating a situation where curiosity runs the show, and you’re gently steering it. What you’re aiming for is boosting learning while still completing household chores, hopefully with your children’s help. Let them help pick from a menu of options on the family “to do” list. Maybe give tasks silly nicknames to add some fun. Give them a timeframe that you will do chores together and set an alarm to stop for total free play. Trust that structure and spontaneity can live side-by-side.

Get Outside With a Purpose

“Go play outside” is great advice, being that free play stimulates insight and creativity. But being outside on a mission can be fun too. A five-minute setup can turn an aimless wander into something magnetic.

Print or sketch a scavenger list: something red, something fuzzy, something that smells weird. Let your kids take pictures or draw what they find. Kids who learn to scan their environment — to really look, listen, and narrate what they see — get better at focusing in all kinds of circumstances. And bonus: Moving their bodies stimulates the release of healthy chemicals in their brains for better mood and fitness.

Bring Science Into the Kitchen

You don’t need to be a scientist to run a decent experiment. And you definitely don’t need a trip to the craft store. What you need is vinegar, baking soda, food coloring, and maybe a balloon or two. Give your kids a mystery to solve or a prediction to test, and suddenly you’re connecting cause and effect in the real world. That’s what makes simple indoor experiments using household items so powerful. It’s not just the fizz or the color change — it’s the look on their faces when something they imagined or predicted becomes something they made happen.

Leave the House for Something That Sticks

A few hours at a local museum or even a small historical site can do more for your kids’ learning than any flashcard. The key is interaction. Let them lead. Let them touch the things that are meant to be touched. Ask weird questions. Make it about discovery, not memorization. When they’re out of the house, in a place where everything feels somewhat new, their attention sharpens in a different way. That’s why visiting interactive environments for rich learning works so well — it taps into the part of the brain that remembers experiences, not just facts.

Add a Language Twist That Feels Like Play

You know what’s weird? How fast kids can pick up new words when they’re not trying. Language exposure can come from silly songs, pretending to order food at a fake restaurant, or joking using phrases they learned five minutes ago. Let your kids experiment with language, your own or a second language, and relax about mistakes. If your child is interested in Spanish, for example, look for a flexible and supportive learning platform with human-led Spanish courses (this is a good option). Or check out fun videos on YouTube that introduce kids to other languages.

Keep Something Cozy for Indoors

Some weekends, the weather might keep everyone inside, or your family might need to relax and recharge. This is your chance to slow down. Avoid screens as much as you can and pull out the art box — crayons, paper, scissors. An empty cereal box? Empty toilet paper or paper towel roll? Sure. Tape? Even better. Let your kids create and decorate homemade shakers or design a home or post office for their stuffed animals. Sometimes I used to buy art and science kits on sale after the holidays for our random down days. There’s a quiet kind of brilliance in watching them duct-tape a world into being while you sip your coffee or herbal tea and pretend not to help.

End With a Recap, Not a Debrief

At the end of the weekend, ask questions like: “What part was your favorite?”, “What felt silly?”, and “What would you do differently next time?” This kind of inquiry amplifies enjoyment and growth and sends a subtle but powerful message: reflection matters, and so does joy. You’re raising thinkers. Feelers. Doers. And when they associate learning with fun — that’s when the magic sticks.

You don’t have to plan the weekend. You can take a walk and point out plants and animals you see along the way. Play with ingredients in the kitchen. Toss around new words in Spanish at the dinner table, or whatever language your family finds interesting. You’re  just showing up with a sense of play and the quiet belief that learning can happen anywhere — even on the couch or in mid-laugh. And that’s more than enough.

FAQs

Q: How much structure should I build into a weekend like this?
Not much. Think of it more like offering a buffet than serving a seven-course meal. A few lightly planned options with room to wander usually works best. Let your kid lead where they can. You’re creating space, not a schedule.

Q: What if my kid resists learning activities?
That’s normal. Try weaving learning into things they already like — a comic becomes a writing lesson, a fort becomes an engineering project. Keep your tone light. If it starts to feel like school, pull back. The goal is to allow opportunities to explore curiosities.

Q: Can young kids benefit from language learning?
Absolutely. They’re wired for it, particularly before age 9 when their brains still have language specific neurons. We can learn languages after age 9, though speaking with less of an accent is more difficult. And if learning another language is playful and pressure-free — like singing songs in Spanish or ordering imaginary meals in French — they’ll absorb more than you think. Learning a second language develops creativity, improves focus, and boosts cognitive abilities like problem solving. Just keep it consistent, human, and low-stakes.

Thank you, Laura Pearson, for contributing this article. We appreciate your insights.

Parents, enjoy the journey. It goes fast.

Best wishes,

Trish Wilkinson, founder Brain Stages Education and Parenting