7 Fun Activities That Secretly Boost 11+ Exam Skills During the Holidays
Discover seven fun holiday activities that build vocabulary, maths, English and reasoning skills for 11+ exam preparation without feeling like revision.
When parents think about 11+ exam preparation, they often picture practice papers, revision timetables and mock exams. However, some of the most valuable learning opportunities happen away from the desk. During the summer, Easter, or Christmas holidays, children can develop the core vocabulary, maths, English and reasoning skills needed for the 11+ through fun, everyday activities that don't feel like formal revision.
The following activities help children develop key skills assessed in the 11+ exam:
- Reading books
- Playing board games
- Solving puzzles
- Cooking and baking
- Keeping a holiday journal
- Learning new vocabulary
- Building nets of cubes
Read on to discover how these activities help develop the vocabulary, reasoning, maths and problem-solving skills that underpin 11+ success:
1. Get lost in a good book and build 11+ English skills
Reading is one of the best ways to prepare for the 11+ English and Verbal Reasoning exams. Whether your child enjoys fantasy, mystery, historical fiction or non-fiction, regular reading helps to:
- Expand vocabulary
- Build comprehension skills
- Develop inference and deduction skills
- Improve spelling and grammar
- Boost concentration
Encourage your child to choose books they genuinely enjoy and set aside some dedicated time to read each day.
Looking for 11+ books? Try the Bond Recommended 11+ Reading List.
2. Play board games to build reasoning skills
Many family-friendly board games naturally help develop skills that are useful for 11+ exams. Word games such as Scrabble, Boggle, and Bananagrams help to expand vocabulary, whilst strategy games encourage logical thinking and problem-solving. Games that involve strategy, pattern recognition and decision-making can also help develop the logical thinking skills assessed in Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning papers.
3. Solve puzzles to improve 11+ problem-solving
Puzzles like crosswords, sudoku, and word searches are great for developing vocabulary, general knowledge, logic and problem-solving skills on the go. They are ideal for holidays, travel days and rainy afternoons. Try Bond’s Puzzle Books for puzzles specifically designed to build skills for the 11+ exam.
4. Develop maths skills through cooking
Cooking and baking are great activities for building maths skills. Choose a child-friendly recipe and ask your child to:
- Measure the ingredients
- Double or halve the recipe
- Calculate timings
- Convert units such as ounces to grams
This way your child can practice fractions, ratios, estimation and arithmetic, without it feeling like a maths lesson.
5. Improve creative writing with a holiday journal
Encouraging your child to keep a daily journal of their summer holiday adventures can be a fun way to boost writing skills. Strong writing skills are important for 11+ English and creative writing assessments, helping children organise their ideas and express themselves clearly. Writing regularly helps to improve:
- Sentence structure
- Vocabulary
- Creative writing skills
- Descriptive language
- Confidence in writing
6. Expand vocabulary with a 30-day word challenge
Boost your child’s vocabulary by encouraging them to learn a new word every day for 30 days. Encourage them to use an Oxford dictionary and thesaurus, or Bond’s 11+ Vocabulary Flashcards, to discover new words and their definitions over the summer.
7. Practise 11+ non-verbal reasoning with Nets of Cubes crafts
Nets of cubes are one of the key 11+ non-verbal reasoning question types that can appear in the 11+ exam. Familiarise your child with nets of cubes by printing out the worksheets from our Free Resources page, cutting them out and letting your child decorate them and have a go at folding them into cubes (login required).
Supporting 11+ Progress Without Pressure
Preparing for the 11+ doesn't have to mean constant revision. By incorporating reading, games, puzzles and practical activities into everyday life, children can continue developing the skills tested in the exam while enjoying their holidays. These low-pressure activities help support effective 11+ preparation while building confidence, resilience and a positive attitude towards learning.