Half day session activity

So you have decided on a Half day family session, and now you are brainstorming what to do with 5-6 hours. What makes a great family activity for a half day session?

I would use the following criteria to decide:

1. Does this activity engage all members of the family on some level?

2. Does this activity bring us joy?

3. Does this activity feel “like us” (i.e. something your family would normally do, or have always talked about doing.)

If the answers are Yes to all of those questions, then it should go on the list. Once you have a short list, we can talk during one of our pre-session talks about how to structure your day in a way that will flow organically, and activities that will read well on film.

I always encourage families to include some sort of regular routine (i.e. making breakfast, eating a meal together, waking up from naps, morning reading or coffee.) Then layer in other activities (i.e. baking cookies, making pizza together, playing a game, going outside, going on a hike, playing in the park, jumping on the trampoline, playing in the creek, swimming, exploring the beach.)

Here’s an example of creak play (just a couple from the whole session.)
For a sense of timing: We were out shooting for about 2 hours.