The main goal of this paper was to problematize, but also to emphasize the importance of free time in the context of educational development. The primary school student population was taken into account. Activities that children / students engage in during their free time are of great importance for their further development. The range of activities, opportunities and ways in which the primary school student population can use their free time is almost impossible to cover. Whatever the activities, they should be aimed at the positive educational development of students and the quality development of their personality. The paper presents different notions of free time of certain authors who take into account different aspects when creating definitions. Like everything else, leisure time has changed throughout history under the influence of different cultural, political and social circumstances and in step with the changes of civilization. Special importance in the work is given to leisure activities and functions. Below are the results of some previous research that was related to this research topic. The number of researches and their various topics in the context of free time indicate the richness and relevance of this topic. Their results are a kind of incentive for new modern research. In the context of education, leisure activities are mainly represented through the implementation of extracurricular activities. The paper lists and analyzes several city schools in the city of Zadar with regard to the offered extracurricular activities. In addition to the students themselves, parents, teachers and other same-aged students play an important role in the choice of activities. Free time is impossible to define uniformly, but whether it is a time of leisure, rest or personality development, one can always talk about certain activities. A student with good examples, role models and leaders - parents and teachers can do a lot. The key is to fulfill that primary desire of the child, and that is for the child to be a child, to play and to be truly happy and content.