With the school holidays fast approaching, you may be starting to panic about what you will do with your children. If you are lucky enough to be able to book some time off work to spend quality time with the kids, ask what they would like to do. It is always nice to get the children involved and find out what new adventures they want to go on. You could start an activity jar, everyone puts in an idea, and on a day you want to do something, someone is elected to pull out a suggestion. If you have more than one child, to make this fair, the child that gets a treat doesn’t get to suggest something next time. This is a great way to ensure everyone gets to do something they enjoy. If you are running out of ideas on what to do and where to go during the summer break from school then take a look below for some suggestions.
Carnival/Fair
If you want to get out of the house for an hour or two then why not go and take a walk around your county fair. These are held during the summer months and normally consist of stalls, eateries, and rides for the kids. Make sure you take some change with you as a lot of parents get caught out. Not many people carry cash or change these days due to times moving on and covid-19. A lot of places and people went cashless as it was a much safer option. Occasionally, if there are rides for the kiddies, you will be able to purchase a wristband. This gives the children the chance to go on as many rides as they want for one fixed price.
Enjoy The Garden
If you want something free to do and close to home then here is something, your back garden if you have one. There is so much to see and do in your garden and you don’t even know it. You can make challenges for the kids to take part in, if you want them to sit still for a while you could start a birdwatching club. Create some sheets with birds you know come into the garden, and get the children to tick them off when they have spotted them. You could also set up an obstacle course for them to take part in. This could be like a mini sports day with an egg n spoon race, sack race, and hula hooping.
Visit A Museum
You might want to carry on the education sessions while the children are off school. Taking a trip to a museum or gallery will fill your children with knowledge of all sorts of things. You could make a list of all the galleries and museums you want to visit, getting the children involved too. Set a limit on how far you want to travel and assign the children the task of locating some to visit. They can get their technology skills developed here and use a PC or Ipad to do this. The great thing about museums is children are always welcome and some even have a hands-on part where they can explore and be nosey.
Cinema At Home
If you and the children just don’t want to go out, then you don’t have to. It can be exhausting taking the children out every day. Think of the summer break as a really long weekend. You don’t take them places every weekend so don’t feel like you have to during the holidays. There is a lot of pressure on parents to do things with their children, what people forget is that you can do things in the comfort of your own home. One such example is a home cinema, you can put a film on and make snacks. Snuggle up on the sofa with blankets and pillows and enjoy yourself. If you want to take it one step further, here is a wonderful idea to get the children feeling included.
You could get them to choose a film. You could make theater tickets and get your children to buy the ticket for the movie. Create a booth and provide them with some money, you can hone in on their math skills here. Once they have purchased their tickets it is time to buy snacks, this can be booth style as well. Give them a few options and they have to make sure they have enough money to use for what they want. Get them seated and then start the movie, this makes it even more exciting.
Explore Parks
So, you’ve explored the garden, now why not head to a local park and do the same thing there. Many parks need to be explored, they may even have some wonderful play areas for the children. This not only gives you peace and quiet for a few minutes, but it also gives your children the chance to play with others. Some they may even know from schools or nurseries. Parks are not just about playgrounds, some also contain boating lakes. You could hire a boat for an hour or so and get the kids out on the water. If your children have bikes or scooters then the park is the perfect place to ride these. If they haven’t learned to ride a bike yet then this is also a great place to teach them.
Lego Competition
If you are staying at home and looking for some gentle competition for the children then a lego challenge is the perfect way to go about it. Everyone loves Lego, young and old alike. You can put a selection on the table or counter for the children to play with however they like. If they start to get bored and you haven’t finished your task then how about you see who builds the tallest tower. You could also get them to work together to build a lego town, filled with houses and gardens. Working individually and working together are vital skills that all children should learn at some point.
Road Trip
The most exciting thing about the long summer break is that you can go anywhere without getting in trouble for taking your children out of school. Pack up the car and head anywhere you want. If there is somewhere local on the bucket list then you could take a day trip to see it, for example, Niagara Falls. The great thing about a road trip is that you don’t necessarily have to stay overnight. This saves a lot of money and you only have to worry about having enough fuel in the car to get there and back. Ask the kids if there is anywhere they would like to go or anything they want to see. Some children might say an aquarium, if you live relatively near to one then you can all go on a road trip.
Vacation
Similar to going on a road trip, how about a vacation? A long break away from home, 2021 and 2022 saw the rise of staycations. Even if you are vacationing in your own country, it is still a vacation. If you did want to hop on a plane to a far away land then you need to plan where you are going and where you are staying. Make sure that you use a reputable travel agent or website to book your vacation. The last thing you want is to turn up to a hotel that hasn’t been built yet, yes, it has happened. Make sure you pack enough snacks and entertainment to keep the children happy and content along the way.
Arts & Crafts
If you want to get the children involved in a nice, quiet activity then how about some arts and crafts. There are plenty of online activities that you can print off for them to complete, some of these could even help towards any assessments they will be having at school when they go back. Your children might love to paint or play with play-doh, if so, then make sure they are set up in a messy area and set them free. It is amazing what children can create with colors, paints, and clay. You could have a masterpiece on your fridge or units from a future artist.
Bike Rides
If you all have bikes then you could venture out on a family bike ride. This gets you all some exercise, as well as fresh air. Being out of the house is great for everyone, you might be working while the kids are driving you insane. You can either plan a route before you leave the house, or you can go where the road takes you. You could even be brave and get the older kids to lead the way with your bike ride. Going on adventures also encourages risk-taking when it comes to the kids as they have to think about and navigate certain dangers.
We hope you found this article useful and it gave you lots of ideas and inspiration on where you can take the children during the summer break. Enjoy every last minute of it as you will miss the little tykes when they head back to school.
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