If your kids are still small and in primary school, the chances are that you are currently staring down the ‘What the f*ck will I do with them for the summer holidays?’ barrel.
The entire months of July and August with no schedules to adhere to can seem to be pretty overwhelming at first, but with a little bit of imagination and a sprinkle of preparation, you can be sure that by the time they’re going back to school, you’ll be wishing for a little more time together.
Here are the Top 6 Things You Can Do To See You All Through To The Other Side With Great Memories Intact:
1. Don’t Overdo It
We all have a tendency to panic when the summer holidays are approaching and panic-book summer camps to beat the band. Before you pick up the phone, just take a minute and think about paring it back slightly – they don’t have to be occupied every second of the day with activities and besides, you’re the one who is still going to have to do all the drop offs and pick ups. Make sure it won’t stress you out even further.
2. Get Outdoors
Anyone who stayed in Ireland for the summer last year (we did!) will remind you that it lashed rain from miserable beginning to miserable end. Well guess what – the kids didn’t really give a damn about the rain! They were quite happy to get their wellies and raincoats on and head out for adventures. Just embrace it – getting home for hot chocolate and warm baths is the best.
3. Pick A Project
“This summer we are going to…” build a tree-house, learn how robots work, make a go-cart, re-decorate your bedroom. You can decide together what the project will be and then spend the summer planning it and seeing it through. You can do a little bit every week and reward yourselves with a nice treat when it’s finished!
4. Go Camping
Kids, big AND small love camping and little kids will be just thrilled to camp out in the back garden with mam and dad. Even if the weather doesn’t work out, you can still set up camp in the kitchen or sitting room downstairs – the real adventure is in sleeping somewhere different to their bedroom. And marshmallows, don’t forget the marshmallows.
5. Create A Family ‘Come Dine With Me’
This will depend on your kid’s ages but giving everyone a different week to plan their meal and entertainment for the rest of the family would be a great way to fill some time. Obviously mam and dad will need to be in cahoots and help with the cooking but the food and concept can bet all their own. Why not get them to spend some time designing the menus too?
6. Make A Nature Collection List
Kids just love to collect random things, so design a chart together and list out all the things that they must collect by the time September rolls around. The type of things you have on your wish list may determine days out so bear that in mind – if you don’t live near the shore then make sure you can get to a beach if seashells is on the list! You could also include particular leaves, flowers, sightings of birds or insects – the world is literally their oyster!
Got any to add to this list? Why not let us know in the comments on Facebook.
