Keep The Kids Entertained During The School Holidays
No one looks forward to the school holidays more than kids and no one looks forward to school starting again more than parents! But these times don’t have to only involve you not having time to get dressed and your adorable children finger painting the walls. A little bit of planning and creativity means that school holidays can be a wonderful time to catch up and relax with your children, relatively stress free!
During the school term, children have a set routine which gets them out of the habit of having to amuse themselves. As much as they love being on holiday, the disruption to their routine and not knowing what to do is often what causes unruly behaviour. The answer? Plan ahead. Knowing that you have one fun activity planned for them every day will restore a sense of routine and keep both you and your children happy throughout the holidays.
Stay-at-Home Ideas
Children do not need to be entertained by you all day simply because they are at home. We all know that the washing doesn’t disappear and the dishes don’t wash themselves simply because its holiday time. Suggestions from you and a little bit of help in the beginning can set up day-long imaginative play that leaves you with some breathing space. Invite some of your children’s friends round and haul out some of your old clothes for an afternoon of dress up or supply the materials for a new fort in the garden. Set up an art room and let kids express their creative side with paints, plasticine and pens. If they are old enough, you may only need to check up on them once in a while and then marvel at their works of art.
Rainy Days at Home
On rainy days, nothing is better than curling up on the couch with some popcorn and movies. Swap DVDs with other parents for something new to watch and encourage your kids to stay in their pyjamas all day and just relax with you. Set up a treasure hunt around the house with little clues for kids to figure out. As long as there is actual treasure at the end, this one is a favourite and the clues can be adjusted to suit kids of all ages. Or have a day of colour where everything is themed around blue – have blue food, everyone has to wear blue, make up blue songs and paint blue pictures.
Board games, card games and computer games are also a good rainy day activity and a games tournament can be stretched out to take up a whole day. Crown someone the games king or queen at the end, and once again, a prize never fails! If you are handy with a needle and thread or some other craft, then teaching your children a new skill is a great way to pass some time. The sense of pride that they will have in their final creation is worth it for you both. For an activity that can last a couple of rainy days, ask your children to put on a play or a concert for you. Older children can do the writing, while the younger ones will love the dressing up. Have a performance evening when the whole family is home and be sure to praise them for all their hard work.
Budget Holiday Ideas
Long school holidays can get expensive and parents need to be clever and prepared so that they do not end up blowing the entire year’s budget on keeping the kids busy for a month. Even staying at home can feel like an exciting outing as long as you use a little imagination. Have an outdoors day where you picnic in the garden, plant some flowers, play hide and seek and just stay outside all day. Going indoors in the evening is like coming home after a long day out.
Take your child to work with you one day if this is allowed. Take along pens and colouring books and when you can, show your child around so that they can learn about what you do all day. If you can take leave or don’t work, there are many other outings that you can go on that do not cost a fortune. Take a novel train trip to the beach for a picnic, and explore the rock pools and build sand castle. Head out to your local parks to play and find a river or lake where you can feed the ducks and the fish. Go to story time at your local library and then let your children choose their own books to take home.
Take a drive to the forest or botanical gardens nearest to you. Read your children a book about a forest or magical garden and then let them make up their own story in amongst the trees. If your children are a little older, have a day of cooking where they can plan and execute everything. Let them plan the menu (within reason!), go shopping with you and learn how to cook their chosen meal. They then have to set the table and serve dinner – this is a great way for them to learn and be kept busy for a whole day!
Get Creative with Online Vouchers
One of the easiest and most affordable ways to keep kids amused is with online vouchers. Companies offer a monthly subscription service where, for a set fee, you can choose a variety of discount vouchers and freebies each month. This usually offers great value for money, as the monthly fee is much less than the total value of the vouchers you can claim. During school holidays you can choose vouchers that are particularly useful in keeping the kids amused and with extensive discounts on things like entrances to attractions and fun classes, you will be able to do many more new and unusual things.
The vouchers can be chosen according to the region in which you live, ensuring that you can find plenty of activities that are relevant to you. Choose vouchers that entitle you to a free art class, drumming lesson, hour of dancing, mother and child workshop or an introduction to a musical instrument. A different class or activity each day will ensure your children never get bored and from Tai Kwando classes to American rock ‘n roll dancing, they will also learn something new and fascinating each day.
Get discounted entrance to zoos, aquariums, museums, theme parks, animal parks and much more. The entrance fees to visit such places are usually far too expensive to do all in one holiday, but with online vouchers you can keep kids busy while you help them to learn about the world around them. Online vouchers even include the ice cream your kids are sure to be after and a lunch or two out. If you really want to spoil your kids, use a voucher to hire a jumping castle or a water slide for a day and let them relax at home with this extra special treat for a bargain price with an online discount voucher.
Amazing Vouchers is South Africa’s leading online voucher specialist and they have taken great care in selecting a host of discounts and freebies that are guaranteed to make school holidays an exciting time. www.amazingvouchers.com/becomeamember.aspx>Becoming a member is a simple process and the benefits keep coming, long after the kids have gone back to school!
Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Holidays Articles Via RSS!
