Let Schoop help banish school holiday hell
It’s nearly that time of year again, folks. Our children are waking up excited and giddy at the prospect of six whole weeks off school, while we are anxiously glancing at our bank balances whilst stocking up on supplies of paracetamol and Berocca.
The school holidays don’t have to be a nightmare of shelling out or yelling at frustrated kids who either don’t know what to do, or only want to play on their screens while you desperately exhort them to ‘find something else to do!’
Don’t worry. We’ve got this. Take a look at some of our suggestions for school holiday activities to keep everyone happy – including your bank manager.
- Prepare a suggestion box
You would be amazed by how much you can get away with using this simple suggestion box! Prepare slips of paper and write out all the chores you want your children to carry out during their long, lazy weeks. Add in some fun activities – a playdate picnic in the park with friends, a cinema outing, a trip to the seaside – amongst the chores, then get the little ones to pick as many as you can handle each day. You could even let them suggest ideas for activities they’d love to do. Their excitement at the possibilities can often make them forget that in between the fun things to do there are also boring ones they’d usually run a mile to avoid! They get to pick a slip from the box, knowing it could be hit or miss. They don’t get to choose and each chore must be completed before they can pick another one. Genius!
- Create a treasure chest
This is great for younger #Schoopers. Spray-paint a shoebox in bright colours to make it look cheerful and attractive, then pop to your local Poundshop and fill it with craft items – glue, coloured pens, colourful paper or printed colouring-in pages – or small toys, like dinosaurs, animals, cars or mini-figures. You don’t even need to spend anything if you don’t want to – a simple cotton yarn, paint and threadable pasta shapes can keep little fingers busy for hours. Or how about cotton thread and Cheerios – a craft activity that doubles as a portable snack!
- Visit a museum
We are very lucky to have free museums in the UK, so make sure to take advantage of them for a free, virtuous and yes, fun day out. We recommend you do your homework before you go. Sometimes the smallest museums are best so the children don’t get overwhelmed and shut down! You may think your little one wouldn’t be interested in paintings or sculptures but oftentimes all they need is a nudge in the right direction to get their imaginations going. ‘Did you see that expression on his face?? What do you think he was thinking?’, ‘look at all that detail! Can you see X in there?’ Just drawing their attention to one small part of a painting can often set their creativity into overdrive – and it’s great fun listening to their explanations as their inventions run riot!
- Harness their competitive spirit
If you’ve got more than one child at home, or can invite a friend over for a playdate, how about setting them up in competition? Little ones love to compete against each other, but it doesn’t always have to be who’s the most sporty. How about a Mini-Masterchef competition? Who’s best at decorating cupcakes? Set up an obstacle course in the garden, or park if you don’t have a garden (take painted toilet rolls, blankets and deckchairs to make obstacles) then finish off with a picnic. Timing any small child doing anything is always a winner (‘see how fast you can run to that tree and back!’), or get a group of friends together for a game of rounders – they keep entertained whilst running around in the fresh air, it’s a winner on every count!
- Pinterest is your friend!
If you run out of ideas or your child just doesn’t like any of our suggestions, we suggest you run, not walk, to Pinterest! There are ideas galore for what to do with kids, from small to not-so-small, creative or active – there will be something there for you all to get your teeth into.
We hope we’ve given you a few ideas – or at least a starting point – to fill the days yawning into the distance until September flies around again! Summer is a great time for bonding but sadly these days it can so often turn into a battle to regain control from electronic screens. Parents actively participating in summer pursuits with their children are setting up a great foundation for the next school year when homework and projects start to take up their time. Engage with your children now and reap the rewards in the year to come. Schoop can help you engage with your child all year round. Click the button below for a FREE DEMO!
