The best part about school holidays is not having to worry about that morning rush getting the kids out of bed, fed, dressed and out the door. The worst part is keeping those active minds entertained day in, day out. So here’s some ideas to take the stress back out of school holidays.
Get scientific
Bring back fond memories of your own volcano experiments by recreating it all with your kids. Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education offers his advice:
“With just a quick trip to the shops for simple ingredients and support materials families can be launching rockets, making gooey slime, creating crazy contraptions, erupting bubbly experiments and much more. Kids are naturally curious and science activities provide the perfect opportunity for parents to enrich their kids lives without stretching the budget. Using the web or dropping into the local library, each week families can come together to choose their favourite experiment that they all run together and have fun whilst doing it!”
Find Fizzics Education on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Make an inside fort
Perfect for a rainy day and a great way to engage your child’s imagination and everything you need is already in your own home. Arrange your dining chairs in a large open space and cover them with a few bed sheets to create an easy indoor fort fit for kids and parents. Since most adults are taller than most kids and less flexible, keep yourself comfortable all day by using a soft mattress on the floor.
Try out children’s yoga
Teaching your kids about meditation and mindfulness is a great way to give them the tools early on to handle stress later in life. It’s also a chance for you to spend a budget friendly afternoon in calm and quiet surrounds. Rebecca Schafer suggests GOYO Kids audiobooks to get your journey started; “These delightful audiobooks will lead you into the wonderful world of kids yoga through favourite stories retold with a twist, or a bend, or a balance, and always a giggle.”
For more on GOYO Kids check out their Facebook or Instagram.
Borrow a pet for a day
This one is almost too good to be true. Known as the ‘AirBnb for Pets’, PetCloud has a way for you to give your kids time with a furry friend while making money on the side. Catherine Tucker explains:
“Why not get to have a cuddle house visitor for the kids to play with! Plus get paid on the side. We recognise how challenging it can be for families particularly around Christmas time. We began this initiative to give families an extra way to earn cash at times that suits them. It is a great way to save for special events like Christmas and can be a lifeline to those struggling financially.”
Catherine recommends parents signing up as a team with their school age child to do some pet sitting at the minders home or dog walking. This way the parent can keep the online profile safe and support their child in learning this new skill. For more information on PetCloud find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
By the time you finish all these ideas your kids will be crowning you the official King or Queen of school holiday fun.
