Pleasing Kids in the middle of nowhere for £0

johnny_fingers

Hi all

New poster....great site....you all seem very supportive.

Have not got round to posting up my full debt details...but around 15K and watching the APRs.

But my main point is we have 2 kids and live in a small(ish) town on the Welsh coast. Fantastic when the weather is good..........but lousy when it is drisling in August and they are bored with 3/4 weeks before they go back to school.

So how do you entertain a 9 and 11 year old on a budget of nil??

Inspiration and ideas pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssseeeeee!!

ben500

You could take them on a dinner hunt, checkout the web for edible plants and fruits local to you take the kids out to hunt down their own dinner you can always buy the meat if your squemish or hunt it if your not plenty of rabbit about, one day used up and dinner on the table bet they ask you what's for dinner tomorrow before finishing their meal.

Chriswil

How about spending some time teaching them about the internet. Pose them a question - 'What's your favourite ... character', (thinking wrestling/footballer etc) and encourage them to find out as much as possible about them.

Also there are great sites for kids CBBC, Disney etc which may keep them entertained and thousands of sites which have mini-games to play for free!

(Can you tell that I love the internet?)

HTH

Chris

ben500

You can start with the BBC website it would take them months to view everything they could possibly find interesting on there, it's massive.

johnny_fingers

Wow..what a community..1st post..5 minutes...3 replies.

checkout the web for edible plants and fruits local to you take the kids out to hunt down their own dinner

Reminds of that "Food for free" book that we have on the shelf. We've already done the blackbeery picking and are taking a family vote on what to do with them. It's the drisle that's the killer on the 'hunt your own dinner' quest (blimey I sound like a towny!). Unfortunately we also have a fussy 11 year old daughter who insists on eating only passata and spaghetti day in day out. However, the principle is good. Thanks ben500.

How about spending some time teaching them about the internet.

This ones tricky! I run a mail order business from home and the computer/internet are based in my "office". So, unfortunately they can only really use them in the evening.

As a footnote my innocent 8yo son was searching Google images for car crashes the other day! No wonder I drink (budget home brew supermarket lager, of course).

tw1nklestar

supply them with a little box each and set a challenge who can fit the most things in the little box. supply them with a dustbin bag and some cellotape and see who can make the best shelter - make a large batch of salt dough (flour salt water and a little oil) get them to create something (if ur really clever challenge them to make the prettiest tree decoration then u can give them to family for christmas - design them, bake them, paint them, varnish them. Show them how to play round the clock patience (hours of peace there for u) - get them to make a scrap book of interesting things they have done so far in the holidays (will come in handy when they write their school news in the first week back to school). Have a dvd and popcorn day when they stay in their pjs (mine still do this at least one day in the hols and they r 17 16 and 12):T - a trip to the library to research something they find interesting - mates round for a box game day (monopoly, cluedo) :T - ahhh how i wish mine were younger they r sooooooooooo independent now - where has the time gone

johnny_fingers

ahhh how i wish mine were younger they r sooooooooooo independent now

There in lies the problem - they (or you) are never at the "right" age. It's been and gone.......or we're just waiting until they are such-and-such an age

tw1nklestar

ooo another one that mine used to love - let them borrow ur digital camera - let them go to town and take masses of pics of things that r special to them - then go to the freebie site and get one of those special offers that prints them for free for u:T - do this every year and look back at what is special to them in years gone past when they r older - get them to paint a picture and then frame it with a frame from a cheapy shop and hang it on the wall - change the pic every year as they grow and keep the old ones as memories or if they r really good scan em frame em and give em as xmas pressies:money: - get them to sing and tape them (mine have hours of fun taping each other via their mobiles when they really shouldnt!!!! - blackmail purposes me thinks:eek: - but i have loads of cassettes of the kids over the years (they sounded so sweet and innocent once lol):A

johnny_fingers

tw1nklestar yee are a child genius. Thank God for the digital age........(and Visa for letting me buy a digitial camera in the first place!) But seriously, that's a great suggestion...I think it could be on tomorrow's timetable!
Many thanks.

tw1nklestar

:j glad i could help - happy snapping :rotfl: off to bed now so i can be teenager friendly in the morning (well about 11 when they get their bums out of bed) i remember when i longed for a lie in - now i long for them to get up so i dont have to watch jeremy kyle alone - never mind only another couple of weeks and i will be back in class with 30 4 year olds (new reception intake) and wishing for half term

johnny_fingers

My wife's a classroom assistant........but can't wait to get back to work so she can have some peace from her own kids!!