The school summer holidays - ideas

cprtknight4

Evening all,

As the title suggests, has any body got any cheap ideas for children throughout the school summer holidays?

Some fresh ideas from other parents would be great...

Have thought of visits to the park, picnics, walks, etc.

Thank you to all that contribute

joedenise

I used to take my DDs to a local farm to pick fruit. They loved climbing ladders to pick apples pears plums or whatever was ready.

Strawberries they probably ate more than we bought home!

Denise

TheThriftyScrumpers

Have you heard of geocaching? If you google it you will find the website. It's basically outdoor treasure hunting. Geocachers have hidden boxes containing small items around the country, you register free on the website, pick up the Gps coordinates and attempt to find the container hidden at the location. I haven't tried it yet but have heard good reports from those who have. Hth.

building_with_lego

Depending on where you are in the country there may be a sculpture trail. Give each child a cheap or old camera and try to 'collect' them all. In the last few years we've had the King Bladud pigs in Bath, the Lions in Bath and the Bristol Zoo gorillas; this year there are swans in Wells.
These things happen all over the place at the moment and the children love finding new ones! It makes for an unusual day trip, with a target to aim for too.

Elliesmum

Hi All

This is great idea as I am starting to save money for the big holidays, so any suggestions to make that money go further are always gratefully received…

My ideas so far are……

Vue Cinema do a Kids AM programme every weekend and school holiday morning where you can take them to see a film for £1.50 each. I always book on-line but they charge a booking fee so for me and the 2 kids it cost £6.75. They allow you to take your own snacks and drinks in so we always take a big bag of popcorn (popped at home of course), juice for the kids and a flask of coffee for me.

We have discovered the train… I have managed to get one of the free family and friends cards from the Daily Mail and can now get to Leeds for £3.75 and so we walk to the free museums and galleries we have there. We take picnics where we can or I feed them early and then go out for the afternoon.

We have a very modern and bright library in Otley with a lovely corner for children with a computer etc. We can spend a whole morning in there choosing books and reading, DD plays on the computer and then uses the computer system to book out all the books we borrow. All of us have a card and of course this is free. This is good when it is raining and we cannot get outside.

I am starting to save up our packaging for junk modelling projects and I will use some of the money to buy some paints etc. I found this free e-book on the web – there are loads of ideas on the web if you are like me with limited imagination…. Another rainy day activity…

http://nurturestore.co.uk/glorious-junk-download-your-free-ebook

We also do baking and cooking tea etc together – these ideas are for my kids who are DS – 4 and DD – 9.

EM xx

PS I don't think I can post links very well - so if someone could help....

[Deleted User]

When my two were little we found one of the best ways to keep them amused was to play shops. We saved packets from all the things we bought and stuffed them with newspaper and resealed the ends so they had stock they knew. Whiled away hours. The other thing they really enjoyed is really OS - we had days from history. We turned off the TV and no electricity or gas was used, did a bit of research about food and drink for whatever period we had decided on and had a great time dressed up and playing at being cavemen or victorians or whatever. Great fun and they still talk of it fondly at 33 and 28! We cooked in the garden using the barbecue (not really authentic but fun). Cheers Lyn.

YORKSHIRELASS

Its funny because I have been thinking exactly the same just lately. My kids are a bit older which is good in one sense because they can go and play out with their mates on their own but when they do need entertaining it tends to cost more! Oh for those days of glueing and sticking or baking.

Depending on where you live an English Heritage Membership could be a good idea. It costs less than £50 for one adult with free kids and I think you can still get this with your Tesco vouchers. Their sites tend to be quite child friendly and if we are lucky enough to get some decent weather you can take a picnic and make a day of it.

Does anyone else find that their food budget goes up during the school holidays too? It shouldnt really make too much difference but I do spend more.

All we need is a long hot summer so the kids can spend all their time outdoors but I somehow dont think thats going to happen.

baconandcabbage

Farms, Parks,Cinemas,
You could do a craft day and other day for cooking and obviously get the children involved.
Also involve some 'Homework' in the Holidays but make it fun.
Get out to the beach go to the countryside

baconandcabbage

Look out for free events in your area or online for money off vouchers

I_wanna_live_for_free

Don't be afraid to let them just play with their toys and make their own entertainment. I feel that too many children are inclined to be "bored" because they haven't learned to entertain themselves.
May sound really old-fashioned but nothing wrong in a box of lego etc (NOT a specific kit, just pieces to make something from their own imagination) or sitting down with a book and just reading.

A couple of years ago we went camping. Sitting outside the tent we watched the people in the next tent get ready for their day out - the children were told "the dvd player and your DS are in the car so you won't be bored" - they were going 20 minutes by car to the seaside. :eek: I was actually stunned to think that children wouldn't be able to look out of the window for 20 minutes or play I-spy etc. When I was a child we had a 4 hour journey to grandparents - with no "entertainment" laid on!

Think times have changed and I'm getting old

keran77

There are some arts and crafts workshops held during school holidays by a group of local museums where I live. There maybe a charge of a few pounds for the workshops and you may need to book in advance. They usually involve making something to take away such as a mask or model bugs and butterflies. So check out your local museums.