I Love School Holidays.

TheWaltons_3

Christmasshopper wrote: »

Have you tried YOU finding things to amuse THEM? There is a 13 year gap between my children, the big one has left home now, but we always manage to find things to do as a family. Each one knows that there has to be give and take in a family.
Have you tried making play-dough? My nine year old loves it and so does her eleven year old friend. I remember they have enjoyed it ever since they were toddlers. During the last school holiday I made a big batch of it then divided it into several smaller batches and died each one a different colour. The kids spent a whole afternoon making play-dough food and putting it on picnic plates. They made sausages, chips, peas, fried eggs, bacon, pizza, baked beans, swiss rolls. We took photos of each plate of food and on the photos it looks like real food.
What about making a scarecrow with your children? That is great fun, and something to do outside so they get some fresh air.
Do your children have bikes? Could you cycle to the park and let them run off some energy while you are there?
If you need help to think of something to do with your childeren you will get plenty of help here. They won't know how to amuse themselves if they have never learned.

I think that was very harsh considering the lady already explained that she feels guilty and cannot drive.

It's great that you have the time and means to be Mary Poppins with your children, but don't berate others.

bestpud

TheWaltons wrote: »

I think that was very harsh considering the lady already explained that she feels guilty and cannot drive.

It's great that you have the time and means to be Mary Poppins with your children, but don't berate others.

I must admit, I thought that too.

I've really enjoyed some summer hols and others have been hard going. We aren't all 'natural' parents anyway, but there can also be lots of reasons why brilliant parents sometimes find things more difficult. I have to say the number, ages and gender of the children are all big factors, along with practical issues such as location, space etc.

Great you all have such a fab time but it's not so sugary sweet for everyone and it may not be their fault! Perhaps some practical tips without the 'telling off' would be more diplomatic?

TheWaltons_3

bestpud wrote: »

I must admit, I thought that too.

I've really enjoyed some summer hols and others have been hard going. We aren't all 'natural' parents anyway, but there can also be lots of reasons why brilliant parents sometimes find things more difficult. I have to say the number, ages and gender of the children are all big factors, along with practical issues such as location, space etc.

Great you all have such a fab time but it's not so sugary sweet for everyone and it may not be their fault! Perhaps some practical tips without the 'telling off' would be more diplomatic?

I don't get the pleasure of School Holidays as my little ones are nowhere near ready for school, but three of them at different ages is bloody hard going. My Toddler is so much fun, but whenever we go out, we have the babies to feed/change/wind and amuse also.. which takes attention away from my Toddler. I feel guilty about this, but it can't be helped.

Any Mum with children of different ages will find this, and it's not easy. It's not about providing constant amusement, I'm not a Clown. I encourage my Toddler to read her books on the Sofa in the kitchen whilst I cook, or she can watch DVD's of her choice. Of course we spend quality time together, but it is impossible to give 100% attention to 3 children.

And if an 11 year old can't amuse him/herself, I would be very worried.

So to the original poster who suggested her children should find things to amuse themselves, her children are at the age when they can.

Christmasshopper - have you only the one child?

dee_mum_of_3

without meaning to sound blase i quite agree with you all i loved the clown comment BUT these are the days you look back on with rose tinted sunshades lol the rosey good old days b4 you had to have nike and collect kids from all over the place ....just smile and bear it nothing lasts forever sadly id swap it all to have my babies back xxxxx

bestpud

Unfortunately, some parents spend a lot of their time worrying about not being perfect and not having such a wonderful time with their children. As I said, various things can stand in the way of the glorious scenes being painted here but it doesn't mean parents are somehow inadequate.

It can actually make things worse fomr someone who lacks confidence in themselves or is depressed (even slightly) because it can make them feel they are terrible parents.

Don't get me wrong, I do know what you are saying. As someone with a 9 year gap between my second and third child, I know all too well how quick they grow up and how we have to cherish every moment. However, I have had good summers and I've had ones where I've been tearing my hair out - doesn't mean I haven't brought my children up ok or I haven't spent enough time with them though!

new_mum_again

I love the school holidays, we find so much to do, picnics, days out, walks dressing up and my favourite ready steady cook day.It really is amazing what you can use up out of your cupboard lots of interesting receipes!!! I do get annoyed though when even a few days into the holidays I get people saying' bet you cant wait til they go back', 'must be doing your head in' etc, NO I LOVE BEING WITH MY CHILDREN!!!!!!arrgh

scat

I love the summer holidays so much that I've booked our 'go away' holiday for the first week of term....

and I know it's naughty but I work in my kid's school and I just happen to know they do !!!!!! all in the last week and first week of any term!!!


actually as The School Librarian I should probably take this opportunity to tell you all to try your local library for inexpensive activities throughout the summer. Most of them will be running the Go Wild Reading Scheme ( which is free ) and associated activities which are usually very inexpensive ( our library charge £1.50 per activity )

Nenen

scat wrote: »

I love the summer holidays so much that I've booked our 'go away' holiday for the first week of term....
and I know it's naughty but I work in my kid's school and I just happen to know they do !!!!!! all in the last week and first week of any term!!!

We'll have to agree to disagree here Scat! :beer: You have obviously made your mind up and booked your holiday and I would defend your right to do so but I would like to give other readers of this thread an alternative viewpoint.

Whilst I accept that much of the last week of summer term is taken up with sports days, performances, final assemblies and other such things (most of which many children really enjoy and miss out on if they don't go) and I agree they don't really miss too much 'academic education' in the last week, there are other reasons why it is important to attend. The final week is a 'rounding off' time when many teachers present small prizes, give children back their work and often give little gifts etc in order to say 'goodbye' and wish them well. Many schools have a 'move-up' morning during the last week when children spend a morning getting to know the next teacher they will be having in their new class for September. IMHO this is very important for the vast majority of children (and teachers). Most children experience some anxiety (to greater or lesser degrees) thinking about what life will be like for them in their new class. It puts their mind at rest to some extent if they have had an opportunity to experience this before the long summer break.

Personally, I consider the first week of any academic year to be the most important week of all for a child. During that first week (assuming they are starting with a new teacher as is often the case) they will be learning a lot about each other... from the child's point of view they will be learning about that particular teacher's ways of doing things and his/her expectations. The teacher will simultaneously be making a lot of assessments of each child (both implicit and explicit) during the first few days. Things are given out and the new routines for the class will be established... even little things like where to get pencils from, whether you are allowed to rub out mistakes or when you are allowed to use the toilet are major concerns to many children. During the first few days of the new academic year, most teachers take extra time to explain these sort of things to the class and patiently establish
ground rules etc. Individual and group targets are often decided together and literacy/numeracy groups formed. I don't think parents should really expect teachers to take time out of class teaching to explain everything one-to-one to a child on their late return to school because parents decided to take them on holiday as 'they will be doing !!!! all in the first week'.

Even more importantly to the child s/he will be establishing vital peer group connections, including 'pecking orders' (which can change from year to year even within the same group of children) and most crucial of all for the the vast majority of children I know... who they will sit next to????? In my experience, many children find coming into a situation where everyone else apart from themselves is settled and knows the 'rules' (expectations, organisation etc) very difficult indeed. It is far from rare for children in this situation to take weeks (rather than days) to settle and feel part of the class again.

Of course all the above is rather dependent upon individual situations, e.g. one's child might be in a mixed age class and staying with the same teacher in the same room next year. The teacher may or may not have a policy of them allocating the seating arrangements etc. or allowing children to move places on a daily basis, which obviously makes a difference. One's child may be exceptionally confident, extremely popular and totally unworried about his/her new class. So I realise there cannot be a 'one size fits all' rule!

As you can probably tell, I am a teacher ... but, more importantly, I have vivid memories of my mum and dad taking me out of school for the first week of the new academic year when I was ten (just going into Year 6). When I got back to school I felt awful as all my friends had chosen to sit together and the only space left for me was with children I didn't particularly like (and who made it clear they didn't like me). My friends blanked me for several days and I felt 'all at sea' for the first time in my school career. This set the scene for my last year at primary school which was a nightmare for me (previously and subsequntly I loved school). I can vividly remember getting into trouble for going and getting myself a rubber (previously allowed in my last class) as apparently the teacher had made it clear (when I wasn't there) that we had to ask permission before we did this.

I realise that many families cannot afford the huge prices for holidays in the school summer holiday and that becomes a different issue altogether, but my advice to parents is always to avoid taking your child out of school for the first two weeks of the new academic year if at all possible.

Having said all of that, I'm really gald you are enjoying spending time with your children ... your attitude is a rare and precious gift to them... and I remember loving spending time with my three when they were little... I never wanted the holiday to end either! I hope you all have a really good holiday. :beer:

lil_me

I enjoy it but sometimes it can be testing. Tonight I decided as I haddn't left the house hardly for a few days we would pop to the shops, they'd been great at home, minute we stepped into the shops they were punching each other in the face etc, someone remind me not to do that one again.

I do find they get sick of the sight of eachother, DS1 especially, Autism isn't fun especially when your little brother likes lots of noise stimulation and you like quiet. Yep, they couldn't be more different.

Tomorrow to give them a break from eachother and DS1 time with Dad they'll be off out fishing and me and DS2 will be doing the garden I think. DS2 has a few activities he wants to do next week at the sports centre, not expensive really.

Home Ed was something I considered before my oldest got his SEN placement, the problem I had with this is we do not have childcare, at all and I have a lot of appointments to attend because of my own ill health, this would make it extremely difficult, anyway I held out and battled it so he starts in September. If things don't work out in his SEN placement he will be Home Educated but I do believe him staying in school will help him hugely if it is done properly.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I like the hols too. I have 2 weeks off coming up at the end of next week. My kids are no longer young, but yesterday I took 14 yo 13 yo 11yo and 3 yo, only one of them mine to the peak district for a day out. They all had a fantastic time. Little one paddling in the river and older ones hill climbing and exploring caves. There was 2 adults so it was easy to split up for supervision. I know the op doesn't have a car, but there are many places you can go by train, with a family railcard it should not be too expensive.