School holidays - cheap ideas

MCBIRNIE25

Some cracking ideas there.Things like mini treasure hunts in the garden,walking friends pets, healthy and profitable ;-)

nzmegs

you guys are briliant! I feel like I am not using my imagination at all! I grew up in NZ where the summer always seemed hot, it never rained and we never spent time indoors at all! Of the reality was most likely quite different but I can't remember being bored.
Today we are walking to the post office to send off some ebay stuff and I am involving them in helping me clear out the loft for more Ebay goodies. The idea of selling some of their stuff is a good one. They have far too much....
My son wants to make some money to buy some trainers - I refused to spend £40 on them so he is saving up himself. So maybe we could go round some neighbours and see if they have any jobs which need doing.
Start up a car washing service maybe?
Thankyou all for your great ideas. Hope it has helped others too!

Seaxwyn

Hi megs,

my children always enjoy walks, picnics, trips to the park, and just playing in the street with the neighbours.

for indoor activities, I'm a bit more stumped. Make sure you've got some arts and crafts stuff in for those rainy days - but apart from paint, you shouldnt need to buy stuff. Painting on newspaper, jam jars etc can be appealing!

For money-making ventures - what about pet-sitting or feeding pets & watering plants for neighbours when they go on holiday? My oldest dd is being paid to look after some cats for 3 weeks. Your children are too young to do this alone, but would probably love to help you.

Good luck - hope you enjoy the summer!

Tashja

Hi

Just a couple of suggestions from me.

Blockbusters video rental are doing all rentals on their kids DVD's for 25p a day - including new releases !!!

Also 1 website I have come to rely on this summer holidays is www.netmums.co.uk this website has loads of ideas and free things to do in your area !!

T xx

babyblooz

There are lots of easy things you can do to keep children happily occupied. It will depend on their age, their stage of development and their interests, but some ideas mine used to like are:

• Make a scrapbook of old holiday photos (scan them into a computer and print out their favourites, and save your original photos) talking about their happy memories as you do it, visit the pound shop for basic arty crafty supplies
• Dressing up with old clothes and putting on a show in the garden, serving refreshments to the family who watch and applaud (loudly)
• Blackberry picking, then coming back and making it into jam in the microwave
• Icing little plain buns bought from the supermarket, and decorating with jelly tots and hundreds and thousands, then having a proper tea party with cucumber sandwiches and eating your home made cakes. If they want to they can plan in advance and invite their friends or family to tea and make proper invites. Add a home made jelly and a packet of crisps in a bowl and you have an instant party. Using proper teapot and milk jug, sugar bow etc. and cups and saucers is something else they really like, because its not something we all do a lot these days.
• Making tents in the garden, letting them use their imagination as to what to use and how to construct it.
• Using their creativity and imagination to plan an assault course or obstacle course, then timing one another to see who is the fastest, developing their turn-taking skills. Recording the information helps understanding of number etc.
• Paper dolls, made by folding paper concertina-wise. It takes them a while to figure out how to get them to hold hands, so its developing their hand-eye co-ordination as well as their intellectual devlopment.
• Washing dolls clothes outside with a small nail brush, warm water, clothes pegs and a clothes horse.
• Building a dolls house from a big cardboard box, with older children helping with the practical side of inserting floors, dividing walls etc. This can lead to a long term project by building furniture from small boxes, matchboxes stuck together for chests of drawers etc.
• Mix cornflour and water together into a paste, add a few drops of colouring, and pour it into a shallow baking tray, then they can experiment trying to pick it up with their fingers or spoons. It is messy, but they love it. We called it 'gloop'.Then when theyve finished, let it dry out and crack into smaller pieces, then pop it in a jar for next time. Add water to it to reconstitute it and it will be fine to use again and again.
• Pour rice into a baking tray and let them scoop it into small containers and bottle. Provide spoons and scoops and sieves etc, or make it into shakers for instruments using small plastic beakers with lids. They can design 'wrappers' for their instrument and stick on with blobs of blu tak. The rice can be coloured by adding one drop of food colouring to a tupperware box of rice, popping on the lid and shaking like crazy for a minute or so. It looks good when there are three or four different colours to play with all mixed up together.
• Make a batch of playdough. Don't think your kids are too old for it, cos even the 11 year olds enjoy playing with it, especially if you make the silky type, using cooking oil. Divide it up into 3 and colour each one differently if you can. If you can't don't worry. It feels so silky and you can't help rolling it and modelling it. The older ones used to fight for it when did the playscheme. Add some rolling pins and some cutters and blunt plastic knives. Garlic presses are fab for squeezing dough through. Really good fun for the little ones.
• Making cards.
• Making a diary of 'what we did this summer' that can be added to with digital photos etc. They can even add it to a webpage or similar, with help from their older family members. The book makes a lovely sentimental pressie for grannies birthdays etc. especially if you don't live close enough to visit.
• Junk modelling. Recycling at its finest!
• Skipping. Search the internet for long forgotten skipping rhymes and make them into a book to take back to school in September, adding pictures if they want to, then they can start a skipping group at school playtimes.
• Planning a picnic to the park. Writing the list of who is going, what they will need, what games they will play, what food to eat etc. Shopping for the food, preparing it etc. then finally, having the picnic, weather permitting. Helps them to understand whats involved in planning an outing, so good life skills going on there.
• Making spaghetti necklaces. You can thread them on string, then paint them or sprinkle with glue and glitter. Cheap and easy!

These are the kind of things that kids remember fondly! I know this from talking to kids that I've worked with several years ago. Makes me come over all warm inside, thinking that I have given them happy memories to recreate with their own families maybe.

Remember, don't get stressed, have fun and laugh when things go wrong, cos thats what they remember, the fun times, not the pounds shillings and pence.

roseperfect

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No age limit - 42 winners each month.

Prize: inclusion in charity anthology.

raq

very good ideas above. mine is tight as we are paying more debt each week to clear this as soon as we can. don't mind the odd day as a treat.

I can't take mine swimming as one is 7 one is 3 and the baby. The eldest still can't swim.

Too dangerous to play on the front,although we live in a small row. ( happy memories for me but not these days unfortunately ).

Got a few great parks to go too and my kids love it though.- weather permitting of course

friends have been coming over and again great fun and exhausted at the end of the day

jump in the car and go for a run in the rain and drive round one of the beach resorts. believe me they love it, although the middle one wants to get out with the ball.

got another 5 weeks to go and if the weather keeps up then we'll emigrate

bedhair

My school issued "Primary times" just before the children broke up. It has a day by day account of events and activities to do in the local area. It includes tariffs too so you see at a glance how much different events are. Most are free though!!
I don't know whether your area has the same publication (try googling it) or perhaps contact your local tourist board for any local activities going on.
Hope this helps.
Bedhair


Just found it...............

http://www.primarytimes.net/home.php

postingalwaysposting

havent read all the thead so forgive me... but what i loved in school holidays... fruit picking (free in places)... nature hunts... craft day can be very cheap (find anything to make stuff with including in my case leaves and flowers)... baking... feeding the ducks... and my fave... house cleaning (and keeping any pennies i find) :rotfl: i cant remember (except one holiday) any where we went as mum couldnt afford it but i loved the things we did do :rotfl:

Sea78

raq wrote: »

I can't take mine swimming as one is 7 one is 3 and the baby. The eldest still can't swim.

Perhaps you could see if there are any beginner swimming lessons that your 7 yr old could do with you at the side watching with the other kids? Obviously with activities for the others?