Preparing for the summer holidays

It’s the last day of school today, yes, that means the summer holidays are here! If you are like me, you are thinking of ways to manage your kids free time over the long six-week period. Whilst the kids look forward to weeks of total freedom, fun in the sun, and endless streams of activities (and probably loads of lazy mornings/afternoons for my teenage son). Yay. But, what I do want to avoid is my kids having most of the day lay ins, or sat in front of screens for hours - yes there will be plenty of lazy days, but I want to encourage my kids to be active where possible.

Thus to prepare for the half-term summer holiday with the kids, our plan:

Camping

We’ve got Camping booked and we’re all excited to go. It’s an annual event we go with friends and there is 14 of us, and the kids love it. We visit a different campsite each year, but never too far away, max 1 hour drive.

Fun days

My friend has booked for all the kids to go Tubing; down the dry ski slopes, and then back for a BBQ. Summer is especially looking forward to this as she hasn’t been to the dry ski slopes yet.

We’ll also be getting our kayaks and paddle boards and getting down The Broads, taking picnics with us and enjoying the water.

We’ll be taking advantage of our English Heritage membership too.

Baking 

Summer’s really keen on baking at the moment, so I plan on encouraging it over the following weeks, we’ve also bought the Ninja Creami in preparation for the holidays (last year we were making milkshakes and Slushies in my blender), so we’ll be making plenty of ice-creams and milkshakes with our new gadget.

Taking Advantage of Free Events 

We’re so lucky were we live, we are spoilt for choice. We have the beach, The Broads, marshes, woodlands, and so much more. There are events all over the following weeks, so we will definitely be visiting some of these.

Also, Summer loves reading, and she pretty keen to try out the local library.

Creating a Routine

This one is just as important for me. Although the school holidays offer a remarkable break from routine, it's essential to establish some ground rules to maintain a sense of normalcy – for both myself and my kids. Reasonable bedtime will be maintained as well as morning routines.

The summer break can be fun, it can also be a challenge, especially trying to keep the kids entertained. So, we’ve plan ahead, but there will still be lots of impromptu days out. I am keen on keeping a daily routine, and, weather permitting (it’s not been so good thus far), to spend lots of time outdoors.