The school holidays are coming soon and for some this brief moment of slowing down the pace is just what’s needed after a busy school term. The holidays can be a window of opportunity for parents to truly connect with their children. It is during this time that beautiful core memories are created, that both parents and children can cherish for a long time.
However, keeping kids entertained can be tough. Doing a little bit of planning for the school holidays will make life easier and make it a lovely time for everyone including you as parents. Here are some tips to plan for the school holidays.
- Plan ahead
When school holidays are long, especially end of the year holidays, it pays to plan in advance to
make sure things run smoothly. Marking down in your calendar when you are going to be away on holiday will help you to prepare beforehand in terms of packing.
If your kids are going to spend time with their grandparents, relatives or going away on a holiday program, make sure to space out their time so that they do not feel rushed to move from one place to another.
This will also give you more time to wash their clothes and help them with their packing. Planning weekly activities weekly will also ease the pressure of you to constantly come up with spontaneous activities to keep them entertained. Besides, choosing the right bag for your kids to bring during the holidays is important to make sure there is space for everything such as the
- Team up with other parents
If you’re thinking of finding ways to entertain your children during the school holidays, chances are that other parents are wondering the same thing too. Get together with other parents that you know and plan the holidays together as it can be mutually beneficial. Just by doing things together, your children will be entertained and this gives you time to catch up with other parents and have adult conversations while the kids play together.
For example, you can go to the park together or visit a cafe with a play area. The children can play together while parents catch up over a coffee. At the same time, you can take turns with other parents to take over the entire group of kids.
This can be one day of each week, which gives each parent some day off during each week without having to worry about what the kids are doing.
3. Have your own Family traditions
Based on research, it shows that our children may not necessarily remember the most extravagant activities, but the little routine activities that they experienced while growing up. This could be making pancakes together with the family on school holidays, visiting their cousins, or going up to Cameron Highlands to visit the strawberry farm.
Having your own family traditions can be simple or extravagant, but it gives something for your kids to look forward to and expect during the holidays that makes it special for them. Whether it’s going to the movies or eating at your family favourite restaurant, your holiday family traditions will make memories for life.
4.Rest & Unwind
While fun, games, and activities are expected during school holidays, this is also a good time for children to rest, relax and unwind. Planning a hundred activities ahead may seem like a great idea, but everyone can end up exhausted and burnt out including you. Use the school holidays to balance out fun activity days with lazy days at home.
Every day of the holiday month does not have to be packed with activities. If your child is attending a holiday program, make sure it includes some rest time. For example, if the weekday is jam packed with activities make sure the weekends are relaxed to give your child some down time to sleep in and be lazy.
Our children need some time in between school to recharge their batteries. Consider having an all-day-pyjama-day and watching cartoons day.