Surviving the holidays with kids


Surviving the holidays with kids

So the school holidays are fast approaching and soon Christmas will feel like a distant memory but what do you do once Santa has been and all the presents are opened?

Here are some ideas to keep them entertained during the school holidays but also add some educational value, without them even knowing!

1 Get them to help you bake or cook something. OK so it can make your kitchen a little messy but kids love doing this! It also teaches them about measurement (weighing ingredients) and helps their reading when having to follow a recipe. 

2 Play dominoes with them. From 3 up this is a great game to play and teaches them about the concept of number - they will know what 6 dots look like, they will be able to see that different numbers have different patterns.

3 Get them outside. It doesn't matter if the weather is rubbish just wrap them up and give them some fresh air. Let them run around, bring out your inner child with them and play hide and seek!

4 Go and visit an elderly relative or neighbour. I think that it is really important, particularly at this time of year, to go and visit other people. It also teaches your child about compassion and respect. My kids also find it fascinating to hear their 97 year old Great Granny's stories. 

5 Let them use their imagination. Give them some sheets, boxes, your clothes horse etc and see how much fun they can have.

6 Play Beetle Drive as a family. This is an old game but all you need is paper, pencils and a dice. It can last for ages and is great for teaching kids about turn taking.

7 Play a treasure hunt around the house. If your child finds spelling tricky, write out some of the words they find challenging, hide them around the house and when they find a word they have to read it to you. If its numeracy that they find tricky, do the same with some sums. So much more fun than making them do "work" over the holidays.

Kids get so many presents over the holidays, play on their tablets too much or watch TV for too long, its great to be able to interact with them in a fun, free way.