The summer break is at hand! For some parents, you’re happy that your children get a break from school, for others, you’re entering this season with fear and trepidation, wondering how you’re going to entertain your energetic pre-schooler 24x7 without resorting to screens for most of the day!

But it doesn’t have to be like that. If you sit with your child and plan their vacation together, you’ll ensure that there will be a focus and your child will use this time constructively and not come to you a hundred times a day saying those dreaded three words: “I’m so bored!”

Remember its important to do it together with your child, rather than planning it and handing it over to him/her. You’ll be amazed at some of the things they come up with, and they will be self motivated, since they came up with it themselves. Try and keep it as realistic and doable as possible.

First come up with general goals or projects. Here are some ideas:

  • Cook a meal together
  • Bake a cake for a neighbour
  • Do a project on dogs/ plants/ food (any thing that your child is interested in. My son chose teeth because his first tooth just fell out!)
  • Clean the toy cupboard
  • Visit the museum
  • Go for a family holiday (This is something that is so important. Just taking time out to do something together as a family. It will create memories that will last a life time, even if its just a weekend.)
  • Go for family outings (If time and money, do you not permit you to have a family holiday, atleast try doing a family outing together. You can pack a little picnic and even just go to a park!)
  • Make cards and post them to grandparents
  • Learn something by rote (eg. a poem/ psalm from the bible, etc.)
  • Make a Lego city
  • Set up an aquarium

Besides the big things, its also important to plan smaller things, like what your child will do everyday. Some examples are:

  • Play with lego everyday for atleast an hour
  • Play down every evening from 4-6
  • Water the plants everyday (Its essential to give your child some house chores that they do regularly so that they learn responsibility even at a young age)
  • Do something creative everyday (I’ve made a little stationery kit for my children, where they have different boxes with pencils, crayons, colour pencils, felt pens, scissors and glue, etc. This helps keep everything neat and gives them an opportunity to be creative.)

 

Holidays are actually great times to start a new habit, help your child grow in a certain skill or quality, spend quality time with your children and create memories that will last forever!

So hope you look forward to this vacation with great joy and excitement!

%d bloggers like this: