When it’s summer, everyone loves the sunny weather, the heat. The days spent cooling off at the pool, and the vacations. If you’re a parent, then you also know that it’s the time when schools are closed, and the children are home for their holiday.
Children love the free time and lack of regimented schedules, but you shouldn’t let them run wild aimlessly. This is the time when activities of various kinds should be lined up to keep them busy, entertained, and out of trouble. Bored kids find diversions that might not be appropriate, safe or even allowed for children their age.
If you’re in the position of having kids in your care and you’re at your wit’s end, then these ideas can help to keep them out of your hair for a while.
TREASURE HUNT/SCAVENGER HUNT:
Planning what activities the kids should enjoy in advance is the best way to get ahead of things before they spin out of your control. You can incorporate this into the other games and activities you have planned for the kids. You can build their expectations by creating a scavenger hunt and making the children guess what you have planned for the week. This way, you can kill two birds with one creative stone. You would have kept them occupied for an afternoon, and built a sense of anticipation in them for the games ahead.
You can make the hunt fun by planting treasure and posting clues around for them to find and decipher, and at the end of the day, the child who has collected the most treasure wins.
THE OUTDOORS:
There are an almost inexhaustible variety of activities and games that can take place outside. However, you can add an entirely new meaning to playing outside when you invest in outdoor toys. The Works has an excellent range that are both affordable and fun. Their range has the added advantage of also being informative of outdoor toys, engaging the cognitive skills of the child in the process of play. Whether your child likes to build, read, sports or to make things, The Works has a range for every child of varied ages. Their toys and the accompaniments are safe for both the child and the environment.
COOKING:
Kids love cooking. Maybe it’s the opportunity to be inventive with ingredients, or the feel of “play” when you add one thing or another to the mix, but whatever it is, they love it. You can capitalise on this while teaching them an essential life skill. Teach them to bake, cook and package meals, and let them have little demonstrations of their own. The approval and delight of the family at eating something they made will give them such a feeling of accomplishment that they’ll keep volunteering in the kitchen.
The great thing about having the kids in the house is that it provides an opportunity to bond, to teach them essential life skills, and get to know them better. That should be the aim of parent-children bonding time. The fun is just an added bonus.
