Holiday activities
holiday; plan; play; boredom; trip; outing; tired; home; yard; water; card; game; board; loser; cook; picnic; bike; ride; park; playground; video; safety; holidays ;
Contents
Towards the end of school holidays children may start to say they feel bored and "there's nothing to do". The excitement of starting the holidays has worn off, any new toys are no longer so interesting, and money may be getting short. The following are some suggestions that don't cost much and are probably most useful for children in the early to middle primary school age group.
Holiday boredom
- During the school term routines take over and children may get out of the habit of managing free time. There is also less time for parents and children to be together.
- Holidays can be a time when parents decide that doing things with their children will be a priority and they will use the time to get to know each other and enjoy each other's company. Children love doing things with parents.
- Try to arrange some individual time with each child if you can, as well as family time - this helps build good relationships and helps your children's self esteem.
- Just one different activity each day will help keep children interested and looking forward to it.
- Remember children do not need to be 'entertained' all the time. Just a change of place or a few suggestions can help them to be very creative on their own.
- Sometimes saying "I'm bored" is another way of saying "I want you to play with me", and sometimes the child has not even started to try to think of what to do himself.
Things for parents and children to do together
- Take a child to work with mum or dad for a day or part of a day.
- Play card games or board games - but remember that young children have not yet learned to be good losers so they need to have some wins.
- Have a cooking day - even young children love to help cook. Let children decide on the menu for dinner (within reason), go with you to shop for it and then cook, or help cook it.
- Have a family picnic in the backyard.
- Take the whole family for tea (or breakfast) on the beach.
- Go for a family bike ride along a cycle track or in a park.
Trips and outings
- Just getting out into different surroundings starts lots of new play ideas for children. Find out about parks and playgrounds in your neighbourhood and around the city.
- Visit Botanic gardens.
- Find a river where there are ducks to feed.
- Visit the museum
- Visit the art gallery and have an activity such as finding all the paintings with dogs or horses in them - keep it fairly short for young children.
- Go for a ride on a bus or train.
- Take a drive to a pine forest, read a favourite fairy or dinosaur story and let the children make up their own story to play in the forest.
- Visit a reservoir and see how the water levels change between summer and winter.
- Go to a beach with waves and take the boogie boards if you have them. Remember sun protection.
- Find a rocky beach and look for tiny crabs and shells. (Remember to put the crabs back).
- Check with the local council what activities are on in your area.
- Watch the local and daily paper for school holiday activities.
Things to do when it is hot
- Water is always popular - even a hose or sprinkler in the back yard. Young children always need to be supervised.
- Visit the local air-conditioned library and let children choose their own books to read. Find out when there are story telling sessions.
- Visit the local air-conditioned shopping centre, which also may have holiday activities. Finish with a small treat, eg drink in a cafeteria where children can choose their own.
- Look for swimming pools or parkland paddle pools that are shaded.
Around home
- Have a 'Blinky Bill' picnic - tie lunch in a tea towel and carry it into the backyard on a stick.
- Use old paint brushes and water or pieces of chalk to paint pictures on the backyard paths or walls.
- Teach a craft such as knitting.
- Clean out the toy box and put things back where they belong, eg all the dinosaurs together - this can start hours of fun as old toys seem new again.
- Build a cubby house with large cardboard boxes.
- Have a "making box" - clean out cupboards and put old bits and pieces such as party paper cups, straws etc in a box for children to create with.
- Make a kite and fly it (easier said than done).
- Swap ideas with your friends.
Things to do when you are tired
- Get a suitable video and watch it with the children - or swap videos with a friend’s children so they will each get different ones (local council libraries often have free videos to borrow).
- Invite a friend for the child to play with - this usually takes pressure off as they play together - and the invitation may be returned.
- Get some plasticine and allow children to create pictures (some children's books have plasticine pictures which may give them a start).
- Make playdough. See the secion 'Playdough' in the topic Play with children.
- Let children plan and put on a show for you with whatever "acts" they can do - all you have to do is watch.
School holiday ideas for primary age children
Things you can do that don't cost money
- Go to the library
- Take a friend or the dog for a walk
- Start a collection – shells, flowers (dried between kitchen paper), stamps from used envelopes etc
- Organise your photos
- Make something
- Free activities at the shopping centre
- Practice skills such as skipping, throwing, kicking…
- Write a story or start a novel
- Read
- Watch TV
- Learn to knit or sew
- Use games that are on the computer
- Cook something
- Visit parks
- Start a hobby
- Dressing up
- Write a diary
- Painting
- Clean and re-organise your room
- Picnic in the garden or park
- Acting, making up plays, then put them on for the family
- Make up a concert
- Play games you have eg card games, board games
- Help mum or dad or grandparents
- Plant a small garden
- Visit friends.
Jobs that might earn some money
- Special jobs for mum, dad, family, eg car washing, cleaning up the yard, house-work
- Special jobs for neighbours (with parents' permission)
- Collect vouchers and shopper dockets, look in the newspaper for special deals, eg 2 for 1 at the movies
- Picking fruit
- Collect cans or bottles and take back to the recycling place.
Things which cost
- Local swimming centre
- Videos and DVDs
- Movies (look in the newspaper for cheap movies for kids)
- Hire computer games
- Talk on the phone
- Parties with friends
- Horse riding
- Indoor bowls
- Swimming lessons
- Go on a bus or train to somewhere different (get an adult to go with you).
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Parent Helpline on 1300 364 100 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).
This topic may use 'he' and 'she' in turn - please change to suit your
child's sex.