Keeping Your Kids Entertained During School Vacation

Keeping children entertained during school vacation can sometimes seem a daunting task, especially when most activities cost a lot of money. Below are some top tips that will help keep your stress levels down, keep your children entertained, and stop you from spending a fortune.

Out and About
During school vacation, there is usually a wide variety of activities going on in the local community that you and your family can enjoy. Have a look at your town’s website or tourist information centers to find out what’s on. You could also look in local newspapers or on social media sites as many events are advertised here too. Libraries often have free activities during school vacation, including craft sessions and story times. They are also a great place to visit when no activities are taking place as they usually have computers and a variety of books to keep children occupied.

You should also:

Look out for adverts from local galleries and museums. Many offer special prices during vacation.
Visit the local leisure center or swimming pool. There is usually a range of activities provided for children that will keep them entertained and are often provided at a reasonable price.

Stay at Home
It’s usually inevitable that you will find yourself staying at home for at least one day over the school vacation period, but that doesn’t mean that your children have to be bored.

Below are some activities that you could try with your children:

Find an interesting book, and either read it together or ask them to give it a go themselves.
Get cooking – choose a family-friendly recipe, and cook it together. Most children really enjoy this and will get a sense of pride when they eat it afterwards.

Consider In-ground trampolines – when the weather is dry, installing a trampoline can give your kids hours of enjoyment.

Encourage your kids to put on a dancing and singing show or even a magic act.

Find out some of your old clothes, and let your kids play dress-up.

Build a den – all you need is some blankets, boxes, cushions, and a bit of imagination.

Make a scrapbook – using old family photos or your child’s favorite magazine pictures, cut out the pictures, and stick them in. This is a great idea for creative children.

Have a crafty day – find out some paints, cardboard boxes, glue, and glitter, and let your children use their imagination.

Set up a treasure hunt. Who doesn’t love going on a treasure hunt? For older children, you could make it a little bit harder by writing clues for them to read and work out, and for younger children, you could draw picture clues. You could even ask them to set up a treasure hunt for you.

If you have a tent, then why not put it up in the garden. You could even camp outside overnight!

There’s a huge variety of activities that you can do with your children to keep them entertained during school vacations. Many of them require little to no money – just a little bit of imagination! So why not give some of these ideas a go?