Mum I’m bored...

So what do you do with children who are, whether they admit it or not, sorely missing the structure and content of school during the long summer holidays.
Find them projects to get involved in and if you are friendly with the children’s friend’s parents or have relatives with children of similar ages then club together to share the activities – it’ll make it much more fun for the children and far less taxing on the parents. If you are working then there is nothing wrong with dashing home to take the children out for an evening picnic. Beaches are often at their best in the early evenings when the crowds have dispersed. Perhaps you can alternate with another parent so that you entertain them all one day and your friends reciprocate on others – then have a combined get together when you are all available. Some families even go so far as to book to camp at the same time on a fairly local campsite because nothing beats camping for the average child especially when are able to do useful things like collect wood for the communal campfire and get involved in collecting water and doing the washing up outside. So much better than the restrictions of hotels or B&Bs and other indoor places where they have to mind their Ps and Qs.
Most children of all ages secretly love organised games and competitions. These days they don’t get much chance to show their skills off to their parents. Even those of award teenage years revel in showing their younger siblings how good they are and most will be very good indeed at stage managing the games. Think rounders, simple rules cricket, welly wanging, egg & spoon races, sandcastle building, miniature garden making, dressing up, putting on plays, charades… an hour or two of fun with little prizes for everyone will wear them all out and have them tucking in to the picnic they’ll have helped to prepare…
Depending on their ages, a rainy day or one that has to be spent at home, could see you getting your children to sort through their old unwanted books, toys and clothes to have a swaps day with their friends (once you’ve agreed what can go). Or help them to hold a charity sale on the front lawn if you live in an area where you’d definitely get good passing trade. They’ll get stuck in
to making posters and dropping home made leaflets into neighbours’ houses as well as asking for other unwanted items, setting up their stalls, and getting the refreshments organised. Or think about having them get everything that is no longer needed in the house priced up ready for a boot fair you’ll take them to. Decide ahead of time what the money will be used for… and be sure to choose something that the whole family can enjoy using together. You’ll certainly discover who the best sales people are in your family too…
Have your children take over the kitchen and let them decide what’s on the menu, find the best recipes, shop for and/or pick the ingredients, and prepare it all (with supervision if they’re under ten or have little experience in the kitchen). Let them invite some friends along to enjoy the resulting (if unusual) feast. Picnic food, outdoor food, simple cakes and biscuits, imaginative salads, custom made pizzas… pull up your own chair and tuck in too.
Show your children how to make yummy ice lollies out of pure apple or orange juice, how to make simple “slush puppies”, and how easy it is to make simple ice cream or frozen yogurt with fresh fruits from the garden.
Have them each make and then decorate a cake for sharing. Or simple biscuits in various shapes using cutters. Or fresh fruit kebabs. And what about blancmange? You can still buy moulds in the shapes of rabbits, cars, spaceships and more… easy for any child to achieve perfect results…
Have your kids each start a scrap book diary at the start of the holidays to record all the things they have done. Give them a specific item you’d like to see go in to their scrap books each week. Designing a crossword perhaps, or writing a funny poem, or “inventing” a new type of animal, or reviewing a book or a particular television programme or a fi lm. If they have cameras or are allowed access to yours then get them taking pictures of special things they see. Keep them out and about and active rather than plonked in front of the PC or TV.
Take them out on nature walks to spot wild birds and plants, animals and trees. Take them beach combing for “sea” glass and unusual pebbles, fossils and shells. Take them to the local museum so that they can see how people used to live in their town or village and point out special buildings to them. Take them to see the nearest lifeboat station (find out ahead of time when it is open for visitors or giving displays), take them for walks along stretches of the coastal path, take them to open places where they can run wild. Most of all relax with them and enjoy their childhood days as they are all too quickly over.
Organised Activities
Many local authority schools and councils organise supervised activities for children during the holidays, some of which are free of charge and some which require a nominal registration fee. Check what is available in your local area as there may well be something going on that will appeal to your children and give them the opportunity to meet up with others as well as learn new skills.
Various commercial organisations including public schools also run children’s activities during the holidays. These include residential as well as day camps focusing on various interests. Whilst still not as widespread or popular as the summer camps which run all over the United States, this is a growing area and can provide the children of busy working parents with lots of activities in a supervised environment.
An example of this is the series of summer school activities on offer at Steiner Schools throughout the South West along with summer camps facilitated by many of the region’s public schools. Key, of course, to every parent’s comfort level before they book places for their children is to be able to establish that the organisation has proven experience and track record in maintaining a safe, supportive atmosphere for all participants.