Summer Holiday Survival Guide - What You Want To Read
A few days ago, I asked my friends on Facebook if they were to read a blog post written by me, what would they like it to be about? This is one of the posts, based on those suggestions.
Every Summer, Parents all across the world are faced with a dilemma.
Now, that the children aren't at School for several hours a day, what shall we do together?
For me it's pretty obvious what to do. After breakfast and a few chores, we then have to do a little bit of Mummy Home School. I personally think that a little bit of daily reading, Maths practice and handwriting practice is a good thing. It's not for long, only twenty minutes of them each, but enough to keep them in habit and the handwriting practice is also a chance for the children to keep a record of what they have been up to during the Summer.
After we've done this we tend to do some form of Exercise. It might be that we walk to a local park, or that we walk to Town, or that we go for a walk around one of the local woods or lakes. It could be that we go for a bike ride or play a game of Football, Basketball, Netball or even Tennis. Again this is something that is important, something that I do or try to do on a daily basis when the children are at School and something that I want the Children to do when they have left School.
Then in the afternoon we do something fun. Something that the children have asked to do or something that we have wanted to do. It might cost money, it might not but with a budget set for the whole of the Summer it doesn't matter if one day costs more than another.
That of course doesn't help you.
Personally, what I would do is still something quite similar to me.
First things first.
Once you know how much money you have, you know what you have to spend. If you're lucky enough to have £10,000 then obviously going to a Theme Park everyday isn't going to cause you an issue but if like me your entire summer budget is more like £100 then even one trip to a Theme Park is going to wipe out your budget.
The Libraries always do a great Summer reading programme. This is the first thing to sign up to and to make sure your children complete. Borrowing books from the library is free and borrowing DVD's and music CD's are also either free or available at a cheaper price than from other sources.
There are other things that are free, here in Milton Keynes the Parks Trust offer things like play days, concerts, open days and even watch local cricket teams play. I'm sure this isn't just a Milton Keynes thing and you'll find things near you too.
Plan visits with your friends or your children's friends. It might be that if you all chip in one week for a bouncy castle that it costs a lot less than you might think and of course if you are friends together you won't get bored of your own childs company!
It could be that you are going to a Theme Park, that you are going on a Weekend Break, you have a trip to the Cinema planned and you're also going Bowling. A really bad plan would be to schedule them all for the same week, because you have nothing to look forward to. A better plan, in my mind, is to spread everything out, have the Cinema trip the week the blockbuster movie comes out. Put bowling a week later, have your holiday the week after that and round off the "expensive" trips with the theme park visit the week after that.
This gives everyone something to look forward to, and might make some less than receptive youth (or adults) more accepting of going to a free Museum or Art Gallery especially as they know the thing they are waiting for is coming up in a couple of days/weeks etc.
I'm going to post an updated version of my 100 Free things to do, but why not read these following posts in the mean time?
How Not To Dread The Summer Holidays
60 Free (Or Almost Free) Things To Do In The Summer Holidays For Teenagers
Things To Do In The Summer Holidays
Summer Holiday Survival Guide
Every Summer, Parents all across the world are faced with a dilemma.
Now, that the children aren't at School for several hours a day, what shall we do together?
For me it's pretty obvious what to do. After breakfast and a few chores, we then have to do a little bit of Mummy Home School. I personally think that a little bit of daily reading, Maths practice and handwriting practice is a good thing. It's not for long, only twenty minutes of them each, but enough to keep them in habit and the handwriting practice is also a chance for the children to keep a record of what they have been up to during the Summer.
After we've done this we tend to do some form of Exercise. It might be that we walk to a local park, or that we walk to Town, or that we go for a walk around one of the local woods or lakes. It could be that we go for a bike ride or play a game of Football, Basketball, Netball or even Tennis. Again this is something that is important, something that I do or try to do on a daily basis when the children are at School and something that I want the Children to do when they have left School.
Then in the afternoon we do something fun. Something that the children have asked to do or something that we have wanted to do. It might cost money, it might not but with a budget set for the whole of the Summer it doesn't matter if one day costs more than another.
That of course doesn't help you.
Personally, what I would do is still something quite similar to me.
First things first.
Set a budget for the summer
Once you know how much money you have, you know what you have to spend. If you're lucky enough to have £10,000 then obviously going to a Theme Park everyday isn't going to cause you an issue but if like me your entire summer budget is more like £100 then even one trip to a Theme Park is going to wipe out your budget.
Sign up for Free Things
The Libraries always do a great Summer reading programme. This is the first thing to sign up to and to make sure your children complete. Borrowing books from the library is free and borrowing DVD's and music CD's are also either free or available at a cheaper price than from other sources.
There are other things that are free, here in Milton Keynes the Parks Trust offer things like play days, concerts, open days and even watch local cricket teams play. I'm sure this isn't just a Milton Keynes thing and you'll find things near you too.
Plan visits with your friends or your children's friends. It might be that if you all chip in one week for a bouncy castle that it costs a lot less than you might think and of course if you are friends together you won't get bored of your own childs company!
Spread Out The Activities
It could be that you are going to a Theme Park, that you are going on a Weekend Break, you have a trip to the Cinema planned and you're also going Bowling. A really bad plan would be to schedule them all for the same week, because you have nothing to look forward to. A better plan, in my mind, is to spread everything out, have the Cinema trip the week the blockbuster movie comes out. Put bowling a week later, have your holiday the week after that and round off the "expensive" trips with the theme park visit the week after that.
This gives everyone something to look forward to, and might make some less than receptive youth (or adults) more accepting of going to a free Museum or Art Gallery especially as they know the thing they are waiting for is coming up in a couple of days/weeks etc.
I'm going to post an updated version of my 100 Free things to do, but why not read these following posts in the mean time?
How Not To Dread The Summer Holidays
60 Free (Or Almost Free) Things To Do In The Summer Holidays For Teenagers
Things To Do In The Summer Holidays