Mar 14, 2016

Holiday Madness

Help!

Okay, I have a dilemma. My son is spending the next year in a Victorian bush school. He is engaged in a brilliant program of hiking, running and learning lots of bush skills as well as the usual school curriculum. Just fantastic.

My daughter is still with us in NSW. So what’s the dilemma I hear you ask.

School holidays!

The kids now have different school holidays. The Easter school holidays are usually two weeks, so I only have to find fun and entertaining things to do for fourteen days (in an effort to keep them off computer games and away from the TV). Now, while one is home, the other is still at school and the collective school holidays span…four weeks!  And, this is going to continue in the same vein all year.

So, please help me. I need lots and lots of ideas for what to do with the children. So far I have planned:
  • lots of bush walks (eg walk up Mount Warning – a 4-5 hour round trip)
  • Byron cinema is closed for renovation (for a year!), so we will have to travel to other cities to watch movies which will be more of an adventure
  •  I will book a few days away at North or South Stradbroke Island
  • I will organise for some cousins to visit and will go to visit some cousins
  • Going up to the Gold Coast to Laser Skirmish (sadly we love playing this game as a family – it’s hilarious)
  • will take the kids to Byron Bay Blues Festival
  • go to the beach (although we do have a Great White Shark problem at the moment, so I’m not too keen on this option)
  •  let the kids get bored so they use their imaginations and come up with good things to do


But, that’s not nearly enough. So, I’m begging for ideas. What are some activities that I can I organise to keep the tribe entertained and me sane whilst still getting all my work done?

20 comments:

  1. Oh Jennifer I feel your pain I had 4 kids and trying to keep them happy during school holidays was always hard and they were off together now I have the care of two of my grandchildren and they are 10 and 8 so I am back to it again for me you have listed great ideas already and sorry I can't add anymore to that list all I can say is I am sure they are going to have lots of fun

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Thanks Helen. I just know you would be the most wonderful and fun Mum and grandmother!!

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  2. I am the least qualified person to give advice here! Sounds like you have a great list going - I was one of those kids who would happily spend my school holidays reading. Easy to please, right? haha

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    1. Ah, to have children who loved to read all day - bliss. My kids like reading but like action-packed days better.

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  3. Jen, your list of activities sounds awesome - including the item about letting the kids get bored so they get some imagination-flexing time! And Stef's reading time is a good addition. Are there any volunteer things happening up your way - tree planting perhaps?

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    1. Great idea, Sharon. I will check out what's going on. Always lots of ways to volunteer in Byron Bay.

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  4. lol Jen, you're organising a hike for your kid who's at a bush school where he has to do hiking? ;-) If I know said kid at all I think he'll be happy to trade for some quality time with technology ;-)

    If you're going to the gold coast can I suggest you check out the new iFLY complex? Indoor skydiving - a bit exe but fabulous fun for the whole family even those like me who are happy to sit outside the glass funnel and watch!

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    1. Well you've nailed why he has gone to bush school, Amy. Too much technology.

      iFLY sound amazing. Will check it out.

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  5. It sounds as if you have a lot organised already, there, Jen! Not sure what ages of your kids are (did I miss that somewhere?)...I have two sons and kind of know what they like doing so I doubt your son would be interested, but is your daughter into arts/crafts? She could do some art journalling (google it, there will be 'themes' etc you can decide to use)- it's a nice quiet thing to do and as creative (or not) as you like.
    How about you get them each to plan / cook a meal for the family- three courses etc? That way you can help them learn to cook and teach them about food too?
    Bicycles? Cycle rides and picnics are fun.
    Good luck!!!!!!!

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    1. Cooking - great idea. We did talk about them cooking one meal a week. I'm going to reintroduce that topic. And now we live on quieter country lanes, I'm going to get the bikes fixed up and out of the road.

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  6. Oh, Jen, that thing with the non-coinciding holidays sucks. Not only for you and the extended entertainment needed, but because they won't get to spend time together. On the positive side though, they will each have only-child time with their parents during holidays and if their interests aren't the same it will make the outings/activities easier to match to each child.

    I'm afraid I don't have any wonderful suggestions, except to say: my boys did boarding school and holidays were all about being at home. They didn't want to be entertained/organised as they got enough of that at school. They wanted to catch up with friends/family and relax.

    PS: love Louisa's suggestion of the art journal -- I'd have loved that as a holiday project!

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    1. I suspect you are right, Bron. My son is a bit of home body, so he will probably enjoy less organised time. Maybe it is the mother that need entertaining?!?!

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  7. Jen, I feel your pain! Sounds like you've thought of lots of stuff for them to do - and I'm sure they'll have ideas of their own. My daughter usually spent a week of her holidays at horse riding camp. Later when she got her own horses she'd have like minded friends to our little farm and we'd never see them ( except if we had to take said friends to hospital with broken limbs when they came off their horses but that's a different story!) Surfing school? Kayaking? Cooking lessons? Dance? Sometime I think they just like to be at home!

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    1. Great suggestions Kandy. Kayaking down the Brunswick river is sounding like a good idea to me!!

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  8. I'm with Louisa on the cooking thing. Otherwise no bright ideas to help you, Jennifer.

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  9. Do you have any fun painting projects you could let them loose on, Jen? A friend of mine and her daughter painted their wheelie bins -- they looked fab -- abstract art and hippie flowers (mind you, I'm not sure where the council stands on such things). Maybe you have a shed wall they could have fun with. Just a thought. Also, movie marathons -- do they (and you) like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Buffy? A session of those would keep one busy for a rainy day or two. Oh, and board games -- Cluedo never grows old...or Monopoly...or Yahtzee. Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll all have fun. :-)

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  10. Great idea re painting projects, Michelle. My daughter would love that. We are board game crazies - Settlers, Risk, Monopoly - we love them!! And a movie marathon - sounds very good to me.

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  11. Would your children allow you to read out loud to them? Maybe revisit a favourite like Harry Potter or The Hobbit or similar? Then you could watch the movies together at the end of each book. Or they could read aloud to you. Or be one of the characters when you're reading, like Harry, or Bilbo, or Gollum?

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  12. Jen, it sounds like it will be busy! I love the idea of letting them use their imaginations to do something. If they can't come up with something themselves what about a project they could work on over a period of time - create a garden, build something, write a story, make something to donate to charity, depending on their ages even help out at a local charity. Something they need to plan and contribute to over more than a day would be good.

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