Summer

I AM BORED!

Don’t you hear this from your kids within a few days of summer holidays?

I organise different holiday camps and plan a lot of activities for kids according to the different age groups. Mostly kids who attend these camps are between the age group of 5-10 years. As my girls are little older now, they are not interested in attending summer camps anymore.

I made a long list before their vacations started with both of them. Before the list of activities, I made another list with a set of instructions and they both agreed to it. It was like signing an agreement with them.

  • Not more than 1 hour TV in a day until they are watching a movie.
  • Compulsorily going out to play for at least 2 hours a day.
  • Reading a book. (This one made them happy)
  • Less time on other gadgets like laptop or I pad.
  • Helping me around the house with household chores.

Moms make the rules and kids break them but we are trying. 🙂

Now the main question–

How to keep them busy in holidays?

Here is my list of 30 activities which I planned with them.

  1. Nonheat cooking – Bhelpuri, sandwiches, fruits chaats, salads, summer coolers etc.
  2. Crafts– My teen is not that interested but tween loves to do crafts. I took out some printouts for her and we went to a craft store to get whatever she wanted.
  3. Pottery- Different types of clays are available in the market to experiment.
  4. Gardening
  5. Dance and music
  6. Volunteering– My teen volunteers at other camps and helps out with smaller kids.
  7. Picnics– Plan picnic to a park
  8. Visit a museum or a local market
  9. Baking– Kids love to bake. Try baking a cake together.
  10. Summer parties– Organise theme parties with their friends
  11. Play dates
  12. Visit a water park
  13. Visit a zoo
  14. Go camping
  15. Board games– Pictionary, bingo, and Life etc. are better than playing on a laptop.
  16. Sleepovers
  17. Writing and reading– Get them some good books
  18. Library membership
  19. Movie nights
  20. Painting
  21. Science experiments – There are kits available in the market or you can search on the internet for ideas.
  22. Website making- They will be interested in learning if they are little older.
  23. Scavenger hunts
  24. Swimming classes
  25. Yoga for kids
  26. Outdoor fun games
  27. Learn a musical instrument
  28. Learn a new language
  29. Stitching basics (my tween loves to do cross stitch and there are many basic kits available in the market.
  30. Last but not least, let them get bored too as unstructured play helps them to be little explorers. 🙂

If your kids are not ready to go to a camp or are complaining of getting bored, try some of these activities to keep them busy. But the best way to spend summer vacations is to visit cousins and family, play outdoors for hours and explore the surroundings and going on family holidays.

Do not feel guilty as a parent if you are not sending them to camp or not planning too much with them. Getting bored is good for them as it helps them to be creative.

Summer

I am writing about Parenting for A to Z challenge and sharing my thoughts as a mother of a teen and a tween. Sharing my personal experiences as a mom and hope to help other moms and also learn from them through this challenge. Read all posts here. 

A for Affection

B for Believe

C for Confidence

D for Dance 

E for Extracurricular

F for Food

G for Guilty

H for Hacks 

I for Independent

J for Joint or Nuclear

K for Kindness

L for Looks 

M for Money

N for Nutrition

O for Overprotective

P for Poles apart

Q for Questions

R for Reading

 

 

 

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