I love half terms, seeing the children, not having to get up early for the school runs. Hearing the chat on the playground about the dreaded half term I decided to put together a quick list of my top tips for surviving half term. Not sure if they will be any use but surely anything has got to be worth a try!
1) Be organised but not too organised. A bit contradicting but being organised is good as it gives the children something to look forward to. However having multiple children things often go out the window as something else comes up, or someone gets sick. Therefore I try and not plan things too far ahead to save disappointment. Having disappointed kids is no fun, tantrums, tears and terrorising you by repeatedly asking the same question equals a not very happy parent! Take each day as it comes, or plan the night before.
2) Get outside. Aim to get outside at least once a day. Children love the freedom and by giving them opportunity to burn off excess energy has definitely got to be a bonus! Getting out in the garden or going down to the local park for a quick run around will do them wonders and even you. You could even take a flask of coffee if it's a bit chilly or a lovely picnic in the summer.
3) Do the food shop before they break up. Nobody's wants to traipsing round the supermarket with a horde of children begging for every item of junk food the see. It's not fun for you or the kids, I avoid it at all costs. If you do brave it, I applauded you and surely it counts as an outing?!
4) Get the children involved around the house. Set little objectives for them to achieve throughout the day/week. Some good examples are brushing their teeth, making their bed, making their own sandwich for lunch, helping with laundry ect. By getting them to join in, it not only give them something to do other than watching that square box (TV), it helps you, it increases their independence and they gain a sense of achievement. Here's Leo putting away his washing!
Once they complete a task reward them. The boys love board games and they often come to ask me to play with them. They either see I'm busy and join in by helping, knowing now that by helping me we can get the job done quicker so we can play their game. Or I say them we can play if game if you tidy your room ect. Definitely a win win in my eyes.
5) Discipline. There's nothing more than dreading half term knowing your little angel is going to be an absolute sod. Getting into a disciple routine early can help eliminate this. Start by setting boundaries of what is acceptable and what isn't. Sharing, kind words, being honest, helpful and gentle to each other are my top priority. If the children step out of line which is rare now, they will be sat on the bottom step and spending their age in minutes to think about the consequences. With a good routine they will naturally or hopefully behave well in public. We still have our moments like any parents, usually from the diva, Leo. But don't give in to their every demand!
6) Plan around their needs. This isn't to everyone's taste and sometimes it's unavoidable when your planning big day trips. But everything revolves around nap times and feeding times. Knowing that the baby has a sleep for an hour between 10.30am-11.30am is bliss, I get wiz around the house cleaning or grab a warm cup of coffee and even play a quick game with the boys. Currently they love Top Trumps, it's quick but they love the one to one attention. Therefore if I'm planning anything for the day we will go early in the morning before nap time or later in the afternoon. Plan ahead with picnics to eat on route or there. It saves time messing around at home, as you will never get out if you have to stay in for nap time and then lunch, it will soon be time to repeat it all over again.
7) Make a boredom buster jar. I saw this idea on Netmums and love it, here's the link Netmum’s Boredom Buster Jar. Basically you get the kids to write down their ideas they would like to do, and pull one or two out each day. Would definitely recommend supervision with this one, you wouldn't want to be caught out, by having one of the kids pull out a ridiculous activity you can fulfill. One of Leo’s loves is painting, we used a roll of old wallpaper for this.
8) Chill out. Half term doesn't have to be stressful. There's nothing wrong with letting them watch a bit of TV in moderation, while your pottering around. Once they have had enough I go and turn it off, they usually sit there moping around winging but it's not long before they use their imagination to do something productive. I once read somewhere children need to be bored in order to challenge themselves with new learning opportunities. Honestly you will be surprised what they get up to, they will soon be engrossed in their play.
9) It doesn't have to be expensive. Half term doesn't have to be about doing an expensive day trip every single day. Bring out that craft box and let their imaginations run wild, visit the park. Groupon often have some good deals, we brought the boys a rock climbing session for half the price.
10) Here's some inside and outside activities. Inside Activities: games day you can often pick up old games form the charity shop, build a den, for younger children make sensory bin's (see my previous post for baby treasure baskets), make homemade playdoh here's a great little recipe Playdoh recipe. Plan a movie night, grab a blanket and snuggle up, you can buy popping corn from the supermarkets to throw in to the microwave for popcorn.
Leo was obsessed with trains so a bit of flour in a tray would keep him occupied for ages!
We love Orchard games, they are fun but always educational.
Outside Activities: visit a beach, go on nature trails, visit museum's we have a few locally that don't charge an entrance fee. If your early riser's our local cinema (Odeon Lincoln) often show kids viewings at around 10am, each ticket is £2.50 so your saving masses, however it's usually an older film, but these boys don't mind. Go to the library, let them pick out their own books, sometimes they have reading, singing or craft sessions on that aim to encourage people to join. Check out the local leisure centers or kids clubs, last summer holidays I booked the boys in to a full day (9am-3pm) activity session costing £5 per child. Anxious at first I only booked one day, but they loved it so much they want to go back the next day. They did sports, crafts, board games, face paining etc, all with children their own age. Now you have a full day for yourself, crazy right!
Hope this helped, but just remember if all else fails, drink wine and think of bed time.
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