Summer holidays are coming! And really what is not to love about the Summer?!
Mind you, there is always an adjustment period, when the kids are settling into a new routine and getting used to being around each other more and away from the school calendar. And it usually takes a few days for all to adjust.
Even Mary Poppins has her limits!
In the beginning, you’re all Mary Poppins, coming up with fun and exciting ways to entertain the kids while keeping firm boundaries. By the end, you’ve got a serious eye twitch and back-to-school couldn’t come fast enough!
Personally, during the Summer holidays, I used to look forward to lazy mornings, no school lunches and the flexibility to do things with the children when I wanted. The trick to fun school holidays is balance – try and keep the kids busy with enough down-time so you are not worn out.
Why not start by planning and begin your search here on Kids n Things for things to do, for example, Summer Camps in your area. There is usually a great selection to cater for all ages of children from toddler ages to teen in order to keep your Kids occupied!!
My experience as a mum of 4
From my own experience as a mother of four children, I had the good fortune to be able to pack the car and head to the sunny south east and stay in a mobile home for the school holidays. The mobile was in a little bit of heaven called Tara Cove in Ballymoney, Co. Wexford.
The fun, freedom and excitement for the children running bare foot all day in a safe environment was truly priceless and of course so many beautiful memories made to keep forever. But, you do not need a mobile home to create magical memories!
Creating magical memories
If you live near the coast you can hop on your local bus/train and head to the nearest beach. Trust me, children never remember the cold or rain that tend to accompany our Irish summers.
While you and I may be dressed in three layers of clothes, kids enjoy the sheer excitement and thrill of running into the sea water, building sandcastles, playing ball, burying each other (always a good one) and eating sandy crisp sandwiches. While later in the day, you can all collect twigs and kindling on the beach and make a little bonfire, sing songs and toast marshmallows!!
Summer holiday activities for kids
To help you to try and get the most out of the school holidays, I’ve put together this list of school holiday ideas. Hopefully you will find some ideas below that might suit you and your kids!!! Don’t forget to check Kids‘n’Things categories for the kind of creativity, camps, classes, books and entertainment available in your area for your kids!!!
Now to the list!
Walking, Hiking & Beachgoing
Walking, hiking and going to the beach or your local park. Do not forget to pack a picnic for extra fun!! Or you could travel further afield to:
- The beautiful Cavan Burren Park, Co Cavan;
- Portumna Forest Park, Co. Galway;
- Knocknarea Queen Maeve Trail, Co. Sligo;
Your kids will feel like they have climbed Everest as they approach the top of the 500 steps to the great cairn of Queen Maeve!!!)
There is also:
- The Gougane Barra Forest in Co. Cork; and
- Tomnafinnoge Wood, Tinahely, Co. Wicklow, which is filled with giant oak trees.
Arts & Crafts
Homemade play dough, painting, daisy chains, collecting stones from the beach that you can paint, design and varnish. Water pistol painting. Chalk drawing on paths or walls (it washes off so easy) is lots of fun!!
Baking/Cooking
Keep it simple and fun – if you do not want to cook from scratch, buy ready-to-make; add oil and egg and buy little muffin cases and a tub of frosting and sprinkles hours of fun!!
Fruit skewers – sliced fruit on wooden skewers, ice lollies using fruit juice, jelly, ice cream sodas the list is endless!!
A Lemonade Stand is always a fabulous fun activity – making the lemonade, setting up a little stand and make signs. The children can donate the money to a local charity or keep it themselves to buy a treat after all their hard work!!
Bike Rides
Bike Rides are the best ever, it doesn’t have to be that far, maybe just to your local park. But there are also some great cycles around every corner of Ireland from Curraghchase Forest Park in Limerick, Co. Offaly to Blessington Greenway, in Co. Wicklow, there is no shortage of places to get some fresh air, fabulous countryside and fun this Summer.
Reading
Explore your local library!!!! Local libraries have so many amazing resources we tend to forget what they can offer from ordering a particular book your child likes to or pick your favourite author you would like to borrow.
There is so much to choose from including ebooks, digital comics, graphic novels and digital magazines for children. There is also Storytime where you can bring the children to the library and the Summer Stars reading challenge, you can earn rewards and join competitions and activities.
Water Fun
There are many options available for some water fun with your kids – in the sea, lakes, paddling pool and of course the garden hose!!
Water balloons, squirt blasters, water limbo, water balloon toss. Most euro shops sell water balloons and you can have endless fun filling them up and gathering the ammo!!
Local Summer Camps
Local Summer Camps, classes and groups are great resources for your kids this Summer – check them out on Kids’n’Things!!!
I hope this has given you a little bit of inspiration for the Summer days ahead!! Kids only ever remember how they felt at the time so make those memories happy. And they don’t have to be extravagant, they will remember the fun and precious time spent with you.
I cannot wait for your feedback and look forward to talking to you again soon!!
