Wow, where has the year gone? It seems like 5 minutes since my little Eva's first day at school and Alfie started Year 2. With just a few days left until the start of the Summer holidays I've been thinking about how I can ensure that their summer break is enjoyable, memorable and how we can fit in some much-needed family time. Even in the heat of the summer you can embrace hygge and the cosy side of life. Summer is the time when we can enjoy extended daylight hours, spending more time outdoors and taking note of the simple pleasures in life.
One of the easiest ways to get your kids engaged in summer holiday activities is to present them as a challenge or to have themed weeks. This sounds like you will need meticulous organisation but I have done the hard work for you. You can follow this plan from the start of the holidays or pick and choose some of the great ideas I have listed when you are at home and not sure how to keep the children occupied.
Maybe you could choose one theme per week and aim to do two or three activities, or give yourselves a couple of challenges to achieve by the end of the summer holidays.
Below, I have gathered together a comprehensive list of summer holiday activities, based on different activity themes.
NATURE
- Make daisy chains
- Find out about garden tours nearby. See how many different species of plants and flowers you can see
- Collect bugs and make a bug hotel
- Go strawberry picking. Don't forget to make home-made jam!
- Grow an edible garden
- Visit a local farmer's market or a country fair
- Take a picnic to the beach, the mountains, on a boat, next to the river, your favourite park or have one in your garden if you can't travel far
- Climb trees. It’s important that kids have adult supervision when climbing trees, but it’s also a fun way to exercise and find out a little about nature!
- Go camping, even if you set up camp in your garden
- Build a den
WATER
- Make paper boats and try floating them in the bath or sink, or even move on to other origami paper craft projects!
- Use water and red, blue and yellow food colouring to mix your own colours (shown in the blog photograph by Eva)
- Mud painting
- Blow bubbles
- Conduct water experiments
- Construct ice cube towers
- Make rose water
- Have water balloon or pistol battles. You can find many little shops on Etsy selling eco-friendly fabric water balloons which are much better for the environment, can be reused and will save money in the longterm
THE SEASIDE
Summer is a great time to visit the seaside, but there is a lot you can do at home, too:
- Make flags for sandcastles with different designs and colours
- Have a sandcastle competition! Who can build the best one?
- Play the Desert Island Game
- Paint pebble paper weights
- Create a seaside diorama: Put sand and water in a large tray to make a mini-beach. You can decorate it with shells, small boats, and anything else your children think would make a great addition
- Make ice lollies with fruit juice: Pour juice or squash into ice cube trays and sink in little wooden lolly sticks before freezing them. In an hour or two, you should have cute mini lollies to enjoy!
- Make a model light house
- Play pirates
SPORTS
There are so many sports you and your kids can do out in the garden or park, but here are some other active ideas:
- Obstacle courses
- Play Sly Fox
- Outdoor yoga
- Hopscotch (use pavement chalk)
- Skipping
- Hula hoop
- Keep a score board for big sporting events this summer.
OTHER SUMMER CHALLENGES
- Learn to riding a bicycle
- Learn to swim
- Learn to roller skate or skateboard
- Learn a new language. You don’t necessarily have to join a class or buy any books; your local library may have books and even tapes to help your kids pick up the basics! Also take a look at the fantastic, free Duolingo app
- Make your own outfit: Start off with something easy, like tie dyeing a scarf, and work your way up to clothes patterns by the end of the summer!
- Write and illustrate a book
- Create a photo diary of each day
- Make homemade ice-cream
Make this summer about creating memories with your family and friends by exploring the world around you. Start the summer as you mean to go on and create a photo diary that you can look back through at the end of the summer when the children are about to return to school. Collecting items for a summer memory jar is also a great idea. Place one prized souvenir from each outing in the jar and by the end of the summer, your jar should be full.
One of our most-recommended activities, which we cannot wait to do this summer, is to host an outdoor dinner party under the stars. We will also have a couple of sunrise breakfasts (probably later on in August as 4.30am is far too early!). Remember to keep a check on our Instagram and Facebook page/group for more hints, tips, ideas and photographs and, as always, share your own hygge ideas and photos with us!
