School holiday activities

My son started school this year, and the first term has just finished. He is the sort of kid who loves mental stimulation, so playing with toys is fun for awhile but only for so long before he starts wanting to use his brain again. So I made a bit of a list of possible activities for the school holidays. I had two things to consider when making this list other than the needs of my son: I also have a 2 year old daughter and still have my usual jobs to do (cooking, cleaning, etc). So here is my list:

Library school holiday program
Our local library offers an excellent school holiday program, with all sorts of activities, mostly free, to keep the kids entertained. Not all are suitable to my daughter or of interest to my son, but we will make use of the ones that tick the boxes for both kids. Alternatively, the library is still a good place to go even when the activities aren't on.

Make and play with playdough
Lately my son wants to make things in the kitchen. One of the things we made recently was playdough. He enjoyed making it and then both kids have enjoyed many hours playing with it. To make things interesting, make sure you have cookie cutters (or anything you can use to cut shapes out of) and possibly a rolling pin.

Go to the playground
We have loads of them near our house. Unfortunately some of them have fences around them as they are currently being upgraded, but there are still others to explore. It gets the kids outside and gives me an excuse to go for a walk and get some exercise.

Bake Biscuits.
We did this today with both kids. They enjoyed it as they got to mix the dough and cut out the biscuit shapes AND lick the bowl...but the best bit is eating the results.


Roller skating
My son did this at Vacation Care and really loved it, the only problem will be what to do with my daughter.

Bike Rides
This will be good for exercise, get the kids outside and also gives us the opportunity for my son to practice riding without training wheels.

Train rides
Big and little! Both kids love going on miniature train rides, but we could also select a destination and go on a real train for a day trip.

Tennis
We have a totem tennis pole that the kids love to play with. My son also does Tennis lessons during the school term, and the coach offers special classes during the holidays that we can access.

Go camping
A family favourite. Pack up the camper trailer and head off somewhere. The kids have NaturePlay SA Passports which they will enjoy finding activities they can do while camping.

Arts and crafts
Painting, colouring in, drawing...all favourites of both kids. My tip is to have plenty of scrap paper on hand for these projects and save the good paper for artwork that will be sent to the grandparents!

Games
This one is a bit difficult to do with the age difference between my kids at the moment. Board games are a good way to practice maths, reading and spelling skills while having some fun. A good indoors activity for rainy days.

Plant a vegie garden for Winter
There's a theory that kids who have their own vegie garden will eat what they produce. I can tell you it doesn't work, at least not for my son. However, he does love having his own vegie garden, so we will be pulling out the summer crop and putting in the winter vegies over the holidays.

Garden gnomes
I've not done this before but am considering getting some unfinished garden gnomes and paints and letting the kids go for it!

Movies
Another bad weather & stay indoors activity. Let the kids watch a movie, make some popcorn and relax for a bit. A good one also for kids that are tired at the end of an 11 week school term!

Of course, there will be a few playdates with friends during this two weeks. My son is also booked into Vacation Care on the days that I'm working. There's a bit to chose from here, so hopefully I won't get too many "I'm bored" comments!