Floor is lava, holiday homework and sensory play: tips for surviving the final stretch of the school holidays
The adage about days feeling long when you’re a parent never feels truer than during the summer holidays, when the bickering, screen addiction and complaints of boredom seem unending. As a mother of three young children, I know how hectic and trying this time can be, so I asked other parents of school-age kids how they’re surviving and what tips they have for others in the same boat.
Walk anywhere you can
It’s a great way to get the kids moving. Whether that’s hitting up the local library for a stack of new books, dropping off pants that need to be hemmed, or grabbing a loaf of fresh bread to make sandwiches for lunch, leaving the car at home can burn energy and eat into the long days. “I try to walk to the coffee shop, and they can walk or ride their bikes,” says Michelene, a mother of three.
Meal plan
I’ve got three kids with three years between them, and one of them is neurodiverse, so it’s a miracle if I can get them agreeing on anything. One thing that has worked, surprisingly, is meal planning. I assign everyone a task, put some music on, and talk to them about our culture and traditions while we mix ingredients and roll dough. They get sensory “play” without the mess of slime, and I get a stash of freezer meals, snacks and cookies to use when the year gets a lot busier.
Related: Easy freezy: eight fruity recipes for frozen summer treats – no ice-cream maker required
Plan structured activities
“I did zero planning for my first [lot of] school holidays and it sucked,” says Yusra, a mum of one. “I went to work and scrambled around getting help from family, but now I plan my year around the school holidays, booking leave for work and keeping an eye on activities we can do [from] about six weeks out.”
She looks to sporting organisations, local councils and libraries for a mixture of free and paid workshops and programs; books her son in for language or religion classes; then balances these “structured activities” out with time visiting cousins or “vegging out” at home.
Keep them learning
Michelene assigns two or so pages of “holiday homework” each morning which her kids must do (at their own pace) before they can do anything else. “This stimulates their mind in the morning so they [haven’t forgotten anything] when school returns, and it helps them transition back to learning when they do,” she says. She sets a timer for other activities throughout the day to ensure they’re not spending a lot of time on screens.
Spend a whole day at the park
It’s an oldie but a goodie and a low-effort activity, says Raquel, a mum of six. She packs lunches and snacks and gets to sit down uninterrupted while her kids play. “They mingle and often make friends with other kids, and sometimes that results in plans for future playdates,” she says. “It’s a bonus that they get so tired afterwards too.”
Mimic the school routine
Related: Back-to-school shopping on a budget: savvy ways parents can save on costs
“I’ve found trying to keep some routine from the school term helpful,” says mum of two Remona. This sometimes means a morning drop-off to the children’s grandparents’ house, with the kids packing a backpack of their favourite toys, books and water to resemble the continuity of their school routine and get them excited for what’s in store.
At her home office, she sets up stations for “screen-free exploration and play” that encourage crafting, drawing, reading and playing with Lego sets and toy trains. “I try to reserve pockets of time for ‘special learning time with Mum’ [where] we sit at a kids’ table in my office and do a small activity together.”
Take short trips
A short trip is a great way to break up such a long holiday block, says Yusra, who recently took “a little road trip to Canberra” with her son. “It gave us something to look forward to as the weeks wore on, and a time out,” she says.
Summer trips don’t have to be long or expensive either: low-cost accommodation at a camping ground is a great way to get somewhere new without the stress of blowing out the summer budget. Or you can make like father of three David, and head to your nearest capital city, making an adventure of hopping on a train, visiting bookstores and museums, learning your city’s history and taking in a street performance.
Use your back yard
When landscaping their garden, parents of two Kevin and Jenny planted a magnolia tree for the specific purpose of outdoor reading time and built a planter box that encourages their children to get their hands dirty gardening. On sunny days, they set up an outdoor “floor is lava” game, water activities, ring toss station and archery set and encourage the children to look up insects and lizards that are a source of fascination and learning.
“Being outside is physically and mentally beneficial,” Jenny says. “I spend time out there too, to model [this] for them.”
Share the load
“Having a village of other families to lean on when juggling school holidays and work is invaluable,” says mum-of-two Lizzy, who shares alternate days with other parents in her network. She finds getting bigger groups of kids together keeps them entertained and says while it requires attention from the parent on duty, the revolving roster of responsibility means all parents get a turn to do the work – and multiple opportunities to debrief.
Get them painting
Artist and mum of three Amani Haydar encourages her children’s visual literacy by discussing art and illustrations with them, be it at galleries, museums or in their favourite stories. At home, she sets them up with tabletop easels, a shared tub of water, and small pallets of paint, to help them express themselves through art.
“Children are inherently creative and having supplies on hand makes it possible to set up an activity with little planning,” she says. “I encourage my kids to relax by putting on some soft music and chatting to them about how painting makes me feel. We use recycled jars for water and plastic containers or trays as pallets which prompts conversation about sustainability too.” She uses newspaper to cover surfaces she wants protecting and suggests acrylic paint, which washes off most things easily.
“There is no need to create pressure or perfectionism about the finished product, but you can encourage and celebrate creative outcomes by curating a mini at-home exhibition or ‘commissioning’ work for a particular space in your home,” she says.
Let them be bored
“I don’t plan for something every day,” says Jess, a primary school teacher. Although the mother of two looks to RSLs and leagues clubs for shows and workshops, and to social media for far-off parks and experiences to discover, she believes children can be stimulated by coming up with their own ideas.
“Kids need to learn to be bored, to have downtime and to [figure out] what to do in their downtime.”
