How To Occupy Your Children During School Holidays

When the children are off school, it can feel daunting to know you need to keep them occupied for days or weeks. However, there are many activities that your children can pursue to stay entertained and pass the time.

This guide will share the best ways to occupy your children during the school holidays.

Art classes

Getting your children involved with art activities is a great way for them to spend their day while enhancing their creative skills and experience. 

No matter their age, children can participate in many art activities. Ensuring to have all of the necessary equipment ready – tissue paper, pens, tape, glue, decorations, art books, and more – will help them decide what they wish to make. 

Allowing children to decide what they want to create will engage them more and encourage them to be more confident in their decisions.

Art classes and art activities are ideal to play inside or outside. Yet, they are great for those rainy days when the children cannot spend time in the garden and wish to stay cozy and comfortable indoors.

Water activities for the garden

Children love spending time outside when it is summer and they have all day to play. 

You could consider getting the children involved in water activities for summer so that they can spend more time outside when the weather permits. Hopefully, the sun shines daily throughout the summer when children have time off so they do not have to stay cooped up inside. 

Instead, they can enjoy activities such as:

• Kiddie car wash
• Water balloon games
• Water painting
• Washing toys
• Slip and slide
• Watering the plants

There is an abundance of activities to play in the garden if the children like to play with water. Playing with water is often the best way for them to spend the day when it is very hot outside. It will help to keep them calm and cool.

Online group games

If the weather does not permit children to spend time outside and they wish to use the computer, you should ensure to keep an eye on them and get them to use the computer for a good reason. 

For instance, allowing them to join in with online group games will allow them to play with friends yet be in the comfort of their homes when the weather is bad.

There are various group-sharing gaming sites for children of all ages. Hence, there will definitely be one that will cater to your child’s preferences and age.

Encourage them to pursue sports

Another great way to keep your children occupied during school holidays is to encourage them to pursue sports. Not only will sports keep them occupied, but they will also help to maintain the child’s physical activity and health. 

If a child spends weeks off of school and does not stay active, it can hinder their physical health and fitness. Therefore, it is a great idea to ask them to play a sport that they enjoy at school.

Upon asking, you might find out that they love to play football with their friends. Hence, you can ask the other mums when a good time to play football is so you can organize a weekly sports meetup and encourage everyone to be active.

Organizing a weekly sports event will also give the children something to look forward to, which will keep them entertained and happy.

Picking up a new hobby

Should your child enjoy pursuing various activities during their time off school, it can be a good idea to involve them in a new hobby.

They might get bored with whatever they pursued during the last school holiday. Hence, encouraging them to start a new hobby will keep them excited and occupied. 

You could encourage them to get involved with dance classes, fishing with their parents, or joining cooking sessions.

There are various activities and hobbies children can pursue during their time off. It is all about finding something that will excite them to keep them occupied. 

It might be a good idea to ask what they would like to do so when you organize it, they do not refuse to go. 

Family fun

So that your children get to spend quality time with you and the family, it is important for you to all spend quality time together. You could organize family game nights, watch movies together, pursue gardening activities, or cook together.

There is a lot you can do and achieve in the house so that you and the children stay occupied and spend time together when they have time off. 

If you work full-time and cannot commit to spending every day with them, it is a good idea to organize weekend fun.

You should always ensure to commit to spending time with them when you can so they do not feel lonely. When they spend time with you, you can grow your bond and ensure they are happy and satisfied. 

You could also consider spending days out of the house. A change of scenery can be great for children, as it enhances their senses and helps them experience new things.

You could take them to the park, to the city for a museum day, or to the zoo. There are many activities you can enjoy as a family outside of the house, especially during the summer. 

Don’t forget to encourage extra learning

Your children’s teachers might not give them homework during the holidays. However, this doesn’t mean they shouldn’t continue to learn. If they continue to learn, it will enhance their skills and confidence to learn when they return back to school.

You could spend one or two hours each week learning new information or skills or their favorite topics. Ensuring the home-learning is fun and engaging will help them feel more encouraged to commit to education practices outside of school hours.

Ask them what their favorite subject is so you can guarantee to influence them to find the activity fun.

Movie marathons

Who doesn’t love watching movies? Having a movie marathon is a great way to occupy children when they have time off school.

You could allow them to have a movie marathon with friends on rainy days or have a family movie night one day a week.

Children will love the idea of relaxing, watching films, getting cozy, and eating fun snacks. Hence, when they are being needy or nothing else can satisfy them, ask them if they would like a movie marathon.

Reading sessions

Reading sessions are a great way to keep children calm, encourage them to learn, and allow them to spend time doing something without technology.

Every child should practice reading, especially while off from school. Reading could be their form of education for the week.

Their school might want them to read certain material before going back. Or, it might be good for them to read the material ahead of time so they are prepared when their teachers cover the topic. 

It is a good idea to allow your children to choose their book, so they can ensure they read something that fulfills them. 

Picnics in the park

Getting outside with your children will allow them to play and get as much fresh air as possible. Due to technology, it can be common for children to lack vitamin D and spend time outside.

However, if you ask them to join in with fun activities outside, it will encourage them to spend time away from their phones. 

Having a picnic in the park will allow you to spend quality time with them, do something fun, and ensure their stomachs are well-fed. 

Face painting

Children love the idea of getting messy and having paint on their faces. Whenever they walk past face painting stands, they love to look and hopefully, get involved. 

Therefore, it is a good idea to create your own face-painting stand at home. You could ask their friends around the house so they can enjoy the activity with their friends. 

You, or someone professional, can paint the children’s faces and turn them into lions, monkeys, and more so they can spend the entire day in the character of their favorite person or animal. 

Face painting is an activity that could last all day, especially if you or someone else teaches the children how to do it themselves.

This could allow them to enhance their art skills and have more fun as they can get messy. Plus, it is an affordable activity that can be done in the comfort of your own home or garden.

Using these ideas, you can guarantee to occupy your children when they have time off school. The school holidays can be challenging if you often find yourself stuck for ideas.

However, there are many activities here that will guarantee to occupy even the fussiest children. Activities do not need to be all day or expensive. You can spend next to nothing and help your children stay entertained all day long.