Half term usually means a jammed pack week full of seeing friends and going to lots of places for me. With three young children, I love to be out of the houses as much as possible and I always try to plan my week in advance. Booking to go places and seeing friends won’t be possible this half term- but I still need a plan and there’s still lots of fun to be had.
These are just some of my ideas for half term, please always adhere to government guidelines and social distancing. We must remember that we’re still in lockdown.
GARDEN FUN
Wrap the kids up and let them play in the garden! Hats and gloves are a must, my kids love to get out in the garden. Get out all the garden toys or even take some of their indoor toys outside if its dry. Mine love to build a train track or car track in the garden. Or maybe get out the bubbles and have a run around. We have a trampoline so the kids will soon warm up outside. Warm up with a hot chocolate. Perfect.
NATURE TRAIL
Make your daily walks more interesting with a nature trail. Whether you print one from the internet, make your own or pick things to spot as you walk…. this is such an easy way to keep the kids happy when walking. Tip if you have more than one child- give each kid their own nature trail sheet and pencil to ensure no arguments. You’ll thank me later! We recently had a local walk that I knew went past a working farm. Before we set off I said to the kids lets count how many farm yard animals we see today. They thought it was great as we started to count pigs, chickens, sheep, cows and much more. Winner!
GEOCACHING
If you still haven’t heard of Geocaching then where have you been. Geocaching is a sort of digital treasure hunt that is literally everywhere and I mean everywhere. Using GPS, all you need is your phone and you can download the Geocaching app for free. We’re Premium members but why not check it out this half term. Set off from your door step and explore the treasure that’s been right under your nose that you never knew about! I warn you, it’s additive. Just remember to take some hand sanitiser as you will need to handle the caches. And take a pencil.
BIKE RIDE
Whether it’s on their bikes or their scooters, get the kids out this half term. Stay local and explore where you live. Very close to my children’s school is a tiny park but my kids love it for their scooters. It’s very flat and the paths have markings on to make it look like a road. I walk around in circles like a hundred times whilst they whiz round, occasionally being made to cross the fake zebra crossing…. but anything that makes them happy makes me happy! Happy riding.
BAKING AND COOKING
This is a good one for when you’re at home a lot. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cooking or baking with the kids but we do have fun. We love to bake easy things like fairy buns or crispy cakes. Also the kids love to make their own pizza which is always fun. Another tip for those that don’t really bake- give the kids some plain digestive biscuits, coloured icing tubes, sprinkles and mini marshmallows. My three absolutely love to decorate biscuits, its so simple but keeps them entertained for ages! Happy baking.
GET CRAFTY
This can be as crafty and messy as you like! I know some people hate arts and crafts… I don’t mind it to be honest. My little girl will sit at the table for hours and just colour and stick things on paper, where as the boys expect a little more and get bored easier. You could be extremely prepared and make Easter cards! We made these last year. Paint rainbows for the window, write letters to family your missing. My kids love a sticker book and the younger two enjoy playing with PlayDoh. How arty will you get?
EAT PANCAKES
Tuesday 16th February is Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday). I think it’s brilliant that it falls in half term this year. The kids are very excited about pancakes. We’re going to have them for lunch. I’m thinking of going to town a little with strawberries, bananas, chocolate sauce, lemon, sugar and anything else I can think of. I might even stretch out the excitement from the kids and get them to design and draw their favourite pancake in the morning! Anything for 5 minutes peace, right?
MOVIE TIME
After a walk or baking or crafts… why not snuggle down early afternoon for a nice family film? Get blankets and just chill. Perhaps get the kids to make cinema tickets before hand? Dish out the popcorn and get lost in a good film.
DEN BUILDING
A definite favourite in our house. Whether you pull of all the cushions from the sofa or you use all your bedding, kids love nothing more than making a den! I let my kids use the clothes maiden and give them all the washing pegs- building it is half the fun. Once its built they usually fill it with teddy’s and books. I give them a snack and even let them watch a bit of TV in there.
BOARD GAMES
Once the younger ones are in bed, my eldest loves a good board game. His favourite is Monopoly and I’m sure this half term we’ll have several games. We also have lots of Orchard Games perfect for all three of my children. After a walk or a busy morning, its nice to come together for a game or two. Snap is an easy game that we love to play too.
FAMILY SCREEN TIME
Obviously my kids play with screens- my eldest is obsessed with Roblox and my twins want to have a go on my tablet more and more recently. (None of them have their own tablet as I’ve always thought it’s easier just having a family tablet that we share. The kids know their allowed to use it when they ask but that they also have to share so it works for us).
Me and my eldest recently had a chat about using the tablet over the half term, we agreed that Joshua (aged 8) can play Roblox for up to an hour first thing in the morning and the same before he reads at night. He was happy with this and I’m hoping this will stop any arguments before any starts. Together we love using the tablets and game consoles, I just don’t want my 8 year old sulking all week when we’re trying to do something else and all he wants to do is sit on a tablet on his own.
We love to play on the WII, from bowling to Just Dance its a great way to use technology and stay active. Isla love Cosmic Yoga so I’m sure we’ll do some of that this half term. Another great use of screen time is coding, Joshua loves to do some coding and I will have a look into that for the half term.
Out and about mummy 