Back in February, I encountered the school holidays for the first time since starting my own business. I don’t have enough hours to warrant the cost of holiday clubs, so the harsh reality of looking after two energetic small boys, and keeping up with all of the same commitments, came into sharp focus. I wrote this blog post about it, and vowed to plan better for the six week summer break…which has now arrived.
So here are my summer holiday resolutions:
1 – Make good use of the weather while it lasts, and sling them out in the garden as often as possible. The sun is killing off the parched, yellow grass, so lots of water play will be good for it.
2 – Dig out as many toys from the dusty crevices of the toy cupboards as I can, and regularly try to tempt them with something that has been largely ignored since Christmas. It probably won’t work, but it’s worth a try.
3 – Pick the same day off each week, and plan treats and trips that day. This avoids the issue I had last time of giving them a brilliant day out on the first day, only to find they wanted equally amazing entertainment for the rest of the week. I can’t put up with that for nearly two months.
4 – This one’s ruined. I was planning to make slime, guaranteed to keep them busy for hours; but after the Which? report I’m far too scared, in case I jeopardise my chances of future grandchildren, or at least condemn us all to a plague of sickness. Playdoh it is then. And picking it out of the carpet for the next six weeks.
5 – In spite of the seven long weeks of their company, try to remember it is going too fast – because it is. One has just left the comforting embrace of infant school, and the other starts there for the first time in September. It is all going too quickly…although by the end of August I think we will all ready to move on to new challenges…
And that’s all I’ve got. I’m feeling rather underprepared, and I’m not sure how it’s all going to pan out yet; but I do foresee a lot of evening work in my near future!
