Parks, Books and Getting Creative

I can't believe we are already half way through the Summer holidays, it has literally flown by so far and luckily we have been blessed with good weather for the majority of it. We have filled our days with so many activities and I wanted to share with you some of what we've been up to, perhaps give you some ideas of free things to do including park trips, reading lots of books and getting creative on those rainy days.


One of the things we've been doing a lot of is going to the park. This doesn't cost a penny and we're are very lucky to have quite a few parks local to us so we can go to a different one each time. Our favourite has to be Connaught park as it is only 5 minutes up the road from us and there is plenty of space to wonder around as well as an enclosed park to play in.

9 times out 10 we will take a picnic up, just a mix of food from the cupboards but it means we can stay out longer (I want them to use up their energy before we go home).

Another activity which we've done once a week is go to the library. The girls are joining in with the Summer Reading challenge, something I'll share with you when it is complete. But we also take the time to sit and read together whilst we're there, makes a nice change from our home environment.

I find reading lots during the Summer holidays is a great thing to do as it keeps their brains active and it really helps my 5 year old retain all of the phonics knowledge she has learnt so far.

We have spent many hours just playing in our garden. From the slide, see saw and swing ball, to water balloon fights and eating alfresco. It is so nice to have an outdoor space to get fresh air even when we don't have the energy to do an awful lot.

My husband even popped a bird feeder outside so that we can watch the birds come and go. Now I'm trying to persuade Daddy Hazelden to invest in a new table and chairs and a paddling pool (for the kids of course) before the good weather goes away.

There have been the odd few rainy days and we've filled our time with plenty of creative activities. Flower pressing, friendship bracelet making and of course lots of baking. Not forgetting reading those library books.

The holidays have been relatively cheap for us so far and fingers crossed the bordem hasn't set in either. What have you been up to, do you have any cost effective ideas for keeping the kids occupied that you can share??

xxxx

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