If you have children it seems inevitable that at some point during school holidays those four dreaded words will be spoken “ARE WE THERE YET”. You could be going on a day trip or you could be going on holiday, maybe you have to take the car, a bus, a coach, a train, a boat, a plane or even a combination. Depending on the age of your children technology may help you – back seat DVD player, Nintendo DS anyone? But what if you have younger children, or you are camping or you just want a technology free break…Here’s some ideas that might keep them entertained and give you the little bit of peace and quiet you have been after:
If you are going to a beach, don’t underestimate a bucket & spade – kids young and old can’t resist making sand castles / burying a member of the family. For more inquisitive children try to pick a beach that offers them the chance to explore – with rock pools to search and crab to fish for.
For car journeys do some preparation in advance and create a travel bingo game, cut out pictures from magazines or go online and stick them on to a piece of card – making each card different. Things like a picture of an Eddie Stobart Truck, a Ferrari, a Honda Goldwing, a VW Camper Van, and a VW Beetle etc. First one to get a full card wins a prize!
Purchase a Travel Journey before you go and get your children to collect mementoes every day to stick in the journal in the evening. Menus, stickers, postcards, photos, bits of the beach – anything’s goes.
For chatterboxes you could try ‘Just a Minute’ based on a Radio 4 panel game. Have some topics pre-prepared, then let the children choose from then on – favourite holiday, favourite food, TV programme you like the least, best movie etc. Then each person takes a minute (younger children can be given less time) and they must talk on the subject for the required amount of time extracting the most important points. Once finished they can be challenged for hesitating or for repetition and so on.
For those with good imaginations – take a list of sentences and then let them finish them creatively as they like:
If I were a rocket scientist I would…
If I were an astronaut I would…
If I were the Queen I would…
If I were invisible I would…
If I were Prime Minister I would…
If you have a mix of children’s ages, try loading up mp3 players with favourite tracks for the older ones and purchase or borrow from the library talking books for the younger ones.
If all else fails, pack sweets and treats for the kiddies (yes bribery is okay) and wine for the grown-ups for on arrival!
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