Making Children Happy And Motivated During School Holidays

 Children can easily get bored and demotivated during the school holidays. If the weather isn’t great, then they will be cooped up inside for days on end. Therefore, it is good to have a backup plan and list of ideas so that your children can stay happy and motivated during the school holidays. 

On that note, here are the best solutions to make your children happy and motivated when they are off from school.

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay 

Education lessons

When your children are off school, it is important to continue their education so that they stay informed and on top of their learning. Plus, extra learning will help enhance their knowledge and help them progress quicker at school. 

For instance, if your toddler is learning shapes at school before the holidays, you could continue these shape learning sessions so that they have mastered them by the time they go back. Engaging with digital platforms can also be beneficial. For instance, recognizing and creating shapes through the creative art learning games on ABCmouse can complement these physical activities quite effectively. This will make them feel accomplished and be more understanding at school. 

The best activities for learning shapes include scavenger hunts and creating objects with play-doh or paint on paper. A scavenger hunt can help the child have the image of the shape in their minds and not complete the hunt until they find the shape. This will help them identify the shape alone. Likewise, creating the shapes using creative means will help them mimic the shape and have fun while learning, which can encourage children to focus and learn.

Invite their friends over

Your children won’t want to be without their friends during the holidays, so why not throw a kid’s party from time to time and invite their friends over?

It is important to encourage social activity for children, otherwise, they might deal with anxiety when they go back to school. They will want to keep up with their friends and play. You can throw a social get-together and host some games so that they can have fun with their closest friends from school. 

Arrange a movie date

Speaking of having fun, you could arrange a movie day so that your children can stay entertained at home when it’s cold or wet outside. This could be with you or their friends.

They will easily stay happy and satisfied with a few of their favorite films, snacks, and cozy blankets. You could keep them occupied all day long while you get on with household chores. 

Make sure to not let them have a movie day every day throughout the holidays as education, physical activity, and socializing are crucial for their learning and growth. 

Let them help you cook

Some children are fussy eaters because you allow them to be. Or, they haven’t experimented with flavors. If you allow them to help you cook and get involved with dinner plans, then they might be more adventurous eaters and eat what’s given to them. 

Cooking with your children will help them feel responsible while picking up culinary skills, which will prove useful for future cooking. You could start by going shopping for the ingredients together after choosing a recipe. This will help them feel a part of the entire process and appreciate where food comes from and how it transitions from supermarket to plate. 

Thereafter, your child can enjoy what they have cooked (or helped to cook) and feel a great sense of achievement. Cooking is a practice that many parents take control of but it can be fulfilling and fun for children to get involved. 

Ask the children to put on a show

Many children love playing, acting, and dressing up. Therefore, why not ask your children to put on a show for you. This could be singing, dancing, magic, acting, or anything that they wish to show off. 

Asking your children to put on a show will give them a project to focus on while utilizing their time wisely, as opposed to being bored, using screens, or being lazy. It gives them an opportunity to be creative and be proud of something they have created during the holidays. 

Set up creativity workshops

Speaking of being creative, you could also consider setting up creativity workshops. Children love to unleash their creativity. It is a great way for them to unleash their emotions while enhancing their decision-making skills. 

You could set them up in the garden and ask them to paint the landscape, a flower, or their favorite garden insect. 

Or, you could set up a pottery workshop inside for the days that the weather is colder. There are so many creative activities that you can do inside to keep your children entertained and give them a purpose during the holidays. 

Create scrapbooks

On the theme of creativity and art, you could get together and create scrapbooks of photos or cuttings from magazines. 

This is a nice way for your child to get creative without needing to draw or paint. It is a straightforward and relaxing task that might even ignite the inspiration to get more creative. 

Building photo albums together with holiday pictures is a nice way to look back on your time together while creating something for them to cherish as well as be proud of. 

Ask them to be your assistant for the day

Children feel a sense of pride when they are responsible for something. Likewise, it helps them understand how to be more responsible. 

Asking them to be your assistant for the day is a great way of giving them responsibility while ensuring they have something to do. They will be useful to you while being entertained. 

For instance, if you work from home during the holidays, then you will have work to get on with. Therefore, they could be your assistant, make you a drink, organize documents, and sit with you while you work. You can keep a close eye on them while teaching them about your job, which will help build a close relationship and also keep them entertained.

Build a den

Children love adventures and if you don’t have a holiday planned, then why not set up a den and pretend you are camping? Dens can be made inside or outside, depending on the weather, and are a great way of keeping children entertained. 

You can use sticks, pegs, and blankets to create a fort and make it cozy inside. There, your children can read, play, and enjoy a movie. You could keep it up the entire holiday so that your children have something to keep them entertained. 

Hold your own mini Olympics

It is important for your children to maintain physical activity during the holidays. Don’t let them get too lazy and set up your own mini Olympics. 

You could create a running loop and set up a sack race with pillowcases. Use your space to its full potential and be inventive with the games so that your children have fun while getting their daily dose of exercise. Setting up the games as competition will likely encourage your children to stay in the game and compete. 

Should you not have the space, you could always ask them to get involved with your home exercise. Children can get involved with your yoga or HIIT sessions so that they can stay active during their time off of school.