Happy Half Term Mums and Dads! The time that all teachers can’t wait for, and a time that many parents secretly dread. My children are both pre school age, but even now, I struggle to keep Erin occupied and entertained when I have both children, especially in Winter when our outside activities are limited.
Rattan Direct recently published a survey asking Parents how they keep their children entertained – here’s the summary of my answers and how I keep Erin occupied on our days at home.
Garden Days
Weather dependent obviously, but I try and give Erin some outside time whenever possible. I find she always sleeps a bit better when she’s had some vitamin D and fresh air to blow the cobwebs away! We recently renovated our whole garden to be family friendly, so Erin enjoys playing in her play area or using her imagination with the fairy garden!
Technology
I am a pro tech Mum. I know a lot of people can assume the iPad or iPhone is simply lazy parenting but I have to disagree. If used correctly, I think they are a fab learning tool, and when Neve is asleep, Erin and I often play on educational games and apps together. Erin’s current favourite is Hairy Letters, where she can learn about the alphabet and trace over the shapes with her finger. I know this is something they use at our local schools, and therefore happy to let her play with this unsupervised. I’m not gunna lie, there is always going to be the odd Kinder Egg opening You Tube video involved, but nine times out of ten, there is some real learning involved. I am also a strong believer in the concept of ‘everything in moderation’.
Craft
Every Friday, Erin and I have a craft day. I now have a craft draw that resembles a miniature Hobbycraft, which means we pretty much have supplies ready for any occasion! Erin really enjoys making things, and her drawing is improving every single day. This Friday we made an anniversary gift for her Aunt and Uncle and they loved it. I was always a creative child, and she appears to be following in my footsteps!
Baking
We have done less of this in February due to me doing Sugar Free February (I don’t have the willpower not to eat her creations!), but we also love to bake. It isn’t always from scratch, and our recipes are very simple but Erin loves getting her apron on and getting creative in the kitchen! I quite often buy the little kits to make my life even easier – usually Frozen or Princess themed! 🙂
Books
Erin loves nothing more than to snuggle up on the sofa with me and some of her favourite books. We have recently bought the Letterland series (something which I had as a child) and she is enjoying learning about the different characters and spotting all the items on a page that begin with a certain letter. It’s changed a lot since I was young, but some of my favourite characters are still there!
DVD Dens
Erin also loves to have a den. We make our own den out of a large sheet and then hide from Daddy whilst watching a movie – Trolls is her latest movie of choice! 🙂
How do you keep your children entertained in the holidays? You can share your experiences with Rattan here.
*This is a collaborative post*
It looks like you do a fab job entertaining Erin. I think we need to come and spend time with you and have some of the calm rub off on us 🙂
Oh my goodness – you’re garden is amazing!! I have complete jealousy there 🙂
Your garden is gorgeous!! I wish our lawn was that nice but we have a dog. My daughter is also an Erin!
I can’t wait for Isla to be old enough to do crafts with her, and make dens! Though I also want her to stay a little baby. Can’t win!
Can’t wait for hubby to sort our garden out! It will be fab for summer!! I’m not so good at the baking lark! xx
You garden looks amazing but also curious as to what iPad case you’ve got? My daughter has the iPad mini but her case is falling apart. Want something indestructible though!
I need to do some more baking with the kids. They love it but I find it so stressful doing it with them x
You guys had an awesome time as my 2 year old would say! i love yor garden and planning on dong something similar in a few months. But I thnk these are all great ways on entertaining the little ones.
I agree, everything in moderation, including technology time. Little N is still too little to enjoy baking and craft activities but he loves to snuggle up with a few books too. Will definitely keep the DVD den idea in mind for future wet afternoons as well!
Entertaining the kids is hard work but these are all great ways to pass the time! Mine have spent the day in bed poorly with the ipad, some days you can’t do anything more!
I think the iPad is a great learning tool if used correctly, like you say. It will be great for me to show dexter French nursery rhymes and play games about learning French words etc.
Fab and thorough ideas thank you xx
Some great activities here, your garden looks lovely!
Caspian prefers the garden followed by technology I think. Great post.
Nadia x