The school summer holidays are perfect for creating cherished memories with your family and it’s always a real blessing to be fortunate enough to give that to our children. However, for working mums, it can be challenging to switch off from work and fully engage with the kids during family time when there are deadlines, work pressures and money to make. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to have the best of both worlds. Here are some unconventional tips to help you set boundaries and make the most of the summer with your loved ones.
(more…)Category: Things to do with the kids
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Summer Survival Guide: Juggling Remote Work and Summer Holidays with the Kids
As the school summer holidays fast approach, many of us working mums who are working from home will have the yearly challenge of ensuring our children have a fantastic break while we balance the pressures of remote working.
If you are looking for some inspiration, here are some tips to help get the balance right so this summer is one to remember (for all the right reasons):
1. Create a “Yes Day“
Designate one day a week as a “Yes Day,” inspired by the popular book and movie, where within reason, you say yes to most of your children’s requests. It adds an element of surprise and excitement to their week and gives them something to look forward to. Plan your work around this day to ensure it doesn’t affect your productivity.
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Introducing the Shakespeare for Children Course – A Gift for Your Child’s Future
As a working mum, finding the time to give your child a well-rounded education can be a challenge. But what if we told you that there was a way for your child to learn about Shakespeare in a fun and engaging way, all from the comfort of your own home? Introducing the Shakespeare for Children course from 11PlusEssay.co.uk – a unique online learning experience designed specifically for young learners.
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s more important than ever to give our children a solid foundation in critical thinking, reasoning and language skills. And what better way to do that than by exposing them to the works of one of the greatest writers of all time – William Shakespeare. Our Shakespeare for Children course is designed to introduce young learners to the world of Shakespeare in a fun and engaging way, helping your child develop the skills they need to succeed in their 11 Plus, Key Stage 3, and even GCSE English exams.
Not only will your child learn about the characters, themes, and literary devices used in Shakespeare’s plays, but they will also develop their ability to infer meaning from text and expand their vocabulary. Our experienced educators are passionate about Shakespeare and the impact that his writing can have on young minds. They will guide your child through the plays and help them understand the complexities of Shakespeare’s language, while also encouraging them to develop their own creative abilities.
With the Shakespeare for Children course, you can give your child a gift that will last a lifetime – a love for Shakespeare and a passion for learning. And best of all, the course is online, so you can fit it into your busy schedule and give your child the education they deserve, no matter how hectic life gets.
Enroll now and start your child on a journey of discovery and growth: The 11 Plus Essay
As working mums, we want the best for our children, and the Shakespeare for Children course from 11PlusEssay.co.uk is a perfect way to help them grow and develop in a fun and engaging way. Don’t wait – enroll today!
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10 Fun Ideas to Get Educated at Home
Whether you’re homeschooling your child permanently or just during the school holidays, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with ways to keep them enthusiastic about their learning. In this blog post we will provide some ideas as to how to keep homeschooling fun for both you as a parent and your child.
1. Create a “Museum”
This can be done with items around the house or even backyard finds! Gather up some of your child’s favourite things and put them on display in a central location. Encourage them to share what they know about each item with family and friends. Not only will this help them learn more about their belongings, but it will also give them practice in public speaking.
2. Plant a Garden
This is a great opportunity to teach your child about biology and the process of photosynthesis. They can help you plant the seeds, water the plants, and watch them grow! Once the produce is ready, you can use it to cook up some delicious meals together.
3. Build a Lemonade Stand
A childhood classic! This activity covers maths (calculating profits), marketing (creating signs and advertisements), and social skills (interacting with customers). Plus, it’s just plain old fun!
4. Hold a Family Talent Show
Get the whole family involved in this one! Not only will it be a blast, but it’s also a great way to encourage your child to express themselves creatively. If you don’t have any talents, that’s okay – make up skits or do charades instead!
5. Go on Virtual Field Trips
With technology these days, the possibilities are endless. Want to visit ancient Egypt? There’s a website for that. How about outer space? There’s an app for that too. No matter what your child is interested in, there’s sure to be a virtual field trip that explores it in depth.
6. Learn a New Language Together
Learning a new language is a great way to keep those brain cells firing during the summer months! And what better way to do it than by making it into a game? There are plenty of online resources and apps available to help make learning another language fun for both you and your child.
7. Have a Picnic in the Living Room
This one is simple but effective! Set up a picnic blanket in the living room, prepare some of your child’s favourite snacks, and enjoy quality time together while getting some much-needed Vitamin D from the sun streaming in through the windows.
8. Make Homemade Pizzas
Pizza night just got an educational twist! Let your little ones help you measure out ingredients, mix them together, and spread them onto the pizza crusts. This activity covers maths skills like measurement and fractions, as well as cooking techniques like following recipes.
9. Write Letters to Pen Pals
Remember pen pals? They’re making something of a comeback these days – and for good reason! Writing letters is not only fun, but it helps improve writing skills too. You can search online for pen pal programs or set up your own exchange with friends or family members who live far away.
10. Visit Your Local Library
Libraries offer so much more than just books these days! Many of them host story times, puppet shows, concerts, and other fun events for kids throughout the summer months. Plus, most libraries offer free passes to museums and other attractions. By taking advantage of all your local library has to offer, you can keep your child’s mind active while having lots of fun too.
These are just a few ways you can make learning fun while homeschooling. With all of these activities, there are many opportunities to link back to the curriculum that will help your child remember all of the new things they have learned. We hope these ideas have helped you!
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Should Children Be Given Summer Homework?
School’s almost out, and the summer holidays are just around the corner. Already (I hear you scream). Yes….sorry!
Your child is probably looking forward to the weeks of freedom from learning (and homework!). It’s as if the lockdowns didn’t even happen this year. We all need a break and some fun, but summer learning loss in children is a reality!
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Online Creative Writing Course for Children
- Are you worried about the quality of your child’s writing?
- Is it a battle to get your child to read?
- Does your child love everything to do with gadgets but won’t do any book work without a battle?
The Geek School Online Creative Writing Crash Course has been developed for these reasons and more.
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4 Simple and Super Cheap Ways to Keep the Kids Entertained This Summer
“Mum!! Can we go swimming? Mum!! Can we go to the theme park? Farm Park? Cinema? Zoo? Can I have another ice cream? Can we get another bucket and spade for the beach?“Sound familiar?
The summer holidays are ideal for spending time with your family. You get to make so many memories and not have to worry about getting up on time for school, making sure the kids haven’t forgotten their lunches or P.E kits…but if you’re on a budget this summer then the idea of spending six weeks trying to find activities that don’t cost the earth can be a little daunting!
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How to use the half term to help your child improve their writing
Story writing is a key part of the skills required at the primary school level, however, schools have so much to cover in the curriculum that some children just don’t get as much practice of writing as they should.
Like anything school related, if you want your child to do well, you have to put some work into it outside of the classroom. Here are some tips to help you get your child writing sparkling stories before school’s back in! (more…)
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8 reasons why it’s so important for children to be taught the value of energy saving
If you’re anything like us this May Half Term will have you singing the same tune – “turn the lights off, turn the telly off, if you’re not watching it.” Young people and electricity usage awareness go together like water and oil, but you’ve got a week to get them thinking the right thoughts.
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Choose 5 things to do a day – you won’t regret it
I was listening to a podcast recently and the topic of envy came up. The presenter spoke about receiving a message from a subscriber who was envious of someone who lived in her neighbourhood and seemed to have it all: great social life, gorgeous home, loving spouse and she also works for non other than Google.
If you suffer from envy sometimes, you’re human, and it tells you that there are things in your life you probably aren’t completely happy about. So change it! It’s that simple. The energy you’ll put into making small steps to reaching your goals in life will be better spent (and make you feel better) than looking on social media and wishing you had the life someone else is protecting.
If you’re a curtain or blind twitcher who snoops on other people’s’ lives so much that you even know the sound of the engine for your respective neighbours, stop! Choose to do five things a day to make strides in your own life.
Learn to delegate
If your to-do list reads like the Magna Carla, you need to get a handle on it – today! From your spouse to your children to even co-workers, start sharing that love – and tasks.
Older children can make great interns if you show them the ropes and give them age-appropriate things to do. IT teaches them responsibility, and can be a great way for them to get to know more about what it is you actually do for a living, and what’s entailed.
Schedule home tasks like work tasks
This is one I’m working on, too. The premise is that you add these tasks to your calendar the way you would important work meetings and deadlines. It’s a great way to stop overwhelm, because everything will be planned out for you.
If you have a smartphone (please, ditch the brick if you don’t!) use Google Calendar (it’s free) or one of my other favourites – Moleskine Timepage to your advantage. Timepage does everything a standard calendar app does, but goes a little further. So, your contacts, events, maps and even weather are combined. I love the fact that I can see what the weather will be like on the day of an event, early enough for me to change my mind about an outfit. Everything I need to make life happen is in one place, and it is so uncluttered and customisable. If I’m feeling like having a yellow colour scheme one day, I can change it with just a few swipes to the left. Try it!
Be productive when multitasking
Juggling ten things at the same time and getting nothing done is not what multitasking is about. If anything, it creates confusion.
I prefer to use my time more wisely – I focus on one task at a time, but I line things up so I can get more done. So, for me, after the school run, I come home and load the washing machine. Based on the wash I use, I have about an hour to do something constructive, so I will run through the tasks I need to complete that day and look at what I can comfortably do in that one hour. If it’s blitzing through emails, then that’s what I do. If it’s writing a blog post (which does not take an hour,m but you get the gist of it!), then I do that.
The cog in the works comes when the phone rings, ad becaus eI run a business, I don’t switch my mobile phone off during work hours. I can tell quite easily when it’s new business coming in – and I answer it! If it sets up an important meeting, then that was worth the interruption. If the call is coming in from someone I know, I can choose to ignore it and call them back when it’s convenient for me.
Exercise with a friend
Last summer, I signed up for a meditation class with a dear friend, and it meant that we could ditch the guilt at not making time to catch up because we knew we would see each other every Tuesday. It made life a whole lot easier, and there was no excuse for not going to the class because we had both committed our time and finances to it.
Cook with children
My son always complains about not doing this enough, but small steps go a long way! Between him and his younger sister wanting to. Make cupcaChkes when I’ve just finished working and just want to catch my breath, the pressure is on, but I’m always pleased that they still want to do that and spend time together!
We are foodies at home, and what great way to bond and have a chat than to be preparing food in the kitchen together as a family. It slows things down, but on a weekend, there is no need to rush!
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Affordable Christmas present ideas for class teachers
Love them or loathe them, teachers spend hours with your child and sometimes showing little gratitude can go a long way.
If you’re feeling the Christmas cheer and want to give a gift to your child’s class teacher, here are some ideas for male and female teachers alike. (more…)
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Five top tips to setting up your child’s bedroom
Creating the perfect bedroom for your child can be a bit of a challenge. Not only does the room need to be practical, cosy and relaxing but it also must pass muster with your little ones, who can be pretty tricky customers to please. (more…)
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Four places to get free childcare during the summer
With just a handful of weeks left before children break up for the longest school holiday of the year, parents around the country are looking for ways to not only keep children busy, but to cover childcare while they work…you are not alone!
So, what have you got planned? Here are some ideas that start at zero cost to less than £100 per week. (more…)
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Looking for some fun (free or cheap) activities for the holidays? Go back to your childhood
It’s not uncommon that parents and grandparents bemoan the generational change in activities. These days, many children spend endless on gadgets of some sort and they just don’t have the same experiences of yesteryear. (more…)
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Surviving the school holidays: the cheat sheet for parents
With the school Easter holidays now here, many of us are full of mixed emotions. On the one hand, it’s always great to spend some (more) quality time with the children. But on the other, keeping them busy and happy for almost three weeks can be a task…an expensive one, at that.
So here are few things to remember while you get through the holidays: (more…)
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How to help your child develop a love of reading
With World Book Day just complete last week, many children have find memories of their favourite book character – or how much they enjoyed dressing up and getting into all the fun their school had prepared for them. (more…)
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Online tutoring: a convenient and fun way for children to learn
We all share a desire to give our children the best possible opportunities to succeed and to reach their full potential – it’s just that juggling the commitments of our own work and of current after-school activities can make this hard to achieve.
Adding more activities to your child’s schedule can mean losing out on something in your life, or your child may miss out on some much needed downtime.
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Can’t read, won’t read? Three ways to get your child into books
Having good reading ability helps children in all their subjects, according to teaching professionals. And it makes sense – if your literacy is poor, how will you learn other subjects?
If your child is showing little interest in reading, there is – here are three ‘tricks’ you can use to spark their enthusiasm and love of reading without them even knowing it:
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Swimming: why it’s important to teach young children
Teaching your child to swim has many benefits. Not only is it a great way to improve their fitness, it is lots of fun and a great way to make new friends.
On a more serious note, it could one day save their life. Alarmingly, drowning is the 3rd highest cause of accidental death in children in the UK, according to the 2010 UK drowning statistics. (more…)
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How to make skiing work as an activity holiday for your family
It doesn’t seem that long ago since the school summer holidays, but it’s still not too early to start looking at holiday deals for the family.
If you’re looking for an activity break, there are some limitations to what you can do, but skiing can be a great way to stay fit and active, and children as young as three can take to the slopes.
Here are some tips on preparing for a skiing holiday: (more…)
