FEATURES: I’m Bored Mum! How many times will you hear that this summer?! Too many times is the answer, but DCCC are giving you some top tips to alleviate these issues!
Ideas for keeping your children entertained during the Summer
School’s Out for Summer and it won’t be long before you hear the familiar lament every parent dreads, “I’m bored”.
So now what do you do?
You don’t need to go to great expense to keep children entertained. Play is your child’s way of exploring ideas and investigating how the world works. There are plenty of low-cost and free resources for play available which provide your child with opportunities to extend his/her sense of wonder, discovery and imagination.
Some Great Ideas for Outdoor Play
- Shelters, tents or huts – These provide security and a sense of fun. Shelters can be made quickly with materials such as sheets, pegs and poles.
- Pavement Chalk – Drawing with chalk on the ground gives children an opportunity to have a personal, though temporary effect on their environment. Let their imagination take them wherever they want to go.
- Gardening – Children get great pleasure from growing plants, digging and watering. You don’t need a garden to encourage children to be gardeners, most plants will grow in tubs on a window sill, or in a window box.
- Art in the Garden – Art activities can be much more exciting outdoors! They can be bigger, messier and more physical. Large sheets of paper or the back of an old roll of wallpaper can be taped to walls to make a giant canvas. Glue, paint and materials found outdoors can also be added to create a masterpiece.
- Role playing – Children love to dress up and pretend they are someone else. Having a box of old clothes, hats and costumes is a great way to encourage a child to participate in imaginative play. Props such as handbags, ties, sunglasses, could also be added to help them create the character they want to play.
- Construction – Construction in the garden is not just building bricks. It combines science and technology and lets them create new shelters, tunnels, bridges and much more. Cardboard boxes, plastic tubes, carpet offcuts plastic sheeting, rope and tape can all be used to create new structures.
- Carnival Games – Setting up an old style carnival using games such as ring toss, skittles, egg & spoon racing, ball games, sack races and 3 legged races will keep them entertained for hours whilst also developing fine and gross motor skills.
- Obstacle course – Setting up an obstacle course filled with markers, cones, nets, planks, hoola hoops and tyres can be a fun activity for older children. Running and jumping through a series of obstacles helps children develop their large movement skills, control, coordination and strength.
These kind of activities contribute to personal and social development and help children develop knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Donegal County Childcare Committee Ltd. is a local agency that works for the development, sustainability and advancement of high quality early childhood care and education in County Donegal.
The core work of DCCC in supporting over 200 early childhood services includes:
- Implementing DCYA childcare funding programmes and funding grants at local level in County Donegal.
- Providing direct and indirect support to early childhood providers including Crèches and Pre-Schools, Childminders, Parent and Toddler Groups, School Aged Childcare services, educators and parents.
- Promoting accredited training and continuing professional development opportunities to the early childhood sector.
- Supporting the work of local Parent and Toddler Groups and Childcare Networks operating across the county.
For more information on the work of DCCC please see http://www.donegalchildcare.com/
or log on to the Donegal County Childhood Committee Facebook page.
