Help the kids have Christmas vacation earlier (and I don’t)!

Last Tuesday, on Dec. 14, there was another press conference. What parents with elementary school age children feared happened: the children have Christmas vacation a week early! But how do you solve that when you yourself are still busy at work? We from OpstapmetLisa have children in this age group ourselves, so we’ve come up with a few tips for you that will keep the kids busy. You can continue working in peace.

Young and old children

We realize that it is much harder to keep young children busy than older kids. But older kids also like to be kept busy, especially if school has decided not to homeschool the week before Christmas. Here are some tips for keeping both groups of children busy now that they have earlier Christmas break.

Screen time

Of course, we all want our children to spend less time in front of a screen. But necessity breaks laws. Is there an important online meeting scheduled? Then your son or daughter can use their tablet, phone or game computer. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as superparents, you are only human. So if your child is on a screen more often this week, that doesn’t make you a bad parent. By the way, there are fun (and educational) apps for children. For the little ones, the Zeppelin app is really great! In it your little one can safely play games, watch movies and listen to songs. Dr. Panda is also great fun: here your child learns to count in a playful way. Does your toddler love dinosaurs and memory games? Then Discover the Ocean is highly recommended. All these apps can be downloaded for Apple and Android.

Fun apps and computer tasks for older children

Easily learn another language with Duolingo and trump your parents! With Scratch, kids create their own stories, games and animation. Smartgames has lots of online brainteasers for every age. Write down some difficult keywords and let your child find the meaning on Google. You can also extend this and, for example, have them create a mini-workbook with lots of creative elements. You’ll spend them hours! Google Earth is also really fun. Write down some crazy places/cities/(egg) countries and let your child search on this website. For example, give as an assignment questions like in what country is this located, in what continent, what language is spoken in that country etc?

Make a photo quest

Hooray! The weather is nice (dry) so the kids can go outside. But not without an assignment! Make a photo assignment at home in advance in which you have your child look for objects in the neighborhood. Give them a phone or camera and hop outside. For example, have them take a selfie with a yellow car, or a picture of a cat unsuspectingly taking an outdoor walk. Make it challenging and fun, they’ll be at it for a while. For young children, you can also create a photo scavenger hunt, but indoors. You can take pictures of certain details of an object beforehand (the more zoomed in the more difficult) or have them find objects and take pictures of them. Kids really love this! And then have the older kids make a photo collage on the computer.

Make up your own story

Write some topics on a sheet of paper and let your child choose one (or more) to write about. Indicate whether it should be a happy or exciting story. Not only is it a good writing exercise, it also requires imagination. Don’t be put off by the necessary grumbling, eventually they will enjoy it. You can even put a reward in return or that they can get multiple stickers and then one time they get to decide what dinner will be. Having Christmas vacation a week early is educational that way too!

Create your own drawing

Young children who cannot yet read or write can also be given a similar task, but as a drawing assignment. Cut out pictures from a magazine, for example a Christmas tree, an animal or a house, and let your child draw a picture as they see fit. Paste is allowed! Glitter is also allowed! Let them make their own choice!

Picnic for home

We all have to eat lunch, even if you’re busy at work. But who says you have to take care of the lunch? Let older children do the work! They spread the sandwiches, pour the milk, etc. Make it even more fun and tell them they can organize a home picnic. Do stay a little around when your child gets to work with sharp knives and hot objects such as the stove and oven. Keep it simple. They are busy for a while and you don’t have to do anything for the lazy. For example, let older children make a fruit salad as well. Not only delicious but also healthy.

Get the message

Is your child a little older and is the supermarket around the corner? Then let him or her buy groceries for lunch. They then learn to choose from food items and they learn how to handle money right away. So give a set amount of money. Do they have to do the math too ;-). Do you already have everything in the house for lunch? Tell your older son or daughter to walk the dog. Saves you time too!

Playing letter carrier

Does your child have lots of comic books that they no longer care about? Let them pick out 5 or 10 or so that they can then deliver to other kids in the neighborhood. That way, they’ll be well occupied in their room and can then play letter carrier as well. Result: a tidier room and happy neighborhood kids!

Building huts

As a child, having your own cabin is golden. A cozy place to retreat to with all the favorite stuffed animals. And building a hut is also so much fun! Win-win, then, because your child will spend some time doing this. Provide sheets, towels and blankets, nice soft pillows and secure everything with a few pegs. Let them fiddle around by themselves, they will find out if something works or not. They will be proud of the result! And they should be rewarded with a packet of juice and some goodies for the tent. Do you have a dome tent? Then it’s even more fun, because your child can sleep in it for a night! In their own room, of course.

Crafts for the little ones

Finally, another crafting tip for young children. Cut strips of colored paper in advance and let your child make the longest garland ever! They can make the garland by sticking the ends together (with tape or glue, for example. Your child then sticks the next strip through and attaches the ends of that strip as well. You can also do this with beads. Have you ever taught your child to crochet? Then he or she can crochet a long necklace by making a long string. Darning can also be done. For more crafting tips for kids, check out our previously published blog.

Make clear agreements

These are our tips for the week ahead. We know it won’t always be easy, but try to keep your calm and count to 10 from time to time. Certainly, even with young children, make good mutual arrangements. If necessary, make a schedule in which you also build in some time for your child. At other times the child must keep himself busy. If the child has done well, there is nothing wrong with rewarding it. This can be done with something very simple like staying up half an hour longer, choosing what to eat later that week, etc. We will get through this too!

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