by Fay Prideaux     Happy holidays!   No school uniforms to launder, no packed lunches to organize, no rushed morning routines to deal with. Homework, spelling lists and school projects are all on the back burner. Parents, teachers and students heave a collective sigh of relief and relish a break from the school routine.

Week one is often about unwinding. Students embrace the idea of having no definite plans and enjoy catching up with friends, reacquainting themselves with the family pet, staying up late, organizing sleepovers and doing anything that takes their fancy. Or doing nothing at all.

Week two can be a different kettle of fish. The lack of routine so warmly welcomed only seven days earlier, can quickly give way to feelings of restlessness and dare I say it (the B word) BOREDOM.

The three words guaranteed to raise the hackles on the neck of the most placid parent are “Mum I’m bored.” Immediate responses of “How can you possibly be bored with the multitude of games, gadgets and gizmos we have in this house?” fall on deaf ears.

Parents reflect nostalgically on their own childhood vacations, when they didn’t know what the word bored meant. Amusing themselves with minimal input from external sources was par for the course.

Is it possible that today our kids are so over stimulated and over scheduled, that one week without structure can leave many of them completely rudderless? If your eight year old has put a pocket organizer on their birthday list, it is possibly time to heed the wake up call.

“I’m bored” may have nothing to do with the entertainment choices we have in our homes, and everything to do with how few opportunities kids are given to entertain themselves. Unscheduled time has become a rarity, even in children’s lives.

Suggestion for the holidays - try a ‘screen free’ day, or if you’re game- a week. No television, no computers or screen oriented games allowed. I can almost hear the howls of protest from the kids as I type, but if you’re up for it, the results may well be worth the effort. What will they do with all that free time?

Not wanting to leave you high and dry, here are some old fashioned suggestions for holiday fun that might just fill that spare time.

Boredom Busters 

1. Play board games - the type where two or more family members actually have to sit down together. This might be a novelty in itself. Most board games involve thinking, taking turns and talking, valid skills in themselves, but more importantly they get family members engaging with each other.

2. Plant something - boys love to dig, girls love to nurture. A window box of seedlings, a plot of herbs or a carrot top on wet cotton wool - water daily and watch them grow.  For kids with a backyard, refreshing the veggie plot, or starting one for the first time can be rewarding, especially in the weeks that follow, when they actually get to eat their own produce. Taking care to water their seeds teaches responsibility, always a valuable lesson.

3. Cook something - kids in the kitchen might just let you off the hook for one meal if you let them loose on their favourite recipe. Let them find a recipe they’d like to try, write a shopping list and prepare the dish. Washing up definitely part of the deal.

4. Build something – cubby houses and billy carts were once a ‘must do’ project for school holidays. Both are bound to take up several days if not a whole week.  Supply hammers and nails, add timber and boys, and you won’t see them for hours.

5. Draw, paint or create something – A palette of paint, water, brushes and large sheets of white paper can be the start of a family holiday mural.  Presenting the end result to grandparents on a holiday visit is bound to be a winner. A fridge feature forever!

6. Spring clean the wardrobe - scarves, beads, hats and heels are always firm favourites for ‘dress ups’ with the younger females of the family. Toss in the make up bag for good measure and they’ll be busy for hours at the ‘beauty salon.’

7. Make things - jewellery out of nature such as daisy chains, hatbands of flowers and leaves, bracelets of nuts and seeds threaded on twine. Going on a bushwalk to collect them, within legal limits of course, or investigating the bounty of your own garden can be interesting exercises in themselves.

8. Teach your kids how to knit. French knitting on a cotton reel is fast, easy and a hit for a rainy day. The more colours and textures the more interesting the result. The availability of oversized needles makes it even easier to teach younger children the art of traditional knitting, and they can see their work growing almost immediately. Knitting a brightly coloured scarf is a great holiday project for any member of the family.

9. Bug catching is always a hit with the boys. A quick safety talk on care with spiders is probably a good idea before heading to the garden or local parks: both havens for mini beasts that enthrall. A magnifying glass and a captive insect guarantee high levels of interest, which may even lead to further investigation in books. Reading will guarantee you some much needed moments of peace and quiet  -now that’s a bonus.

10. Don’t overlook the local library in your search for inspiration. Libraries today often have holiday programs to bring out the bookworm in most of us. In addition to a great range for borrowing, they may offer workshops for the budding writer or story telling sessions for all ages.

On the off chance that it might rain – jumping puddles and making mud pies come highly recommended.

About the author:

Fay Prideaux is a teacher and freelance writer with a degree in Education and over 3 decades of experience in education in both Victoria and NSW.   She currently teaches part time in a primary school in Sydney's south and teaches English as a second language in tertiary institutions across Sydney.  Fay has trialled, developed, published and marketed a reading tutor program, Reading Rules.  She has also had articles published regularly on parenting websites as well as in Australian Parents magazine.

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