Reading this you might be a partway into the summer break. Weather might be a mixed bag, and devices might have run out of charge mid scroll.
I’m Charlotte and I have 2 girls who are teenagers. I have entertained them or let them get bored for 14 summers in equal measure.
I am a working mum, but I also have the summer holidays off work.
I’m a forest school leader so I do love getting outside in nature. Contrary to what most people think I must like to do, family camping isn’t one of them. As a Guide Leader I do love camping, but I wonder if the many family-camping 2-week holidays in the summer rain, or more likely, the fact that I love a comfy bed, means I now prefer a self-catering cabin or cottage rather than a tent on family holidays. Having said that, it’s true to say, we love being out in nature.
Are you enjoying the summer holidays?
Chances are you have looked at lots of different options for entertaining the children for the 6 weeks of holiday. I have lots of ideas saved on my social media but sometimes I get very overwhelmed with everything on offer. It’s either very expensive or involves lots of travel and journey logistics. And quite honestly, it’s often a little too much for my brain capacity to handle.
School Holidays can be stressful; the logistics of pre-arranging that essential annual leave months in advance so you can holiday together. Only to discover that if you’ve chosen a UK staycation it’s the rainiest week on record. It’s so disappointing.
The FOMO that you get when seeing your friends’ social media posts or your teenagers telling you where their friends are holidaying abroad only doubles the anxiety and negative thoughts about your holiday choices.
Sometimes you may be juggling all this with many other factors of stressful work schedules, single parenting, or co-parenting. The school holiday may be all mapped out with grandparent childcare, sports camps, annual leave etc. But sometimes it’s a struggle of logistics and guilt to try and give your children a summer “made of memories”.
There has been much research done regarding highlighting the benefits of positive nature connections.
Natural England have found in their research that “the benefits of nature for children have been shown to include a reduction in stress and anxiety, improved concentration, better self-regulation when pressures get too much, better academicperformances and a reduction in ADHD symptoms.”
So… here are some free or low-cost ideas for you to consider so that it’s not just for your children to have a great summer but for you as a parent too.
For Outdoor exploration
Geocaching: AGPS treasure hunt
This is a great way to get outside using the Geocaching app.
Download the free app and key in your location. The map will come up with your area and the geocaches hidden. There are literally thousands all over the UK and abroad. We discovered this app in the Lake District on a rainy February break. It’s brilliant as the children can hold your phone and follow the distance and directions on the map to locate the cache.
Caches can be mini or macro. As small as a magnet under a railing or as huge as a plastic box hidden under a log. Sometimes it is just big enough to have the log paper rolled up,
Other times you can pick a piece of treasure from it and leave your own too.
Geocaching tips:
- Take a pen.
- Check on the app for activity (often there is a photo clue from previous cache hunters).
- Use the hint button
- Always log your cache on your app with a smiley face.
- If you can, take something to place in the cache, a small plastic toy or trinket, a cool stone or leaf.
- Don’t make it obvious you are looking for a cache as others might be in the area too!
Such a great way of getting the children outside for free, discovering hidden places and allowing them to use a mobile phone with a purpose. Plus, spending time outside with friends and connecting has proven benefits to mental well-being. Read more here from Mind.org.uk
Events | Wild in Art sculpture trails
Sculpture trailshave been around for a while now and are always a nice way to see a town or city.
Giant Animal sculptures painted by local artists and sponsored by local organisations or charities are placed around a town or city for everyone to find. On the website there is a map of the trail, and in the sculptures themselves there is a QR code to tick off the ones you have found. Depending on where you live and how long you are staying in an area where there is a trail, you can organise your day or stay to find as many as you can or just a few.
They are always beautifully designed and painted and afterwards are auctioned off for the charity they are supporting.
There are many to be found all over the UK from Highland Cows in Scotland to Castles in Swansea Wales, Penguins in Worcester or Owls in Chichester! There are even some in Europe and America too. Some are even featuring the same artist like Marniemakes in different trails so perhaps you can find all their sculptures. You can also find @marnie-makes on Instagram.
The Gruffalo Party Trails | Forestry England
There are 15 Gruffalo trails dotted around the UK in Forestry Commission Woodlands. This year they are celebrating 25 years of the Gruffalo with Gruffalo parties and Gruffalo packs (£4)
Enjoying the U.K withNational Trust
The National Trust has some lovely places to visit and family friendly playgrounds, trails, and restaurants. Paying for membership for adults allows free entry for adults and children under 17 and car parking.
Top tip: joining the Scottish National trust is cheaper and you can use the card in all UK National Trust places. English Heritage often give reduced or free entry to NT members too.
Wildlife Trust 30 days wild
If you’ve heard of the Wildlife Trust 30 days wild challenge in June then all their ideas are on their website. You can download and print off the pdf challenge and make it 30 days wild in August!
Wildlife trust
There are over 2000 Wildlife Trust Nature reserves and sites all over the UK, many of which will have free family and children’s events over the holidays. You can either become a member or pay a small entrance fee to the site. Activities are free and run by Wildlife Trust volunteers
For those Rainy or dull days
Paw print badges
PawPrint family is a brilliant company set up and run by a Guide and Scout couple, Charlotte and Jamie. They have devised hundreds of badge challenges that are free to download. With the structure of the challenge based around crafts, food, games you can pick any one to follow. And even buy a badge to give to your children once they’ve completed it. Squirrels to Picnic challenge, Spain to Virtual Ocean or even Chocolate challenge there are plenty to choose from.
They also have UK city trails (£7) to follow, and lots more so check out their website.
Reading challenge
All libraries in the UK have aSummer Reading Challenge – Suggested books for all ages earning digital rewards for a Challenge Goal to achieve. This can be a really fun way of encouraging your child to love books.
I love books but only ever seem to find the brain space to read on the holidays. My girls both love books and we always enjoy hanging out in bookshops. Our town has a free bookstore and lots of charity shops to buy books from. I remember when I was a child, we always went to the library but even now it’s something I rarely do. This summer I will challenge myself and my girls to access our local library and do this challenge.
I’m also including some great resources here for accessing free books that you might want to explore foryour familyor yourcommunity groups.
Books can be read anywhere; a local primary school ran a summer holiday competition one year called Extreme Reading Adventures – challenging their pupils to be photographed reading a book in different places. They had so many photos submitted of children in trees, in a bush, hanging upside down on a climbing frame that it really inspired their friends to find exciting places to read.
I hope you feel inspired and that you enjoy planning and going on some fun outdoor adventures with your family.
I hope you like some of these ideas and would love to hear what you get up to over the summer so please do share your adventures.
If you’d like to stay in touch and see more of what we get up to you can find me here on Nature Explore Barnet viaInstagramor onFacebook
Charlotte is a Forest School Leader in North London with Nature Explorers Barnet. Alongside her family role of mum to 2 teenage girls she is also a Guide Leader. And has a healthy obsession with all aspects of fungi. She can often be found kneeling down near a mossy patch of woodland photographing mushrooms!
