Keeping the kids busy

Six weeks of summer holidays is a long time. When I was working it was a logistical nightmare trying to arrange childcare for the kids, and I was only working part time! This year I'm still on maternity leave after having the baby so I will have all three kids at home with me for the summer holidays. We are not going away on holiday anywhere so I'll be keeping the kids busy here in the UK.
I will be sharing some of our experiences with you - family days out, activities and tips on keeping things running smoothly. I hope you find it interesting, informative...or just amusing.

The Summer Reading Challenge

This afternoon was all about The Summer Reading Challenge - https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ This is a really good way of getting children aged 4 to 11 to read books during the summer holidays. It takes place in libraries across the UK and is free to join. Kids have to have a library card to sign up up and they are then given a record card where they fill in information about the books that they read. They collect a little reward whenever they read two books and then there is a prize at the end.

Kids receive a reward

Last year there was a Roald Dahl theme and the kids received a "gold" medal at the end, as well as some other little goodies (scratch and sniff stickers, bookmarks and bracelets). They were thrilled with the medal and their little freebies. This year there is an Animal Agents theme where kids have to "Read the books, catch the crooks". They have to read six library books in total. And they can't cheat either! Because every time they return their books a librarian or summer reading volunteer (young people aged 13 to 24 can volunteer) talks to them about the books and asks about what happened and their favourite character etc.

I realised how valuable libraries are

My kids all love the library in their own way. My eldest daughter is determined to read all the books in the library, my middle daughter drifts around reading bits of this and that and random books like "How to Care for My Pet Rabbit" (which she is never going to get!) my youngest daughter waddles around happily throwing books to the floor! I used to love going to the library as a child too but didn't set foot in one for around 15 years. It's only after having children that I realised how valuable they actually are. As well as being a source of information for all ages and interests, they are a community hub, seriously I've met such a wide range of people in the local library! I've attended toddler singing sessions in the library before (yeah I know, aren't libraries supposed to be quiet??) and a kids yoga class. What was really lovely today is that there was a queue of kids lining up to join the summer reading challenge and I remember it being the same last year. It just goes to show that reading stuff online or on kindles doesn't compare to books.

MummyImperfect x