Ideas for 8&11yr olds?

[IJumpedAboardAPirateShip]

Summer hols have started where we are, I usually don’t work in the summer (freelancer) as i end up walking away with minus money by the time I’ve paid for camp/childcare but got a job that will be about a month and is a brilliant foot in the door job and actually for once COULD cover the cost of childcare but all camps in my area are closed and I’m not sure about having random babysitters at home. DH still working from home and I will be as well

Any ideas for some activities for my two DC? We have plenty of screen based options and they get on very well in the whole, will play for hours together with Lego/imaginative play but they’ve been doing that already for 3 months and one thing homeschooling taught me was they respond well to structure so I just need a couple of ideas that might keep them entertained for a few hours at a time. I’m happy for them to “be bored” and find their own entertainment usually but really need some back up options when DH has long meetings while I’m working (I record so I have no option to just step out of the room to help in any way)

You may find some of the holiday camps do open in the end?

The 4 we have used have all said they plan to re-open although only one definitely is (and is taking bookings) as this is run on school premises whereas the other 3 are run at locations that are currently closed due covid-19 (eg football centre, leisure centre).

Yeah they might do but the job starts next week and there definitely aren’t any we can afford open then....

make a no-bake cheesecake
garden games (you can get a kit here)
get them to write and illustrate their own books (easy tutorial )
sign them up for a weekly french or spanish class here
get them one of these link kits each (learn to sew kit)

oh, and if the weather starts to improve again, you could set up a sprinkler outside and let them run through it and have a waterfight with waterguns (you can get some cheaply here), just make sure to leave towels outside with them and tell them they have to sit outside for 10 mins to dry off after they are done playing before coming back inside.

No bake cheesecake is a good one, maybe I can find a bunch of no cook stuff they can do each day?

that's a good idea, OP, there is a list here of recipes that don't require baking
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/no-cook-kids

Mine have been sewing cushions (simple square cover then cut out and sew shapes on the front in different materials to decorate).
Could they build an assault course and time one another?
Mine can easily spend an hour plus FaceTiming friends on WhatsApp on my old phone.
Any birthdays coming up? Could make cards and wrapping paper then wrap presents?