Primary aged kids, summer holidays and the bloody rain!!!

[Lighttodark]

How is everyone surviving? Cheaper days out eg park, beach just aren’t possible right now.

Whereabouts are you? We’re in London, and I’m finding that it rains almost every day but typically only part of the day. So I check the forecast and go out around the rain.

Soft play, cafes and the library have featured quite heavily so far.

I’m gutted it’s not garden/ paddling pool weather though!

Are your kids made of sugar? Get them in appropriate clothing and go out in the rain!!

Go to the park and splash in puddles. Go to the zoo. Don’t let weather hold you back

Surviving? Its rain, not acid. Its not ideal but it's hardly the end of the world.

Jigsaws, books, board games, painting, making dens, playing with toys, baking, even TV or video games are all excellent indoor activities you can do at home.

Go to the cinema if you can find ticket deals, soft play, round to friends houses for playdates, bowling, museums / galleries, a visit to the library, all excellent indoor things you can do out of the home.

As others have said
Library
Museums
Cinema
Movie afternoon at home
Board games
Painting and drawing
Hama beads

Look on Pintrest/Google for outside rainy day activities.
We've rescued worms, made chalk drawings in the rain, and bathed all the toys that can be washed in puddles.
We've made mud pies and potions. We've been to the beach in the rain and played in the sea.
I'm so desperate for sun! 😫

Lighttodark
i remember those long wet days in the summer holidays. They made me feel disappointed and glum. My kids never mention them as a problem though … they are now 25 and 26.
Try not to get anxious, drink tea and cuddle on the sofa with a film xxxx

While I appreciate it is 'only rain', personally I don't want to be stuck in the torrential downpours we have recently had up north. I once tried to eat my dinner outside in a pub beer garden as it was glorious but went under shelter as a shower came over. But it got that bad the kids were screaming as the thunder and lightning crashed around us. My food had about a cup full of water. We had to run inside on a rescue mission.

You just cannot plan in that type of weather unless I bring a suitcase along with suitable clothing and equipment?

Its not raining all day every day! Done loads of things, playground, garden centre, Went to an NT today, bear hunt trail around the city centre. How did we survive, you ask? Checked the weather report and packed raincoats!?

I knew you’d get responses like this! It is definitely a MN thing: in RL when it is raining the parks and beaches are like the Marie Celeste but in MN town they are filled with skipping children in waterproofs.

Well we have done all those things this week and not gotten soaked Im not lying !

I recall one summer about twelve or so years ago when it rained every day through the summer hols. It was very hard work. There's only so many times you can charm worms. The laundry was a nightmare.

Oodles of sympathy from me (my lot are adults now)

I don't have kids but I've seen the local garden centres are doing cheap activities for kids. There's also libraries, museums etc which always do things in the hols.

It's worth checking local what's on websites for free days out listings.

It's miserable in the rain, even in the right clothes, even when your children aren't made of sugar 🙄. Putting waterproofs on and splashing in puddles is fun for a bit. Not every day for six weeks.

I'd look at local museums and libraries they tend to do free/cheap stuff for kids. Lots of playdates and visiting other people, also good. You could see if any of your relatives need any basic jobs doing and offer your kids some pocket money to do them for example.

Other than that elongating simple things to be longer (and include a trip out) works quite well. For example, if they want to bake, go to the library and find a cook book with a recipe they like, get them to write out a list of what they need, go to the supermarket and let them find what they need/scan/pay for it, bake together, decorate, go and visit a family member/neighbour/friend with results of baking. Can fill a whole day with something that would normally be 20 minutes.

Just back from a week on SE coast and in order to have any kind of holiday we really did the raincoats / beach stuff I previously thought was a MN myth.

We'd have been in our cottage most of the time otherwise.

It wasn't our favourite holiday ever 🙄

At home we always try to go for a walk if / when it clears up on a wet day but for the most part we tend to just stay in if it's forecast for all day rain.

We're in London and have been getting out and about, but to indoor venues and hankering down there for the day. We've covering all the museums (have done Science, Maritime, MOL at Docklands, Young V&A and Tate Modern this week).Have some fun camps booked for next week and did swimming today. Still have lots of musuems to see, and want to get to some big soft plays like Gambardo which is nearly an hour away so that takes up most of a day. Really keen to get out to Legoland and Hobbledown this summer (and other outdoor trips) but refusing to book unless the forecast is absolutely dry as it would be miserable and expensive to be doing those in the rain.

The longer term forecast is looking a bit more promising in about 2 weeks, not reliable so will keep checking it and keep my fingers crossed!

Yeah...but that's London. Not so many options in other parts of the UK