to think that six weeks is just a *teensy* bit too long fo summer holidays...?

[misspollysdolly]

...Or am I the only one who is starting to lose her sense of all that is reasonable humour where her children are concerned...? So far it has been a fairly three weeks, and it has taken that amount of time really for my two school aged DCs to unwind but by golly, now they are bored and totally unable to focus on anything for very long (so many toys/play opportunities, absolutely no motivation or patience with each other)...(and I'm probably not at my most receptive tbh as there's been a lot going on in those three weeks...)...and they are starting to take chunks out of each other and become to seriously annoying...

Is anyone else out there counting the days til the start of term, or is it just me. I know I am being a bit unreasonable because every moment with them is precious, but realistically every moment also feels like a bit of a chore - for today anyway. Would love some encouragement or at least a bit of commiseration with someone...!! MPD

Ours have 7 weeks so still a way to go !! I would prefer a slightly shorter summer break and maybe a longer May and October half term!! I am also married to a teacher and boy does he need to go back to school

"so many toys/play opportunities"

That's probably the problem! They have never had an opportunity to learn how to get on with eachother in close proximity and use their imaginations and a bit of teamwork to come up with better, more productive things to do.

Sorry, no commiseration from me - I'm a HEor so every day is like your summer holiday for me...and I don't feel like you do.

YABVU I work in a school

nooo, it's only 5 and a bit weeks this year and i'm back to work far too soon. Doesn't help that my dcs have 8 weeks to my 5.5.

My dc's have almost 9weeks off here . Two weeks left & counting

Think you really have to plan a mixture of quiet 'home time', going out time (park, pool, activity, library, museum), a few special treats (soft play, theme park, National Trust property, pottery cafe, etc) and many playdates (which will hopefully be reciprocated. Also stock up on books from library and set up some projects for dc to work on at home (lego, art projects, etc).

Having a loose plan really keeps the days from stretching out endlessly, and stops grumpiness which stems from boredom.

January me too got 4 DC's and an annoying DH! To be fair the 3 younger DC's have been great with loads of imaginative , let's pretend type games. Older DC is missing his school friends more but is pretty good at doing his own thing. TBH it's more that I crave a bit of peace and space than them being a problem.

Not long enough and we only get 5 and a bit weeks.
I have just put name labels in DD1 and DD2's new uniform and feeling sad that they will soon all be back at school (I have 4 too).

7 weeks here - well 6 plus 2 half-weeks. They go back this Wednesday - hooray!

It's nice for them to get a long break from school but DH and I both work so apart from when we were away, DD has been to after school club, both sets of grandparetns and various reciprocal arrangements with friends - it will be quite relaxing when school goes back and we're not all constantly having to look at the calendar to see what's happening!

Come and be me, I am a CM with 6 of the little blighters

But actually have this week off, no children at all and even DH is away for work

Absolute Bliss!

It goes by too fast.
Ds has had 2 weeks at holiday club (while I was working), 1 week away on adventure holiday (while I was working). So this is our first real week of holiday together and I will be spending most of it trying to organise his uniform and school stuff for after the hols.
The following week we are off to france for a week, and then we have bank holiday and twoo days after that till back at school.

Where did the time go!?

Corlan...apols...teachers, of course please do ignore me!!

Lacking I just knew that someone would pounce on that (well pounced, btw!) and yes, I agree with what you say (I am a playworker) about having too much choice. I do limit TV, they can play outside (though are garden is teeny) and inside no, we do not have all the toys out at once - I rotate them.

In fact it's more squabbling that gets to me. They do play (for short bursts), but seem to compete for my attention constantly and they really do squabble constantly which makes me feel really down.

I have three at home jojo and a tricky range of ages (10, 5, and 2) so finding stuff that they all enjoy equally feels hard. The weather as usual has also been bloody frustrating.

I think 4 weeks would be great, with a slightly longer break at Christmas and Easter, by which points my children are usually hanging...

Corlan that should, of course have been but, I don't know, maybe is just as appropriate...!!!

Can you imagine how much worse going away would be if everyone had to squeeze thri two weeks summer holiday into only a 4 week slot rather than a 6 week one. The prices are through the roof as is!

Mine have almost 9 weeks the way it works this year.

thank god i've split the hols with my ex

I'm counting - luckily we are down to ONE DAY as mine go back tomorrow after 7 weeks off!!!

Actually it has gone too fast this year, we have had a great time - but this is the first year since the eldest started school that I have felt this - mine are going into Primary 3, Primary 4 and Primary 6!!

ours have 10 weeks off in the summer in Spain but as we have the lovely weather you are never short of anything to do. A picnic on the beach or park doesn't cost anything unlike in England where you need to take out a second mortgage to go out for the day.

I'm loving it,dreading the return as I'll miss them and I think they really need the break.I have 6 year old twin boys and a 5 dd. Not saying there hasn't been moments of bickering hell and silliness which drive me bonkers but it's manageable.

I plan a rough framework like Earlybird and make a policy of not spending more than £10 for all 3 of them a week..

We've done 1 week camping in Cornwall and have got another one planned. We do the National Trust Wild Wednesdays which are fantastic and could fill a whole day. We've also been going to a local farm cooking and picking on Thursdays. They're all doing Spacehop at the library so we do a library/errands day once a week. Then we've been catching up with friends at the beach/woods/playdates.I also issued them with a new pack each of lovely felt tips, a new nice colouring book and a fantastic sticker book each. They've played outside with their mates most days too so to be honest we're running out of time and need a few more chill out days on our own.

Personally I don't think 6 weeks is long enough these days as they're pushed far too much at school.

I really do think having a rough framework and not having kids under 5 really helps to make it more enjoyable.

YANBU. DD has been off for about 8 weeks now and she, thankfully, starts back on Wednesday. It's all trauma at the moment though, new house, new country, new school. I have managed to take her to see another girl in her new class but DD didn't like her. I would prefer the holidays to be spread out more over the year (as would DH - a teacher)

YANBU!!!!

We have had our first dry day in over a week today and it's been wonderful :)
We went to a summer fair this afternoon, came home and they went out on their bikes, came home for tea and now they are out again :)
They are sooooo bored!! Why does it always rain so much in the school holidays?? :(

When I was at school we didn't have 6 weeks off all in one go. We had Potters fortnight which was the last week in June and first week in July, then we went back to school for 4 or 5 weeks and then we had another 4 weeks off. It was so much better, but Stoke became a ghost town at the end of June because everyone went on holiday then (much cheaper than August).

I don't know, I am enjoying these hols for the first time ever! The house is a bit more of a tip which is stressful but we have been havign lots of fun. It helps that I work two days a week so get we get a break from each other

Only 2.5 weeks left and it seems to be flying by. DS isn't even in school yet and doesn't start till next year - I think I will enjoy the hols even more when they are both at school. The rain is a bit of a bugger but seeing friends helps.

We still have 3.5 weeks to go, they've already been off for 3.5 weeks. I'm just hoping and praying for better weather!!