To find school holidays such a slog especially when the last half term at school was only 5 weeks long!?

[Elfie23]

I do tend to struggle with half terms now DD is at secondary school and doesn’t attend the kids clubs any more (I always take a few days off too). I’ve taken a couple of days off this time to try and break it up a bit. She’s 11 and not yet great at organising stuff with friends even though I’ve really encouraged and reminded her leading up to the holidays.
So I find myself with a full time job trying to also organise for her so she’s not bored out her mind or getting FOMO about what others are doing.
Urgh, does it get any easier at any point!

A) It’s not half term.
B) Blame Easter for bouncing around all over the place. The summer term will be much longer to make up for it.

How the British love their children.

School is not childcare - your daughter will attend the statutory number of days in any given academic year. Bet you’re glad she isn’t attending a private school - the holiday would be at least three weeks long!

As a teacher I can vouch for the fact that kids are ready for a break. Come up with a menu of options she can get on with alone, maybe include some pocket money chores and then book a few things for the days you are off.

She could earn cash for cleaning windows, car washing, weeding, washing.

She could teach herself to crochet
She could do baking, if you have a nearby walkable shop she could go and buy the ingredients then come back and bake.

Make a list of recommended films you think she should watch. Buy some craft kits, my dd really likes those clay beads and makes bracelets for hours. Some of those paint by numbers canvases. The Range is vety good for cheap crafts. Set a reading challenge. Suggest she invites friends over. Suggest she does couch to 5k or something.

Easter came early this year the schools/goverment don’t have control over it. There are still childcare clubs for 11 year olds.

I find holidays very easy for my secondary school daughter, I’m abit sad really that she no longer wants to bake, play board games etc. Is she not pretty much self sufficient at 11? Try and enjoy the holidays especially if you’re off work. Plan things you both might like to do. Cinema? Lunch date?

So, what's your ideal solution?
Children need to have breaks from school and you need to work. Is there a dad on the scene?

It does get easier as they get older.

That said if she makes no effort to organise things then you shouldn’t swoop in and save her all the time - they need to learn that if they make the choice to make no plans then they’ll be bored.

I let them be bored. Unless we have actual go somewhere plans they can be bored and learn what they want to do.

Sure I’ll do some baking with them and other bits but I will not and never have tried to keep them entertained.

Boredom means they have to work out how to entertain themselves it also means they regulate and manage their time.

That said I do prefer the way a few Scottish places (that I know of - there may be more) have a standardised spring holiday regardless of when Easter is.

Next year my niece is off for Good Friday and Easter Monday, then back at school for a week or so, then off for the two weeks.

She's 11, you are going to need to organise stuff for her and probably facilitate it too, for the next 3 or 4 years.
Mine are 13 and 15 and I'm still booking stuff, driving them places, dropping off friends, cooking for friends.
I think your expectations are completely unrealistic.

Can her dad take a couple of days off as well? Does he have any suggestions?

When I read your title I presumed you were in the thick of it with several primary aged children. I was going to say I love holidays now that my children are secondary age.
They can entertain themselves while I wfh, hang out with friends, or I drop them and their friends into town whist I go into the office. And then on my days off we can do things like cinema, theatre, visiting cities, going to cafes etc.

This holiday my 11 year old has bought herself a huge box of beads and is teaching herself to make complicated patterned bracelets, she's been into town with a friend one day, and been to the cinema with another friend. My 15 year old is rehearsing his lines and lyrics for a musical, and doing quite a lot of art, and my 16 year old is revising for GCSEs - sometimes on his own, sometimes with friends or his girlfriend.

So much better than the days of soft play, awful kids films, and endless mess.

At 11 she’s still fine to go in clubs. What are her hobbies? There’s often clubs related to those.
At 11 I’d still be involved in arrangements eg do you want to invite a friend over Weds.
On days off together I’d do a trip out lots of museums have free activities.
Is there a task she could do while you are working like sorting her old toys out for charity shop or tidying her room.

It’s not half term.

Unnecessary jab - I'm not British and every day
I thank myself for having the insight and remaining child free.

I agree with pp, so much easier when theyre in secondary school. You can suggest things she might like to do but ultimately it's their decision. No harm in being bored and/or resting for a few days

That was my mother's view and that of the mothers of all my friends when I was growing up. We were expected to entertain ourselves and boredom was a great motivator.

Yes, we do

I rest my case.

It’s quite obvious that the OP meant the last half of the term (five weeks), and was not calling the Easter holiday half term.

OP didn't call the Easter holidays 'half term'- she said the last half term was only 5 weeks long, which is correct.

Don't be stupid.

This is turning into a nice thread.

I struggled massively over Christmas. My just turned five year old and then two year and five month old ran me ragged, they were constantly either whipping one another into a frenzy or fighting and whining over toys. DD was waking very early over Christmas for some reason as well.

This one hasn’t been too bad thus far. DD is now two and nine months and they are playing together a bit rather than fighting, but it’s still a lot and full on. I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point where I enjoy them both at the same time.

I think preteen girls can be a lot of work though OP, and it must be hard knowing what to do as obviously she’s too old for a lot of the Easter trails and so on but not old enough to be totally independent. At least the weather is OK!

I think it works. If they ask me for things to make stuff or bake stuff or for building or whatever we will buy it and do it.

But it is their plans their ideas.

No forced bike rides but I’m going for one feel free to join or not no pressure.

Want to just spend all day lazing in the garden go for it. Does my kitchen now look like bake off, oh well. Town with friends ok here’s some cash for the bus and food.