Six weeks School Holidays way too long.

[Hoper2]

Six Weeks School Holidays is too long to be off School.

Another one here who loves spending time with my DD doing fun things. She is finding it great having a relaxing time playing, painting, craft etc. I think it does children good not to have their day so organised as it needs to be when they're at school. She's classed as gifted at school too!

DD1 broke up on 16 June and goes back at the end of August. She has done a theatre workshop, volunteered in a charity shop, been up to Scotland and we are about to go away on a family holiday. She's also spent time in the library, has done her homework and has put in some extra time on her French (she is doing her IB French early and needed to do some work on her grammar).

Are you sure this wasn't a stealth boast about having a G & T child, OP? Mine have both been on and off the register, depending on the school, but I would say that both are bright but not genius level (although DD2, who is 13, is definitely a gifted artist, she is already selling her stuff and taking commissions).

I love the holidays, thankfully dd and I are thick enough to enjoy hanging out at the beach and bike rides

12 weeks here in Spain.
Tome for beach, parks, picnics, climbing mountainssmall hills to avoid humidity! Padfling pool in the garden or sandput - or spade and wheelbarrow!
We can only afford 1 week holiday somewhere cheap and noisy - suits us!
lots of little projrcts (my dc still only very young) so we can hang tjings around the house/wear handprinted tshirts/send sticky glittery crap to DGPs

Also time to seitch off a little, make cakes, watch a film, go for a walk for the sake of a walk.- with your thoughts, not necessarily to collect and catalogue
things.

How old is your daughter, OP? What has she been doing so far? What would she like to do? Is she happy to relax for an afternoon or a day, or does she get a bit antsy if she has nothng to do? I remember a delightful summer where I taught myself calligraphy nerd alert

Is she old enough to go to the library on her own?

I think if you google 'homeschooling' lots of ideas pop up that you could do with your daughter. I think if you don't already hmrschool and spend 24hrs/day with your dc, when school holidays come it can be a bit overwhelming. Nobody's perfect.

Cereal

I love having 6 weeks holidays and I wish it was longer. Though it can be hard find activities that both DCs can enjoy. 11 year old is 'gifted' and 7 year old can't keep still. So we try and do at least 3 things they have never done before.
So this holiday we have been for sushi, rock climbing and climbed Snowdon.
As well as doing more usual holiday things such as climbing trees, playing in the river, library reading challenge,beach holiday,park, making cakes, days out shopping and to museums and plenty of movie nights and pj days.

We do get a couple of activities books with maths and handwriting practice but I also think it is good especially for the 11 year old because it takes her out of the academic environment gives her activities she isn't as good at which are more challenging for her and give her more to think about.

Sorry posted too soon

It also teach them how to have down time and relax and how to use their imagination rather than relaying on school to keep them busy.

Six weeks school holidays - a bit too short.

I am really sceptical that these so called "gifted" children are incapable of amusing themselves. Boring children get bored. Do they really lack the imagination to play? Dd has discovered loom bands and has been doing lots of drawing. I feel that six weeks of holiday provides an opportunity for a different type of learning. For example I am trying to teach dd to ride her bike.

I feel that six weeks is tough on low income families or families with children who have disablities/ special needs. Some mumsnetters really need to get off their PC and actually interact with their kids.

We have just over 7. I love it. No rushing about trying to fit school in.

We're thoroughly enjoying the summer holiday, the longer the better here too.

A gifted child should be able to entertain themselves surely? I loved the time to read and play around in the summer. Give them a project to do. I liked to learn a new skill in the hols.

I agree. pulling hair out

We have always had a rule that if they say they are bored during the holiday we find them a job to do like dusting or outing clothes away. They tend to find something better to do pretty quickly

Hoper,

I have 2 DCs who would come under the normal definition of 'gifted'. Holidays are absolutely the best bit, because the 'ceilings' and 'pace fitted to the class' issues that arise in school just disappear. They can do what they want to do, at the level they want to do it at, for as long as they want to AND get lots of time to do stuff other than the 'academic / main interest / main area of ability' round that we all get stuck in during term time.

If you have an 'academically gifted' child who is 'easily bored', then their area of 'relative weakness' is likely to be in creativity and imagination (as in, a child can be very gifted in school subjects, but lack the imagination needed to create their own activity if it isn't laid on for them).

It would be helpful, in terms iof helping them to progress, as well as saving your sanity, to think of activities that will encourage that 'creative / imaginative' side as an adjunct to their 'academic ability'. Challenge cards - either home-made or you can get sets - might be an idea e.g. 'make a new board game to play with mum / dad / a friend' or 'Plan a route for a family walk. It should include.....' or 'Design a vehicle from Lego / paper / junk to take an egg from place a to Place B' ( a bridge is anotgher variant) or 'Create clues or a map for a treasure hunt, it needs to have x steps'. That way, you can be a faciliator, but it is your child who is putting in much more of the work / time.

Difficult , when they were little and I wasn't working it was wonderful . When they were younger and I was working it was a guilt inducing expensive time for me and a frustrating one for them having to be holiday clubs when they would have preferred to be at home ( especially the one with SEN)

Now they are teens , well youngest one is12, I think it is too long . Both dh and I work but I try to cut down madly in the holidays as my 16 year old would get up late and spend all day on Xbox if I wasn't there . The 12 year old is horrified at holiday scheme but not old enough to be at home alone so have to rely on two eldest if I am at work. We live rurally so no public transport so they are reliant on me to take them places .

We try to get all the jobs done; opticians, dentist etc and go away for a week day trips etc but it is expensive and we are 6 weeks in and certainly I think the 12 year old would happily return to school now .

We had 7 weeks and I'm a single parent who works full time with a 15 yo DD and I have very limited leave and can only take it at certain times (high demanding job) I took about a week leave in the holidays excluding about 10 days public holiday that I got at xmas and we went and visited my mum for about a week and we went on a small holiday at the other end of a country and DD had a surf life saving camp for four days.

But the rest of time she was on her laptop at home alone (apart from visiting friends a few days here and there) as the weather was shit, I wasn't home and we didn't have a lot of money. It can be very hard, not to mention the childcare costs when she was younger.

when goady threads go wrong.

Great post Teacherwith2 kids - but I suspect your helpfulness was not what she came here for!!
Thanks for the ideas!

Haha Boney!!!!

Teacher's ideas are excellent! I once did a treasure hunt for mine and a few of their friends when they were about 8. They had to go through the village and find eg the oldest house, the person on the war memorial who died furthest away from home, bring back five different leaves and identify the trees... They loved it, and it got them out of my hair for a good two hours.

I´m a teacher. The students at my school (abroad) finished on 26 June and will return on 1 September - by my reckoning that´s nine weeks.

Personally I feel that this length of time is good for the students.

For the parents I can understand it is frustrating (mine are both still young so no "I´m boooored" moaning...yet).

As I teacher I´d prefer a shorter summer holiday as I don´t like to get out of a routine and find it boring working at home during the break. My school doesn´t have half-terms and I think those would be great for students and teachers alike (I appreciate they can be a pain for parents, though).

I love it, wish it was longer as this year it's just under six weeks and has been seven in the past.

Never understand why parents moan about the holidays, children should be cherished not seen as a chore or burden.

Not too long here either; tbh its not as long as many places have as it is.

12y DD has kept busy this holiday - days out, meeting friends, sleepovers, swimming, etc. as I have I (again meeting friends, days outs - most with DD, some without.)

Holiday for a fortnight next week and then I need to spend some time doing some planning and prep, and DD needs to make sure she has everything ready for starting back at school.

TBH, if anything - it is going too quick!

I don't think having an active imagination and the capacity to entertain oneself are correlated either positively or negatively with intelligence. It's a separate personality trait.