Ideas to keep DSs (7 & 10) out of trouble for the next 4 weeks....

[chablis]

Gawd.. I'm hopeless at this school holiday thang....

It was easier when they were little - all painting and crafts and soft play.

Now my DSs are more like large dogs with endless energy, insatiable appetites and klutz-like tendencies

WHAT can I do with them for the next few weeks (indoor and outdoor?)to avoid us all going insane?

We've already done:

• model aircraft making & painting
• giant Lego model
• early blackberry picking
• cinema
• leisure centre (swimming)
• bit of cooking (blackberry crumble!)
• room tidying [massive failure... )
• cricket course
• cycling in park
• sleepover at friends

Aren't they meant to entertain themsleves by now?
But whenever I leave them alone for more than about an hour they end up fighting...

sleep in the garden in a tent - cook tea on a disposable BBQ

tie-die T-shirts

water fights

cinema at home - DVD, popcorn, make tickets

make your own newspaper

papier mache fish/pinata (balloon, watered down PVA, newspaper)

lend them a camera, print out their shots, make their own summer album.

I-SPY books

At 7 and 10 can't you let them out to play together, explore etc. Do boys of that age need managing during the hols?

Not getting at OP - genuine question.

LittleMiss -I know what you mean, but we live in a cul-de-sac which is then next to some quite busy roads, so there's nowhere for them to immediately get to IYSWIM.

The 7 year old has just turned 7, and the 10 year old not particularly forward-thinking or sensible, so I wouldn't really trust him to look after his brother.

They do go out in the garden or street to play, but it doesn't last long, or I find they have gone to one of the neighbouring kids houses to watch a DVD, which I'm not entirely comfortable about - I don't want loads of kids in my house, so I imagine other people probably feel the same?

It's relaly sad, but it seems that they are so used to structure and supervision that they are incapable of initiating stuff by themselves - when I was that age I was off playing at the bottom of the garden or at my Dad's allotment for hours!