School aged children are used to leading active and regimented days. During school holidays this routine is broken and without stimulating  activity children can quickly become bored. Constantly coming up with new and interesting things to do is extremely difficult for busy parents.

Here we are going to look at some of the things that you can do to try and make your children's time away from school more enjoyable and rewarding.

Vacation Care Centres

During school holidays many councils organise vacation care for children from 5 - 12 yrs. These programs offer a variety of activities and may include trips to the movies or ten-pin bowling etc. Bookings are essential and it is a good idea to book well ahead of the school break.

Park Ideas

Children of all ages love to be outside and there are plenty of parks available for families. Some allow bikes, scooters etc, while others have designated areas for skateboards and roller blades. Pack up a picnic and have fun.

Here is a list of ideas for fun family activities at the park:

• Fly a kite
• Take a ball
• Tennis racquet
• Cricket
• Baseball / Softball
• Go on a bush walk, take a reference book on nature / local wildlife, so you can identify flowers, trees and various vegetation and wildlife
• Take your camera, binoculars, drawing paper, coloured pencils
• Enquire if there are ducks or other wildlife at the park you are going to - can you feed them, if so take some bread
• Are dogs allowed [on a leash]? Don't forget your water bowl for your dog
• Why not organise your own Mini-Olympics, invite family and friends to the park, make medals and have ribbons, take lots of photos if you have a video, don't forget it
• Make model/paper aeroplanes before your outing, go to the park and fly them
• Find a park, which has a lake, enquire if you are allowed to sail model boats in the water
• Take your video/camera, capture those precious moments

• Set up a camp in your back yard, have a barbeque, if you are sleeping under canvas, cook a breakfast in the morning.
• Go fishing, make enquiries at your local council as to where your local creek / river is and check to see if fishing is permitted.
• Organise a bike riding day, for adults as well as the children. Hire bikes and helmets for the adults if required. Pack a lunch, take a small first aid kit / or mobile phone.
• Have a day at the beach, pack a picnic and go on a beach scavenger hunt, collect shells [ensure there is no living creature in the shell] driftwood, feathers, small pebbles etc, and later make a collage from your day at the beach.
• Visit your local airport and watch the planes take off and land, some of the major airports have organised tours you can go on, and bookings may be essential. Check with your airport.

These ideas will provide a starting point for entertaining your children during holidays and weekends. Remember, family activities can be fun, inexpensive, readily available and are only limited by your imagination.