How to keep kids busy this summer

As a mother of two I completely understand how stressful it is to manage children. School offers some respite and a breather from this task .With the mercury rising, schools being closed and the kids cooped up indoors it is a challenge to keep them busy as we all know how long the attention span of most kids is. I spoke to a few mums who shared tips on keeping the tiny tots busy during this period.

I enjoy vacation time with my 11 year old daughter. In fact I look forward to it. She loves craft work and we generally select a project and do it ourselves. Till a few years back we made floating castles in the clouds with card paper, soft cardboard and cotton, paper machete animals, flowers etc. This year she wants to do baking and basic cooking. Vacations are great for bonding.

Sumita Roy, Yoga Expert

This is the only time of the year when the kids are free of the torturous schedule of school and after school activities. I don't like to enrol the kids in summer camps and be bound by  some timetable again. Let them be free of schedules. I take them to visit grandparents , the biodiversity park early in the morning apart from swimming in the evenings. My 5 yr old loves baking so he helps me with all preps. My teen daughter loves to dance so a long session of dance for us. works pretty well .As she's an avid reader, I get loads of book for her to read.

Ruchi yadav,Dentist

Create a Summer Diary. Encourage the little ones to keep a Summer Diary or scrapbook. They can take photos of special days and write about them. It will become a lovely memory book for them in the future — and also keep them busy for hours. We all know that newspapers are one of the most easily available options that tell us about what all is happening around us. There are different sections in a newspaper like  Sports , articles related to changes in the weather , those  related to the Government of India , about birds or animals, or  natural calamities. You need to go through the newspaper everyday and find out news articles related to the sections you will choose. Make a scrapbook with pictures and articles.

Shilpa Din Bhatia, Export Manager

 Watering our flower pots or plants in the garden and you tell her the benefits of plants while doing so.Give her interesting books, like educational stories, story books, activities books which can keep her engaged as she is small to read but she recognizes all the characters in the pic.I try to involve my kid in cleaning her bed, shoes and arranging her toys.

Jashneet Puri

Childhood is such an eager stage in which a kid can find one way or the other to stay busy. But as a mother I have to keep in mind that he stays busy with as much creative and interactive stuff which builds a strong foundation for him. Stuff like colouring books, flash cards, story books have been  mom’s getaway for years..  RHYMES/CARTOONS..!! Also to keep them busy I make them listen to sensible songs (even though they are hard to find these days) and have to sing and dance for and with them ;-). Home work for holidays like filling scrapbook is mostly for mom’s but keeps the kids busy too. Lastly for some enjoyment, arranging kids party at home to make him open up with public interactions.

Priya Seth, Home Chef

As my kid just started going play school I make her learn fruits name Vegetable name etc. Plus I teach her some easy things in kitchen. Like applying butter on bread. Fun colouring books and rhymes CDs help a lot.

Sharmishtha Sharma Ghosh , blogger.

If  the child is interested in art and craft you could pool in kids from the neighbourhood and let them do their own painting and some origami

Deeksha uttam Seth, Operations Manager.

I completely involve myself with my kiddos and carve out a summer project. This year it is creating our own herb and vegetable garden from scratch. From making signs, buying pots to planning seeds, maintaining the plants and reaping the benefits of our hardwork , we plan to do it all !

Nehaa Singh Kamboj, Content writer.

Having Two kids with an age difference and the difference in personality leads to confusion about what to do. This time rather then simply going by the adverts and inserts in newspaper took my time to research what would be better for kids. My elder one Konark is a curious personality so got him enrolled to a relatively new science ,Graphology or the handwriting analysis workshop. The younger one Kanishk is fascinated with colors etc so got him enrolled into an Arts and crafts class.

Vani Sharma

 Colouring books  encourage coordination, creativity and bonding .Lots Enid Blyton books to encourage imagination

Gagandeep nagpal

Summer is here, which means kids are home for the next 1-2 months! As mother, I want my son to keep learning, exploring, and of course, have fun during the summer. I keep my son busy with these activities. Me n Amolik my son planted a flower in a planter.We daily visit local library to check out books and participate in story time.I often call his friends home and they play with water balloon.I made a outdoor chalkboard so that he can play.He loves cooking that’s why I make sure that he help my cook in kitchen so that he learn new techniques of cooking.I make him practice math with math fact games.He also enjoys Roller Skating.

Priyanka Bhargava

My son is 8 years old and for the past  2 yearrs we both try and spend time on activities which he loves. I have never ever stopped my son from pursuing what he loves,so we try different activities for a set period of days. Swimming is his favourite sport and summers are the best time to get into the pool hence I enrolled him in a nearby pool and he looks forward for it everyday. He s a foodie and loves to cook so has also been learning to cook and bake simple dishes viz, eggs , chappatis ,tea cakes etc. I love his dedication and want him to pursue whtever he desires.

Pooja Patil Vashistha, Director- Ananthaa Events.

 I involve my daughter in in house water play, painting, swimming yoga, dancing and also enroll in some summer camp so that she learns new skills.

Swati Kumar, Entrepreneur.

What am i doing with my kids? Honestly we are making popsicles and playing Ludo.Ya this summer is all about chilling out.Did I mention I got some interesting books for my kiddos from Isckon. So they are learning all about faith, philanthrophy and self realization.