Well, we're in the last few days before the school summer holidays start and I'm busy trying to make sure I've got enough activities planned to keep my two lovelies busy and me sane! As we're having another staycation this year I've decided to put together a little summer holiday pack for Amy stuffed with colouring books, new pens, reading books and of course some knitting!
I've also come up with a secret weapon - Mummy's fun vouchers!
The idea being that she can exchange these with me for fun activities throughout the 6 week break. You're welcome to print some out if they're of any use to you (although obviously you provide the treats!) the pdf file is here or of course you could make your own, tailored to your children.
Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and then Toby will be happy in the garden with lego and the paddling pool and I'll sneak in a little knitting time in the sun. Hope you have a great summer wherever you are and whatever you do. I'll pop in when I'm able, see you soon x
great plan with the vouchers, but my two are 18 and 20 .. but it may still work .. enjoy the sun . love wendy ♥
Posted by: tichmouses trinkets | July 15, 2009 at 12:30 PM
I love the idea of getting am activity set ready and as for the vouchers - fab!!!!
Posted by: Liz | July 15, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Fabulous, what a wonderful and thoughtful Mummy you are.
Jane
Posted by: Jane | July 15, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Julie - what a wonderfully imaginative person you are!!! The activity set is great, but the vouchers are a fantastic idea. Hope the sun shines on you, and all of the other mums who will be coping with the extra work (and fun) during the holidays.
Take care, Jenny
Posted by: Jenny H. | July 15, 2009 at 01:30 PM
I hope she enjoys Matilda - it's a great story.
Posted by: Liz T. | July 15, 2009 at 01:37 PM
That looks great! I wish I could do all Amy's activities this holiday - Matilda is excellent, and might mean she reads *all* the time in a bid to develop her magic powers :)
Posted by: Ruth | July 15, 2009 at 02:05 PM
What a lovely mummy you are, I see you included the BEST colouring books!
Posted by: lucy@theantidote | July 15, 2009 at 02:43 PM
Buone vacanze! I've bought two patterns (the edgehogs, of course, and the cupcakes), but in the reply mail, I don't find where dowload them. It's a probem in Lulu? thank you.
Laura.
Posted by: laura | July 15, 2009 at 03:03 PM
Sounds perfect Julie! I love the activity pack and vouchers! We always try to make a list at the beginning of the holiday of all the different fun things we'd like to do - but we never seem to stick to it and the time flies by! We're having another staycation too with holiday trips to the allotment ;o) Unfortunately the children have now decided that they don't like going to the allotment any more :o( but I'll be taking them there anyway!!!!
Lucy x
Posted by: Lucy Locket-Pocket | July 15, 2009 at 03:07 PM
Great minds think alike! We've just spent a couple of hours making a "Big tub o' fun" stuffed to the gills with crafty goodness in little bags, the idea being that the monsters can grab what takes their fancy and tidy it all away at the end. Tiny Small is 'testing' it though it remains ti be seen whether she'll actually put it all back ...
I have been making a list of fun activities and was going to write them down and put them in a box so small hands could grab one when they are bored. I think I'll steal some of your vouchers to put in there too!
Posted by: dottycookie | July 15, 2009 at 03:31 PM
That looks like so much fun, I love your idea of the vouchers. Thank you for sharing them, I saved them for my future little one. :)
I hope you have a fun staycation and that the weather collaborates. :)
Posted by: Pink Sky | July 15, 2009 at 04:24 PM
Oooh, Mathilda is the last Roald Dahl book we're savoring over here, too. Can I recommend a few others for your daughter? Has she read The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane yet? Or Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat? So, so good. Have a lovely summer!
Posted by: greetingarts | July 15, 2009 at 04:31 PM
Looks like you are ready for a perfectly delightful break. The vouchers are fun, we have done a similar type system before. The girls are getting so big now and they have no trouble figuring out fun things to do. ~Kelly
Posted by: Kelly | July 15, 2009 at 04:49 PM
What a great idea. Enjoy your summer and hope the sun shines for us all but especially for dear Toby. Love Zoe x
Posted by: Zoe | July 15, 2009 at 04:55 PM
What a wonderful idea. I hope the weather is kind and that you have a lovely break.
Posted by: Jane Weston | July 15, 2009 at 05:49 PM
you are the sweetest thing! quite possibly the Best Mummy in The World - is there an award?
Posted by: katie | July 15, 2009 at 07:13 PM
Wow what a fab Mummy you are, the activity bags look brilliant and the voucher idea is fantastic. I wish someone had thought of that idea when mine were small
Have a great staycation and I hope the weather is kind
Posted by: Jackie | July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
The vouchers are such a great idea! I had a talk with No2 this evening about going steady over the holidays and making sure he finds lots of free things to do! Not so easy now he's almost 13!
Posted by: Dragonfly | July 15, 2009 at 11:02 PM
We've been plotting similar summer action - I have a great new book of Greek Myths for kids that I think both the boys will like to be read. We've negotiated the daily screen time quota and have our big list of fun activities started. Bring on the holidays!
Posted by: Ali | July 15, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Your children are soooo lucky!
Posted by: Maureen | July 16, 2009 at 07:12 AM
Please could I come and play? Or at least watch you knit! The voucher idea is brilliant Julie ... and I love the look of all those colouring books. Oh to be a kid again!
Posted by: Mary | July 16, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Enjoy the holidays Julie .... we look forwards to seeing more little animals soon.
Posted by: sheila | July 16, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Very sweet! The voucher idea is great - I´ll copy it and Annika (6) and Sebastian (3) will enjoy their summer holidays!
Daggi from Cologne
Posted by: Daggi Wurzer | July 16, 2009 at 12:36 PM
what a lovely summer package! amy must be very happy with it!! the vouchers are such a good idea!!!
have a wonderful summer, julie!!!
Posted by: kendall*micayla | July 16, 2009 at 01:21 PM
What a fabulous mummy you are! I especially love the rosie flo books(only just recently available here in Canada) but I mostly want them for myself! Have a great summer break!
Linax
Posted by: lina | July 16, 2009 at 05:31 PM
Have a great holiday. Love the idea of the vouchers almost makes me wish my grown up children were still little so I could use some my self LOL
Saw the rosie flo book in a museum book shop and thought they were lovely
I always enjoyed the long summer holidays with my two and the gang of others that used to end up in our house every year
Posted by: Wendy | July 16, 2009 at 06:47 PM
that looks like a lovely collection of goodys! the vouchers are an excellent idea. hope the weather is good for you.
Posted by: janet | July 16, 2009 at 08:29 PM
Those vouchers are such a wonderful idea for your daughter. Staycations are quite the thing! I very much hope you have stacks of sunny knitting time xx
Posted by: Emma | July 17, 2009 at 10:32 AM
What a wonderful idea, hope you all have a lovely summer staycation.
love
Alison
x
Posted by: Alison | July 17, 2009 at 06:49 PM
Hi there! I don't have any children yet, but when I do, I hope I come up with ideas like yours, they're absolutely brilliant!! I love the vouchers! Anyway, I wanted to tell you that after reading some blogs and yours in particular, I felt inspired to start my own. Still a little nervous about it though...! Do pop round when you have a minute!
Louise x
Posted by: Louise | July 19, 2009 at 07:53 PM
That looks like a wonderful fun pack for Amy! Do the coloring books have paper dolls as well? I am working on similar goodie packs for my daughters for our trip to Hawaii (7 hours on a plane each way).
The vouchers are also a wonderful idea.
I bet Toby loves the Legos. My Asperger's daughter always likes to build things. She always liked those magnetic building sets too. It kept her busy for hours.
Posted by: Wyldhare | July 20, 2009 at 02:28 AM
your vouchers are totally brilliant...
Posted by: Fancy Elastic | July 20, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Hi Julie,
Enjoy your summer break ~ such a terrific idea putting together activity packages and I love the vouchers!
Marie x
Posted by: marie | July 20, 2009 at 04:56 PM
What a fabulous idea Julie and thanks for sharing!!
I hope you have a lovely long and sunny summer with plenty of knitting :)
xxx
Posted by: Lesley | July 21, 2009 at 09:01 PM
I love the voucher idea! Do they need to behave first to get the vouchers or is it given immediately ready to claim?
Posted by: baby hair bows | July 22, 2009 at 06:13 AM
The vouchers are adorable. What a lovely idea. You are a fantastic mum. My daughters would cash them all in on the first day. Here's hoping the weather improves for days by the paddling pool and the sound of clicking of knitting needles....
Caroline
x
Posted by: Caroline | July 23, 2009 at 07:04 PM
great ideas.
Posted by: Hena Tayeb | July 23, 2009 at 08:27 PM
Lovely idea!
I like Rosie Flo books too. Small magazine has also published what looks like a fab colouring book too.
Posted by: dottyspots | July 30, 2009 at 09:28 PM
Hi Julie,
I`ve been reading your blog for a while now and I like it very much.
The voucher idea is great and I have kind of translated it into german for my daugthers because our summer holidays are starting this weekend.
My question now is, am I allowed to publish the german version on my blog and share it with others?
I wish you a great summer and hope, you have time to answer my request.
Greetings Vera
Posted by: Vera | July 31, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Vouchers! What a terrific idea! You are such a great mom. I think I am going to incorporate this idea into motivating my son in our homeschool. He loves prizes and will do just about anything to earn them. If he had a bunch of choices geared toward his interests, he would be over the moon with enthusiasm. I see some sort of voucher jar or bulletin board in our future! Thanks for the wonderful idea! Hope your summer break is sailing along!!
Posted by: Joanie @ The Bright Side | August 12, 2009 at 04:41 PM