Claire Balkind - Great Family Days In

TO MY GIRLS, MAISIE AND GEORGIE.

If you, like me, have ever felt that sense of panic when your kids stare up at you and ask what are we going to do now?, then this is the book for you. Hi. Im Claire, Mum to two girls and I am the sort of person who likes to have a plan for everything. As a teacher, I am always trying out new ways to make learning engaging and fun. Some work, and some dont, and it is this valuable process of trial and error that has developed my practice and also my ability to cope in the classroom.

Before I had kids, I didnt think it would be too hard to think ahead and source great ideas for how to spend our time together. And then I had kids. Very quickly, I realized that having an idea was one thing and carrying it out was quite another. I hadnt foreseen the moments when my kids would turn their little noses up at a plan I had concocted or when the activity I had intended to last until lunchtime took ten minutes and was over by 9am.

I know I am not alone. Parents all around the world are constantly being asked what now? by their kids, who in turn look to their grown-ups and expect a reply. It is a question that seems so simple to ask and yet can be so incredibly hard to answer. And it is also a question that is not going anywhere fast. Parenting is a round the clock job, and our kids will rely on us for solutions until they are old enough to answer it for themselves.

And the struggle really is real. With kids, weekends that used to be full of rest and relaxation become punctuated with a constant demand for things to do, and school holidays easily morph into an endless empty calendar that needs filling. The relentlessness of needing great ideas, and fast, is for me, one of the most challenging aspects of parenthood and it is the main reason this book exists.

In March 2020, when lockdown was on the horizon, I began to worry about how I would find answers to the inevitable what now question if we were stuck at home for days on end. My solution was to set up a Facebook group, which I called Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas, to share suggestions and strategies to cope. I never expected that within a month, the group would have over a million members from around the world, sharing some of the most innovative and inspirational ideas I have ever seen. I could also not have anticipated the astonishing level of support members, who have never met, have shown each other, which has made the community an incredibly welcoming place to be. From DIY board games, to playgrounds made of pallets, to creating holidays at home, the group showcased what is possible, despite the challenging circumstances.

What became clear is that you dont need to go out and spend money to have fun, nor do you need elaborate equipment and a detailed itinerary to enjoy family time together. Sometimes the only resources you need are the items around you, the things you already have which are so easy to overlook. I am the sort of parent who was always on the hunt for the next new thing to entertain my kids. And now I look around me and see my box of recycling as a treasure trove for crafts, my freezer as a storage cabinet for ice play and the nature in my garden as an endless free resource for everyday art. This seismic shift in my outlook has been the key to unlocking ideas for what to do next, and has revolutionized the way I parent and spend time with my own family, for the better.

There is no one size fits all way to fill your time with your kids. All families are totally unique and the sort of thing that might float your boat on the first Monday morning of the school holidays might sink someone elses. However what we all have in common is the need for answers and solutions to the universal question of what to do next. And this book, I hope, will provide you with just that. My family has had great fun experimenting with and testing out the ideas and I hope you find them really enjoyable, super useful and that ultimately they help you to make time at home with your family the best it can possibly be.

The aim of this book is to equip you with great ideas for what you can do at home as a family to enjoy your time together and arm you with the confidence and best strategies to make them work. There is no pressure, judgement or expectation, as every child has a long list of likes and dislikes, as do their parents! And, we all know, even with the best of intentions, things dont always quite work out how wed like or planned for.

Saying that, kids are highly adaptable, malleable and naturally curious. They constantly surprise us, challenge us and, if mine are anything to go by, encourage us to see the world through their fresh eyes. Despite the fact that kids often love to be in charge and get what they want, deep down they crave guidance, reassurance and answers dont we all! And that is where I hope this book can step in and be useful. To give you the confidence you need to show them what to do, how to do it and feel as calm and capable about the results as any parent can be.

Over the course of a day, we engage in many different activities at different times for different reasons. And the same is true of our kids. Sometimes, we crave something quiet and introspective to get on with, whereas at other times all we want to do is move our bodies and, in the words of my five-year-old, shake the sillies out. Sometimes a breath of fresh air and an earthy nature activity outside will be just what they need whereas at other times, something quieter involving paper, paint and pens will suit them best. This book reflects that variety.

Each chapter embraces a different type of activity you can do at home and the aim of that is not just so that there is a little something for everyone (although I hope that is true too), but so that the variety of what goes into a family day at home is represented, with a good plan to go with it.

At the very heart of this book is the desire to see family time at home as something to embrace with open arms. Ive spent years fearing rainy weekends, long summer holidays and, in general, just those gaps of time in between everything else that dont have a micro-plan of their own. And Ive come to see that this panic is pointless. It doesnt lead to greatness and it certainly doesnt benefit my kids. Having a few really good ideas up my sleeve and the confidence to do them has meant that I can look forward to family time at home. The activities in this book reflect this. They are there to remind you that you can totally do it, and that process of doing something together is as important, if not more, than the result.

I havent labelled any activities with the ages they are suitable for and there is a very good reason for this. I suppose, on the one hand, I am no expert in childhood development and I dont know the academic reasons behind why an art activity would be better suited for a three-year-old than a six-year-old. However, I am a (secondary school) teacher, and what I find works well for me in the classroom are activities that can be stretched to suit the needs of each child. It is a practice I adopt at home with my own kids. My two-year-old often does the same activity as her five-year-old sister, just needing more guidance, care and support.