How to Make the Most of the School Holidays With Your Kids
“What! REALLY? You’re already on school holidays?” 😲
That was my reaction when a teacher friend told me his break had started.
I hadn’t even realised the school holidays were upon us again.
Then I asked what he had planned.
“Not much. Just chilling,” he said.
And for a moment, I vaguely remembered life before kids—the kind of break where you could actually do nothing.
But honestly?
I prefer life WITH kids. 🙌
School holidays can feel long—but they won’t last forever
I know some parents groan when school holidays roll around. That’s understandable. Juggling work, tired kids, changing routines and a house that somehow gets messier every eleven minutes is a lot.
But these seasons with our kids are finite.
Before long, they’ll have their own plans, their own friends and a much less enthusiastic response to, “Want to hang out with Dad?”
So rather than trying to plan two perfect weeks, I like to ask a simpler question:
What is one small thing we could do together that feels different from an ordinary day?
Five simple school-holiday activities for families
- Try a three-playground challenge: visit three local playgrounds and let the kids rate each one.
- Take public transport somewhere new: for young kids, the bus, ferry or train can be the adventure.
- Go on a photo scavenger hunt: look for something red, something tiny, something funny and something you’ve never noticed before.
- Make a lounge-room campsite: build a blanket fort, pack snacks and read stories by torchlight.
- Let the kids choose: write three realistic options on scraps of paper and draw one from a bowl.
None of these needs to be expensive.
None needs to fill the whole day.
And none needs to go perfectly to become a memory your kids talk about later.
Make the choosing part of the adventure
One thing we’ve learned through Dad Certified is that anticipation matters.
When kids help choose the activity, pack the bag and talk about what might happen, the adventure starts before you leave home.
That’s why we created the Dadventure Deck and Family Indoor Activity Deck: to make it easier to get from “What should we do?” to actually doing something together.
Whether the skies stay clear or it pours all week, pick one idea, make a little fuss about it and enjoy the people you’re doing it with.
The goal isn’t a flawless school holiday.
It’s one more story your family gets to keep. ❤️
Cheering you on!
Jeremy Jones
Dad Certified
Adapted from an update originally shared with Dad Certified subscribers on 5 July 2024.