WOW what a summer!!

This summer was our first proper summer holiday, 6 weeks of no school or nursery, just stays with grandparents whilst I was at work.  Working in retail a lot of the time over many holidays from half terms, to the full summer holiday I hear the words "I can't wait till you go back to school!" barked at stressed out parents trying to finish their food shopping.  I know a lot of the time it is just the stress of the situation they are in, but I also know that it can also be a result of having bored, whiny children over a long period of time.  For these reasons I was apprehensive about our first summer, would I end up saying those same words?? Would I be tearing my hair out?? Would I be running from the school gates on the first day back shouting "FREEEEDOOOOM!"

We managed to fill the whole six weeks with lots of day trips rather than any long trips away, we had a few days visiting the beach, usually trying to arrive first thing in the morning for breakfast whilst the beaches are still empty.  Cornwall is a beautiful place to live so it is easy for us to have a 'staycation', and being so close to Dartmoor we also had many a day trip visiting different parts of the more, we searched for specific landmarks using a book called Dartmoor 365, which gave the AJ's the opportunity to try and have a go at map reading and using a compass.

We also are fortunate that our family own a field, and within that field they have built a cabin, which meant we could have shelter to camp out overnight on two separate occasions watching the sun go down and the stars come up, which they enjoyed spotting with the use of a small book of stars.  All this plus day trips out locally meant our summer holiday seemed to be over far too quickly for my liking! And I may not  be saying this closer to the time, but I am actually looking forward to their next school holiday, talking of which it's impossible to believe that the first week back is over already, and that (naughty me!) I haven't managed to write anything for nearly a year!! Sooo here's hoping I do many more activities with the children and share them on here more regularly instead of constantly forgetting.