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Though it feels like the Christmas decorations have only just come down, school holidays are already upon us again! For families with children in preschool, kindy or primary years, school holidays mean that difficult juggle of organising appropriate care while the parents bring home the bacon. If you don’t have extended family to fall back on, here are a few options for school holiday care:
Vacation care
Vacation care and OOSH (out of school hours) care are offered by both profit-making agencies and not-for-profit organisations, such as the local council, YMCA and church organisations. Vacation care programs are often run within a school, and are open to children from everywhere – not just those that attend that school – so it's worth looking further afield for places, or try our Vacation Care search for a service in your area.
There will be a timetable of daily activities, from trips to the cinema to theme-based activities at the centre, so you can choose specific days that might appeal to your child.
For many kindergarten kids, this might be their first experience of vacation care, so on their first day allow yourself extra time to get them settled into the new environment, and try and choose a day when other school friends might be attending.
Family day care and child care centres
For care for preschool children, family day care operators and long day care centres often have extra capacity during holidays, because enrolled families go away. So ask around the local centres to see if they have any spots available.
If your work is flexible or you are just a few days short, occasional care is another option for children aged five and under. Occasional care is a flexible ad-hoc service, where parents pay only for the time their child is in care. They are independently run and each will operate slightly differently. Try our Occasional care search for a service in your area.
Child care swap
By teaming up with several other working parents in your class, you can organise a child care swap, rotating to each take one day off work to host a play date with several other children. This can be a great way of reducing the amount of annual leave you take while your child is cared for in a home environment with friends, and saves the cost of formal care. Here are a few tips to make sure it works:
- Ensure the kids all like each other and can get on for long periods of time.
- Try to keep numbers even, to avoid any odd ones out.
- Try to share with parents who have the same parenting styles as you, so there is agreement on discipline, food and activities.
- Agree times and boundaries in advance with the other parents.
- Make sure you have enough car seats to accommodate the number of children, in case you want to take a trip out.
School holiday camps
School holiday camps can be a great way for older children to remain active through the holidays, extending skills in something they love while also being cared for during set hours. Today, there are school camps for almost anything – from soccer and dancing to robotics and craft, and a range of organisations offer them:
- Department of Sport and Recreation offer daily camps that include activities such as rock climbing, archery and team-building pursuits. Some also offer overnight camps, check with your local department.
- Local sports/aquatic centres have school holiday programs for all ages – intensive swimming programs, sports, trampolining and more.
- Sports clinics – netball, soccer, AFL, ballet, tennis, whatever sport your child enjoys there will be a camp for it. They are often advertised through the school, local sports centre, or online.
- Most museums have school holiday programs covering a wide range of topics.
- Council programs: the library often has workshops for kids during school holidays – science classes, book clubs, coding and more.
Some camps run for just a few hours, others run for a full day, so check their timetable before you book. Dependent on the activities involved, school holiday camps can cost more than vacation care or occasional care.
DIY care
If your work is flexible enough to allow you the time to be home during the school holidays, try to make sure you have a few things planned to keep everyone busy. Here are a few ideas:
- Spend a day cooking together.
- Hold a movie day.
- Take a trip to the local museum for the day.
- Shopping centres often have free school holiday activities for kids, including live entertainment shows, and art and craft activities.
- Outdoor family fun time is so often forgotten in the busy life of school and work. So take the opportunity to get some fresh air, pack a picnic and head out for a bike ride.
- Go to the beach. Even if it’s not the best weather, a trip to the beach is always fun for kids, even to just look at the rock pools and feel the sand between your toes.
- Use the time to create that veggie patch you have talked about, or tackle a family project together that you never normally have time for.
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