Looking for some fun, outdoorsy and cheap summer ideas for your kids? Nanny Emmy has plenty of activities to keep your little ones entertained during the summer break.

1.Mini Attenborough

One thing I love doing on a hot day is going to the local park, forest or woods and going on a nature hunt! In the spirit of David Attenborough, it is always fun to teach your children about the world around them and searching for specific species is a great way to explore. You can find little booklets online or make your own. I like to put in little drawings or printed out images of the creatures, next to a big tick box. Include things like squirrels, butterflies, bumblebees etc. All depending on your area of course and depending on the age of the children you can make it harder, for example looking for specific species of birds and butterflies. For the older kids I like to leave a space for pictures and give them a camera to try capture a shot of the creature for the booklet. End the day with an ice cream or bring a picnic for a break in between searching. All round fun day for both kids and adults.

2. The Random Bag

Now I love the random bag because you never know what your day is going to look like which makes it fun. Get everyone in the family to sit down and write 10 things on little pieces of paper that would be a fun activity to do. Fold them all up and place them in a bag that the kids can decorate if they wish. Every time you wonder ‘hmm what shall we do today?’, the kids can go pick out a random activity. You can separate the bags depending on a range of factors if you want to be specific. If the kids are very different ages, they can have a bag each of age appropriate activities. You can have a sunny day and rainy day bag. A chill activity or energetic activity bag. Or lump them all in the same! I find it fun picking out an activity and then forming the day around it. Here a some ideas for activities:

- Bike ride - Cupcake making - Build a fort - Feed the ducks - Football - Watch a movie - Make Ice lollies - Go to soft play - Arts and Crafts -Have a picnic - Swimming.

Whatever you want, throw it in, it's also quite fun to put a few Summer treats in there if you are able to like ‘Trip to the toy shop’ or ‘Trip to Legoland!’.

3. Rate my…

This is another fun one that encourages adventure. Pick any ending you want for Rate My…for example, Rate my Ice cream Shop, Rate my parks, Rate my Pizza Slice. You can make a document of all the different places you have been to and give it a rating out of 10 plus a little detailed review from the kids to find the best ones in your area. Sometimes it’s funny to even get a little video recording of your kid trying and reviewing their experience. Every week you can head to the next spot to try something different!

4. Guinness World Record Attempts

For this you’ll need to search up some weird and wonderful Guiness World Records that would be funny to give a go. Some kids have that big book full of all the World Records. Every now and again when you’re wondering what to do. Have a go at some of the funny world record challenges such as: putting the most pencils in a beard a time (sorry bearded dads!), tallest stack of hats worn at once, most origami swans made in 2 minutes. Trust me there’s some weird and wacky ones that the kids will find hilarious.

There’s some interesting and different ideas to get you started. Most of all enjoy the time off together, move lots, meet with friends and cherish the little moments.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss in future blogs please do send an email to nannyemmyquestions@gmail.com