Half-Term Chaos…
Half-Term Chaos… I know, your little bunnies have only just gone back to school, so before you know it, they’ll be off again as Half Term comes screaming along in a flash. Great eh!
Entertaining your little ones doesn’t have to cost a small fortune; kids are enthralled by the simplest of things, and when you take them out of their comfort zone and throw them into the midst of nature, they come alive with curiosity and glee. So, here are a few brilliant, back-to-basics ideas for keeping the kids entertained this half-term for next to nothing.
Water-Water everywhere
It’s easy to take our many lakes for granted and to think that people travel hundreds of miles to get up close and personal with our majestic waters.
It’s another great way to kill a few hours and have fun with the little ones, and it doesn’t cost anything at all.
Pick a lake that you have yet to visit and simply go exploring the shoreline to see what treasures you can pick up. Go to the Cumbria guide and look up our lakes series; there’s a lot of information there to help you decide where to go.
Dinosaur Hunting:
Well, not so much dinosaurs but certainly fossils, and there are plenty of great sites here in Cumbria where even the smallest person can discover 290 million-year-old fossils without too much effort.
Parton beach near Whitehaven is a great starting point. Here there is plenty of scree and rocks to pick through and lots of fossils to be discovered, mainly from the Carboniferous period, which lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago.
Fossils mainly include plant life, such as twigs, leaves, and stems, which are all easy to see and identify.
Also, you may stumble across volcanic glass, which is indeed reminiscent of explosive times.
The glassy, smooth, black, glass-like rock was formed after a major volcanic eruption, and as the lava cooled down so fast, what you are left with are these obsidian rocks.
The Beacon Science Week from 18 – 26 February
The nutty professors welcome you into their science lab for a week of crazy experiments and shows. Celebrating science, technology and engineering, giving the kids a chance to get stuck in and have hands on experience as well as learn a whole host of scientific facts and knowledge.
If you go into the woods today…
When my two were nippers, a day in the woods was always a treat. Obviously, we didn’t stray too far, and you don’t need to anyway. It was always a great day, immersed in nature, and the world seemed a million miles away as we traipsed and stumbled along. Picking up and discovering a raft of amazing objects—normally twigs, leaves, and stones—holds some kind of magical awe when you are three or four years old.
The bottom line is that kids enjoy it, and it’s a great way to spend a few hours that will undoubtedly result in many happy memories that will last a lifetime.
I’m the King of the Castle.
Once again, we are spoiled rotten. As if the lakes, the fells, and the coast were not enough, we have also been gifted many fantastic castles, which kids love.
Cumbria has lots to explore, and many are there just waiting for you to enjoy them at no cost whatsoever. Let their imaginations run wild as you regale them with stories of dragons, knights, and damsels in distress. Choose a castle and jump online beforehand, and you may learn something yourself. All have ghastly tales to tell, and if you can’t find anything, then make it up. Go check out Cumbrian castles on our website.
