It’s been a month since my son broke up for the summer holidays. And yes you read that right, we have 12 weeks of school holidays here in Spain starting from the 22nd of June.
Long gone the anxiety that I use to face back in the UK, as I recall dreading the upcoming 6 weeks. Nope, living in Spain makes you one tough cookie when it comes to dealing with the kids summer break! The key is organisation, knowing what you want to do when the holiday starts.
If you have a home with a pool then that’s great. Guaranteed that a few weeks before the holidays the children will be craving the pool every day. Starting at the end of April the temperature get pretty hot, and when they break up, it’s a great excuse for them to spend most of the day just cooling down and taking it easy. I especially love this time when I don’t have to face the school run, finally a break and lie in for us and the good weather to look forward to.
Since the holidays began, it’s been quite a challenge to keep the boy busy. So far we have gone ‘fishing’ by the river, took a trip to the city, during the weekends it’s a day trip to the beach snorkeling as well as visiting a few heladerias on the way. It was only one week in, and I was already running out of things to do! Then I remembered seeing an advert at our local bar. The local council was offering summer sports school for children aged 6-13 years.
Without hesitation, I signed him up for the next four weeks! The ayuntamiento runs the club until the end of July and organised by volunteers who have experience in working with children. The activities run Monday to Friday from 09:00-13:00. He meets new friends and do some fun activities that is spread out during the month. It’s a great sanity saver for us parents too!
It’s a usual thing for parents here in Spain to send their children to a summer camp over the holidays With 12 weeks to spend with the kids, I really do not blame them. There are a lot of them that offer different activities from outdoor stuff, horse riding, football, farm, camping, learning English etc. It really depends on what you child is into and what you think they might enjoy. They also offer half days, full days and even a full weeks or month stay!
So far we are in week three of our little ones first experience in summer camp, the first few days were somewhat challenging, but thankfully he’s made friends and now loves taking part in different things every day. The first hour is usually spent doing summer homework and after that, they take part in activities, such as craft workshops, athletics, football, tennis and much more.
As you can see all that running and swimming around can take its toll on a very active and excitable 7-year-old…well, at least until we get home.
Image Credit: Malasmadres
4 comments
I can relate to the challenge of keeping kids engaged during long holidays, and summer camps are such a great option. For something like a summer sports school, adding activities that build focus and discipline—like martial arts—could really enhance the experience. Karate or Taekwondo sessions, even once a week, can help children develop confidence, respect, and self-control, which are invaluable skills they can carry into other aspects of life.