Summer Holidays: A Survival Strategy

School summer holidays; some parents apparently look forward to them….some of them (well, me anyway) feel slightly differently.  Although it may be good to have a break from the daily routine, there’s no doubt that school holidays can be expensive, especially for parents who have to fund full-time childcare – even those who are able to be at home with their children find themselves constantly forking out for extras and, especially if the weather’s bad, struggling to find something to entertain their beloved offspring. Sadly even The Edinburgh Reporter can’t offer you free nursery facilities – but we have managed to find some things to make stay-at-home holidays (I’m afraid I can’t bring myself to type staycation…but if you have a luxury yurt and a hummus tree in your back garden, feel free..) more fun and less wearing for all parties. What’s more, many of these activities are free or very low cost – leaving more money for the essentials, like ice cream. And gin.

Dutchman MC Escher was a one-man art movement: his graphic art images are instantly recognisable, but his name means little to most people in the UK. He loved the repeat patterns of Islamic art and the way that they could create visual puzzles. At the Wonder Worlds! drop in workshops you can take part in a range of activities inspired by MC Escher’s amazing world and decorate a special creation to take home using your own unique stamp design. Create peculiar portraits and make the impossible possible by designing your own fantastical world-in-a-box to add to the NGS’s weird and wonderful ‘wall of worlds‘. For families with children aged 4-12 years. 2-4pm, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July 2015, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art TWO, Belford Road. Entry to the exhibition normally costs £9/£7 (NGS members free), but will be free for families participating in these workshops. No booking required, just come along.

I once had a schoolfriend whose very smart garden was bordered by a stream. There’s something about water that fascinates even the laziest child (me), and we spent many a happy hour paddling about in those rather murky waters (and lived). The Water of Leith Visitor Centre has arranged lots of activity sessions this summer, from Minibeast Magic to River Dipping, Scrapheap Art, Wilderness Survival Techniques and Wood Crafts. Dates vary – full details can be found here. Each event costs £4 (accompanying adult free) and takes place 2-3.30pm at Water Of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. Booking is essential and may be made by calling the Centre on 0131 455 7367 or emailing admin@waterofleith.org.uk.

If your child would prefer a spot of film-making, Zoo Arts Extra Animation Workshops offer up to four days of stop motion animation techniques, including outdoor filming and sound recording. Come with family or friends – or by yourself! Book for all or just part of the project, which starts on Saturday 4th July and continues on Monday 6th, Wednesday 8th and Friday 10th July 2015. For children aged 9 years or over and adults. 10am-4pm each day, North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. £1/50p per session for Good Neighbour Card Holders and £5/£3 for everyone else, snacks/lunch provided. For more information and to book please call 0131 315 2151 or pick up a flyer at NEA. The final production will be screened at the Filmhouse in August.

Many famous artists have painted, drawn and sculpted their pets; Toulouse-Lautrec painted his horses, Gwen John painted her cat and David Hockney painted his dachshunds. At artist Damian Callan’s Summer Art School you will be out on location drawing dogs and other animals, then some pets will visit the studio to sit for their own portraits! Experiment with painting, printmaking, and sculpting from recycled materials. You can join the group for two (£90), three (£135) or five (£225) days, 10am-4pm each day at WASPS Studios, West Park Place, Dalry (and on location). Age range approximately 7-14 years. If you would like to book, download the application form here.

If you’re 8-12 years old and would rather look after animals than paint them, why not be a Farmer’s Helper? Gorgie City Farm offers activities every weekday throughout the holidays – you could be mucking out a pig, picking fruit, walking a goat, grooming a guinea pig or planting potatoes – farm work is nothing if not varied! Each day’s session runs from 10am to 12.30pm and costs £10; you can sign up for just one day or lots. If you would like to book please email education@gorgiecityfarm.org.uk or call 0131 337 4202. Gorgie City Farm is at 51 Gorgie Road; it is a community-owned initiative, aiming to educate inner-city children and adults about farming and food production and to promote social inclusion by offering volunteering opportunities for all.

Edinburgh Libraries have masses of activities organised for the holidays – and every single one of them is free! Crafts, stories, Lego, Minecraft, spies, detectives, wizardry, myths & legends, retro games, quizes, puppets, creative writing, origami…and much more. At some libraries activities take place once a week, others have something programmed every single day – so pop into your local library (or try another one for a change) or check the libraries’ Facebook pages for more information (the posters above are just a few examples – almost every library has something going on). And don’t forget the Summer Reading Challenge Record Breakers – read books and win rewards (many of the libraries’ activities are also connected to the Challenge). If you would like a list of Edinburgh libraries, their locations and opening hours, click here.

Many churches organise clubs during the holidays and all are welcome. St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church (13 George Street) is running free summer fun activities ‘for children of all ages’ in its courtyard every Wednesday, 11.30am-1pm, and all participants will receive a voucher to use in the church’s Undercroft Cafe. On Wednesday 8th July Frances Cooper will lead a singing workshop, and on Wednesday 15th Mrs Mash the Storytelling Cook returns to enthrall all; details of each week’s activities are on the church’s website here.

Meanwhile the Missionaries of Charity invite children aged 5-12 years to join in their summer programme, which will take place 3-5pm every weekday afternoon from 6th July at St Mary’s Star of the Sea Parish Hall, 106 Constitution Street. There will be plenty of activities, culminating in a family outing on the last day of the club, Saturday 1st August. More information and booking forms are available from the Sisters’ Convent, 18 Hopetoun Crescent.

Lots of local churches and other organisations in South-West Edinburgh are joining together to host The Tent, a week of events in Saughton Park (Balgreen Road) for local people. For primary children there will be a holiday club each morning from Monday to Friday, with singing, dancing, drawing, crafts, games, drama and Bible stories; in the afternoons there will be sports, drama, music and art for primary and secondary age children, and from 6pm there’ll be a programme of family and community events. On Saturday everyone is invited to a Family Fun Day, and the final event will be Community Church on Sunday morning. The Tent will take place 13th-19th July 2015; children’s events will cost 50p per child, with evening and weekend events all free. You will need to sign up for the children’s events – the rest will operate on a drop-in basis. For more information see The Tent’s website here or its Facebook page here.

Out in Corstorphine and Fairmilehead, they’re certainly not banking on summer weather – Fairmilehead Church and St Ninian’s Parish Church are inviting children aged 5-11 years to become Polar Explorers – they’ll even be making an igloo from plastic milk bottles! Crafts, challenges, games, drama, jokes and lots more. Each club will run in the mornings, 10th-14th August 2015 at St Ninian’s, 144 St John’s Road and Fairmilehead Church, 1a Frogston Road West ; the booking form for Fairmilehead’s club can be downloaded from the church’s website here, and if you would like more information about St Ninian’s club, please call their Church Office on 0131 539 6204.

The beach is the place to be in Portobello – especially from Monday 3rd to Friday 7th August 2015, when qualified coaches and youth workers will be running sports and beach games for all children aged 5 or over. The On The Beach programme will run from 2 to 4pm each afternoon and it’s completely free – they’re even providing free drinks and fruit. You can sign up on the day – meet the organisers on the sands in front of the Swimming Pool.

If arts and crafts are your favourite things, look no further than Blackbird Studios. This new local business offers handmade products from independent artists and makers – and now it’s offering children aged 8-12 years the chance to spend a week working with a qualified art teacher, in a workshop that will run 10am-12 noon from Monday 13th to Friday 17th July 2015.  Each session costs £10, which includes all materials. If you would like to book, contact sheilaangus2@gmail.com or call in to Blackbird Studios, 40 Comiston Road.

Hockey was very much not my favourite thing at school, but guess what? Some people like it! So many, in fact, that Erskine Stewart Melville’s Hockey Club Easter Camp was booked up in no time – so are they doing a summer one? NO! They’re doing FOUR! 6-10th July for S1-6, 13th-17th July for P5-P7, and 27th-31st July for those aged 10-14 years; each of these camps will run 9am-1pm. The fourth camp will be a special week of Under-18s Skill Sessions, and will run 2-4pm, 13th-17th July. All camps cost £100 for the week. The Under-18s Skill Sessions are for those who want to take their hockey to the top level, but the other three camps are just as much for first-time hockey players as the more experienced, and sticks will be available to borrow for those trying the game for the first time. Coaches will include the current Scottish Under 16s Coach and Scottish Internationals. Full information is on the ESM Hockey Club website here, and if you would like a booking form, you should email HockeyCamps@esmhc.com. All camps will take place at ESMHC’s home ground on East Fettes Avenue.

The National Museum of Scotland is always a good place to take children – with the added advantage that it’s interesting for adults too. This summer NMS offers a huge range of activities throughout the holidays; themes include the International Year of Light (make your own periscope, find out about animals’ night vision), Victorian Photography (create your own steampunk ‘Victorian face’ photo, create a Victorian ‘selfie’ kit, dress up for a portrait, build a simple camera), Waterloo (make your own medal, or a mini-version of the Bronze Imperial Eagle captured at the battle, see Falkirk District Wargames Club in action ) and Meet the Expert (meet and talk to real scientists). Full details of dates, times and locations are all on NMS’s website here; everything is free, but you do need to sign up for a few of the workshops – for the rest, just drop in. The National Museum of Scotland is in Chambers Street and it’s open 10am-5pm every day this summer.

There’s more drama – and arts and crafts too – at the St Bride’s Centre in Dalry. From 6th to 10th July children aged 7-10 years can join the Mini Fusion Holiday Drama Project, which will run each afternoon 1-4pm. Attendance at the project costs £21 for the week, whilst children aged 5-9 years who’d prefer to try a mixture of art and crafts can come along to the Holiday Activity Week on the same dates but in the mornings (10am-12 noon), at a cost of £10. If you would like to book for either activity, please contact Tynecastle Community Wing (McLeod Street) by calling Claudia Eslinger on 0131 337 3275 or emailing claudia.eslinger@ea.edin.sch.uk. Both groups will meet at St Bride’s Community Centre, 10 Orwell Terrace.

If you’re aged 5-15 years and would like to learn to play tennis – or improve your game – this summer, while making new friends and having fun, The Falcon Club is offering 3-day courses from 22nd to 24th July 2015. Children in P1-3 are coached 9-10am, P4-7 10am-11am and S1-4 11am-12 noon (they know who stays in bed longest…). Coaching may also be organised for 16-18 year olds if there is enough demand. Each course costs £24 (£21 for club members). For an application form please visit the club’s website here or email the Club Secretary at falconclub@hotmail.co.uk. All coaching will take place at The Falcon Bowling and Tennis Club, 84 Newbattle Terrace.

North Edinburgh Arts runs amazing groups and classes throughout the year – and it doesn’t stop in summer! They’ve come up with a massive programme of arts and crafts, dance, films and messy play sessions, and all are free or very inexpensive. Booking is required for some activities with limited space; others are drop-in. To see full details click here or call into NEA at 15a Pennywell Court for more information. The Zoo Arts Extra Animation Workshops (above) are also part of this programme.

So there you have it – a small sample of the numerous activities on over the summer. And if your children don’t like any of those, threaten them with a Good Healthy Walk; that’ll have them running to the library in no time….