How to make a Summer Smash Book for kids

Posted on July 26, 2017

My children got brilliant school reports this year. I am so proud of them and all the hard work they do at school. With the 6 week school holidays I do worry a little about them losing some of the skills they have learned. I’m not a pushy mum (honest!) but I’ve introduced a few things to make sure their learning doesn’t slide over the holidays.

For the last few years we’ve taken part in the Summer Reading Challenge run through our local library. This is as simple as reading 6 books during the school holidays for which they are rewarded with Starborg cards and other things. My 7 year old is making a weekly vlog of the books he reads and what we thought about them. We’re also using the Summer Reading Challenge website for the first time as he loves using my laptop.

Every year we keep a Summer scrapbook. This year I’ve bought them their own books so they can keep a Summer Smash Book. I bought then both an A4 Kraft Notebook and set of Felt Alphabet Stickers, both from Hobbycraft. Towards the end of term I gave them to them and they decorated them with their names and the stickers (some lego tape has been added too).

My 7 year old has been using his to keep a diary and stick in cinema tickets and other things he picks up over the holidays. My 5 year old has been adding drawings and stickers as she can’t write quite so much.

We’ve started to make a weekly vlog of the best bits of our Summer adventures. I’m hoping these will be fun to look back and remember all the things we squeeze into the holidays, especially as we have some amazing adventures lined up for them! Don’t forget to follow us on YouTube to see more.

We’ve also got a Summer holidays reward chart. Both my children are pretty well behaved but this is more a reminder to do a wide range of activities every day. The list includes normal things such as brushing their teeth but also playing outside, building lego creations, reading books and baking!

I’m hoping these things will keep them on track over the holidays. I’ll keep you posted 🙂