Well summer is over. The kids are all back at school. The wind has an icy chill to it. And, I can see the lights from my neighbours Christmas tree up already! At the beginning of summer I put out my Summer Staycation Bucket List. As Autumn starts to take hold I thought it would be nice to remind myself of how great the summer holiday was and do my Summer Staycation Review.
What did we do on our summer staycation?
If you’re wanting to plan a staycationin your home, here are some helpful tips on how to do that. But until next time, here’s what we got up to on our summer staycation.
A Family Visit To Lotherton Hall
We made two visits to Lotherton Hall. It’s a great place, right on our doorstep. We decided to invest in an Annual Family Membership. You can read my full review about Lotherton Hall here and all the attractions and facilities they have!
Piglets Adventure Farm
We went there on what felt like the last day of summer. Of course, I dressed warmly after fighting for an hour with my kids to do the same and then giving in, I was the one sweating whilst they were lovely and cool! It was a good day out and I got to catch up with an old friend and her daughter. The girls had an absolute ball. Another great day off.
I am insanely proud of myself the girls, that we they completed the Summer Reading Challenge run by our local library. The challenge required them to read 6 books each over the summer, which both girls managed to achieve. We await their certificates which will be handed out to them in a school assembly soon.
Mommy’s School
Another important thing I wanted to do over the holidays was to do some extra homework with the girls to help them to catch up a little bit as they transition from school in South Africa to school in the UK. We did manage to get quite a lot done, in addition to the reading, including practicing their hand writing, spellings, number recognition and solving story sums.
It wasn’t always fun. I’m definitely not cut out for teaching, and most definitely NOT homeschooling, but I’m glad I made the effort, as did they.
Park Life
Whilst we didn’t get to the parks I had mentioned in my bucket list, we did visit a number of other ones.
Swimming
I did take the girls to be assessed as to their level of swimming so that we can get them on the waiting list for swimming lessons. I was not surprised that both of them scored higher on Water Confidence than on Water Ability, but we are still waiting for the call to say there is a space for them.
What didn’t we get done?
In no particular order, the items we didn’t get done but which still remain on my bucket list are:
- Temple Newsam and the Go Ape Day Out.
- The Deep in Hull
- The Forbidden Corner
- Stockeld Park, which wasn’t on my original list, but which is definitely on my bucket list now!
What did we do that wasn’t on the staycation bucket list?
There were a few things that we did a few things that weren’t on our Summer Staycation Bucket list.
- We had a weekend away to visit an old school friend of my husband’s in Oxfordshire.
- We attended a local community summer fair, which was completely rained out, but a fun day out anyway which included a melt-down and magic show!
- My husband and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary with a night out in the village whilst the girls were baby-sat by their big sister (a first for all of us).
Back To Life, Back To Reality
See what I did there? Well, I guess that will depend on how old you are. lol
I am so glad the girls are back at school and we are all back in a normal routine. I thrive on routine. We had an awesome summer. I think the best part was that we all had time to chill, relax and adjust to our new surroundings and life in the UK.
I do think though, that this summer staycation review is basically the start of new bucket list! One I will continue to cross things off and add things too. Stay tuned.
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