Member Article

School Holiday SOS: Stand-up comedian develops essential list of easy activities for parents feeling the final stresses of summer

Hearing the dreaded words ‘I’m bored’ can send shivers down the spine of any parent during the six-week holidays; which is why a former primary school teacher turned stand-up comedian, has developed a vital list of 50 activities to keep children occupied in the last weeks of the summer.

With just over one week left remaining of the summer break, 46-year-old Shonette Bason-Wood has made it her mission to defeat boredom and spread joy across the country – with her ‘50 things to do this summer 2018’ list.

For many parents, finding easy and affordable ways to keep their children entertained over the summer has been a real challenge – with holidays, days out and food and drink soon racking up costs. But from creating funny melon sculptures to having a barbecue for breakfast, there are a wide range of quirky but easy activities to keep youngsters occupied over the remaining days.

Shonette’s 50 things to do this summer includes:

• Have a paddling pool disco
• Make shadow puppets
• Plan an outdoor party
• Go on a walk collecting treasure
• Have a race day (egg and spoon, sack race)
• Invite friends for a Mad Hatter’s tea party and make hats
• Make a neighbour a cake.

Shonette Bason-Wood, from Wynyard in Teesside, is a single mother to her four children – Jasmine, 20; Alice, 19; Ben, 18; and George, 17. As well as travelling the country with her stand-up ‘self-help comedy’ show, she runs educational training company Spread the Happiness; visiting schools in highly deprived areas to aid teachers in neurological-based ways of teaching for pupils at a disadvantage.

As well as ensuring children aren’t experiencing boredom this summer, Shonette has spent weeks distributing free food hampers to schools in the UK, in a bid to tackle the crisis that is holiday hunger.

During the six-week break, families who would normally receive free school meals and attend breakfast club, can struggle with the extra cost of feeding their children in the summer season. With their child not being in full-time education and at home during the day, this can mean bigger bills for food and daily essentials – leading to the reality dubbed ‘holiday hunger’. She has so far donated 350 hampers to help change the lives of families in need.

Shonette commented: “The summer holidays can be a stressful time for many parents, and we find ourselves under a lot of pressure to create fun activities and keep children entertained. I want to show parents that you don’t have to break the bank to beat boredom. It can really be as simple as a picnic in your garden or learning a new game.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Shonette Bason Wood .