If you’re short of ideas, you could start by looking at the BBC Things To Do site which lists a whole host of activities, some of which might be right on your doorstep. The Hands on History part of the site has a number of free activities too taking place right across the country from Aberdeenshire to Cornwall.

Also looking across the UK, one place you will find some useful pointers to free or cheap activities are the various national tourist boards. Enjoy England is packed with suggestions for places to go and things to do. How about taking the kids otter watching or fossil hunting? These were just a couple of the suggestions that caught my eye when I was browsing the site. Plus, click through to the family fun area for some ideas for family-friendly trips that won’t break the bank.  

Follow the half-term link on the Visit Wales website for a variety of fun things to do with the kids. Visit Scotland has a family section that’s worth a look if you’re struggling for inspiration, while Discover Northern Ireland has suggestions for free family days out.

If your children love anything to do with animals and plants, then the Woodland Trust is bound to have something to keep them busy – whether you’re indoors or out and about. The main website has some great pointers, but the best part is the Nature Detectives section. It’s a surprisingly good and bountiful resource. There’s a fee if you want to join the members’ club, but it’s also absolutely teeming with free downloadable activities, creative makes, quizzes, games and puzzles, plus numerous information booklets and factsheets.

Why not fill in a morning or afternoon by taking a wildlife walk in your local neighbourhood? The BBC’s Nature UK site (the home of Springwatch) has a page with advice on how to go about your wildlife walk . All you’ll need to do is to keep your eyes peeled and yours ears open. Alternatively, you could just get your kids, especially younger ones, to do some investigating of their own in your back garden - even if it’s just tracking down minibeasts amongst the grass or under pots and stones. And if you live by the sea or are planning a trip to the beach, then see what you can find together down in the rock pools and on the sand.

If you’re stuck indoors, check out the Green Balloon Club pages on the CBeebies website. There are several ‘make and colour’ activities to have a go at, plus a large selection of short ‘watch and listen’ video reports made by young viewers of the nature show.

Getting active is one of the main benefits of spending time outdoors. And it tires kids out too – always a good thing! The weather should be decent for some of the half-term break, so get the kids walking, scooting, cycling - or just running around in the garden, kicking a ball around in the park, or climbing on the apparatus at your local playground.

Tennis courts are dotted all over the place too. According to the Tennis For Free campaign, there are 2,635 free public tennis courts in the UK. Click on the map on their site to find out where your nearest free ones are - and then it’s a just a case of turning up. 

If your children are aged 4-11, you could see if there is any ‘mini tennis’ on offer in your area. It’s a great introduction to the sport but with smaller courts, nets, rackets and lower-bouncing balls. Take a look at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) website to find out more.

If your kids aren’t into tennis, then why not suggest a visit to your local swimming pool? There are often special offers or discounts available during the holidays. Also, more than 500 pools are currently participating in the ‘Big Splash’ campaign which aims to inspire people to learn to swim – or swim more regularly. Pools supporting the campaign  will be offering a range of Big Splash activities and resources.

After all that letting off steam, let the kids chill out - whether that involves watching TV, reading, listening to music or playing games on their console. If they want to go online, there are some great games to be found on the CBBC website.

You could direct younger children to the ‘Make and Colour’ area on the CBeebies website for a stack of printable colouring-in sheets. There are also ideas for making things like finger puppets and bookmarks, plus other more fiddly or messy items, if you don’t mind being on hand to assist and clear up afterwards.

Finally, if someone small is hassling you for some time on the computer, I can recommend the Lingo Show - language learning fun on the CBeebies site. My three year-old is mesmerised by it. Perfect for when I need 15 minutes to chill out myself...

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC parent panel.

And one of those places is the school gate. Walk to School Week (16th-20th May) should see around a million children taking part this year. And if those kids aren’t making the whole journey on foot, then they’ll be walking at least some of the way.

I’m lucky in that I live about half a mile from my daughter’s nursery school and have a selection of travel options open to me. I don’t drive, so using a car isn’t an option. The close proximity of the nursery doesn’t warrant a bus journey. I haven’t come round to the idea of cycling yet, so that leaves us with the option of getting there on foot. Well, I’m the one who does the walking - she glides along on her scooter – and it only takes 15 minutes.

By going there and back twice a day on foot, I clock up an hour of gentle exercise (this fact only dawned on me recently). When it’s warm and the sun’s shining, it feels like the best way to travel a short distance. It lifts the spirits, there’s no carbon footprint in our wake and I usually have a nice chat with my daughter along the way. I’m not in such a good mood when it’s raining or bitterly cold though...

But as an advocate for Walk to School Week – and walking to school in general - I can see how the practicalities make walking a less attractive option, or one that is just too difficult. I used to live in a busy urban sprawl, where getting from A to B involved pushing my daughter’s buggy along main roads, often feeling vulnerable as I waited on small traffic islands or overly cautious when I used pedestrian crossings.  And so I can understand parents’ fears about letting their kids walk to school unaccompanied when they are under the age of 10.

A recent survey of 2,000 British children aged 7 to 14, carried out by Living Streets, found that over a third of kids are scared of cars travelling too fast, with 20% concerned about a lack of safe crossing points. The survey also found that many parents and children are worried about ‘stranger danger’, while a fifth of secondary school children are afraid of being bullied on the way to school.

In light of these concerns, perhaps good compromise is to investigate alternatives to walking the whole route. A ‘walking bus’ -  in which a group of children walk to school chaperoned by one or more adults - is one option to consider. Another is the ‘park and stride’ approach –  which involves driving some of the way, parking (eg at a designated place such as a supermarket or village hall), and then walking the remainder of the journey either with your child or letting them walk the last part alone. The Living Streets website has plenty of info and advice on both these options.

When you think of the health benefits of a bit of extra walking for both you and your child, it makes sense - especially when the exercise is just part of your daily routine. And for some children, walking to school might be the only regular exercise they get. 

Earlier this month, the BBC News website reported the key findings of a survey of 1,500 children aged 6 to 15. A third of the children questioned did not own a bike and yet more than three quarters had a games console. When I was little, I was running round the garden or out on my bike after school. Times have changed but walking is still one of the best ways to stay active. It’s time to reclaim those streets.

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC parent panel.

‘Parents Under Pressure’ (Monday evening, BBC Two) shed light on one aspect of parenting I hadn’t really given much thought to – that older children might actually need your time and attention more than younger children.

I have one daughter, who’s three, and I’d been assuming - along with presenter Sophie Raworth - that the crucial time for spending time with your children was when they're under 5, not when they become more independent, able young people. Although, having said that, some friends with older kids have mentioned that pre-schoolers are a doddle in comparison. During the past year, several people have given me a wry smile or a knowing look followed by the words: ‘the bigger they get, the bigger the problems’. 

Time and attention were the two things that three teenage sisters featured in the programme (twins of 13 and their 15-year-old sibling) wanted more than anything. I’m not sure why, but it surprised me. I would have thought having more freedom might have been top of the list, but just having mum around when they got in from school, to share their news with and listen to them - to be physically and emotionally in their midst - was what they craved. 

The delight in their eyes when their mum was around gave me pause for thought. I’m only working on an occasional basis at the moment - fitting in assignments around looking after my daughter, who currently attends nursery for five short sessions a week. If I work much longer hours in the future, what effect will it have on her? Will there be a negative impact on her behaviour? Will she still be happy going to after-school clubs? Will she resent me as she progresses through primary and secondary school, if I’m not there for her as much as she (or I) would like? Will she be just fine and tell me not to fuss? It’s hard to know, so perhaps I should just wait for the future to unfold and take it from there. 

The mum of the three girls featured in the programme ended up quitting her job and getting one that fitted in with the school day. The whole work-life balance with regards to the family side of things, was too out of kilter for her. She recalled being so stressed out that she ended up crying in her bedroom after a long day at work, and her daughters remember an utterly miserable atmosphere pervading their home.

I suppose what matters is being able to recognise that all is not well and something has to change - being prepared to seek help or re-prioritise what is important to your family unit. Sometimes these changes can reap huge rewards for both parent and child. 

In another part of the programme, the focus was on the important partnership between parent and school – and how this can enhance family life. One young boy and his mum tried out a scheme which originated in the States. It’s called FAST (Families and Schools Together) and aims to engage children and parents in activities together. Parents attend a weekly session and have the opportunity to share their thoughts with other mums and dads, ask for advice - but most importantly have fun with their children. The scheme’s aimed at families in disadvantaged areas, but the whole ethos could be adopted by any family. 

One activity involved cooking together, another involved role reversal. In the latter, the little boy told his mum what they were going to do and she had to listen and follow his lead for 15 minutes. No guidance, interruptions or distractions. Not as easy as you think.

I know from being around my daughter, that it’s one thing to just ‘play’ – but to switch off any thoughts whizzing round in your head and really focus 100% for a designated period of time can be harder than you imagine. Try throwing into the mix having more than one child, a full-time job, perhaps being a single parent, not having much family support where you live, other things that are more common today than in the past – and then really connecting with your child on a one-to-one basis, for a set amount of time each day, can be a big challenge.  

If there’s one main topic that came out of the programme, it was the emphasis on this quality time – listening, responding and bonding with your child. Children are pretty resilient and adapt well, and it was a relief to have this view bolstered up. But (and no great surprise here), if parents are really feeling the strain, then the kids will too – so something has to give. It’s a point worth reiterating.  

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC parent panel.

Read Sophie Raworth's article on the BBC News Magazine site.

Younger children are easier to please, but have shorter attention spans. Some of the classic but simple art and craft makes, which you probably did at their age, allow your child to be really creative - and they’re cheap. Think papier mache (if you’ve got the time and energy), cutting up old egg cartons and using the cardboard tubes from old loo rolls to create a whole host of things. I remember covering them in foil or paint and turning them into candles, angels and snowmen when I was young.

Take a look at the Mister Maker pages on the Cbeebies website, for lots of ideas for some easy and fun makes, such as paper masks, finger puppets, cotton-button creatures and fridge magnets. The Make and Colour section on the Cbeebies site, also has a big selection of makes which are listed by theme (eg Animals & Nature, Model Making and Cooking).  

In the first week of the holidays, there’s always the option of making your own Christmas cards. Clear a space, put a plastic cover down and get the glue and the glitter out. Don’t forget shiny paper or foil, felt tips and crayons, tinsel, tissue paper and the obligatory cotton wool for Santa’s beard or any snowman. If your children aren’t as excited as they once were, at the prospect of creating their own glitter-strewn cards, then why not let them design one on the computer instead?

Baking is the other big indoor activity, which should keep kids of any age busy for a while. Why not get them to help you with a few Christmas recipes you’ve got planned – or let them choose something they’d like to make as a present – maybe some truffles, cookies, shortbread or gingerbread men. The BBC Food site has plenty of recipes for tasty festive treats, if you are stuck for ideas.   

If there’s a subject or topic your kids are really into at the moment (eg dinosaurs, sea creatures, insects, space), then another way of keeping them occupied in the holidays is to visit a few trusted websites. The Natural History Museum has an excellent 'kids only' area. Print out pages for younger children – who will enjoy colouring, cutting and creating a collage. If your kids are older you might want to let them spend half an hour online, reading up on their favourite topic and playing some related quizzes and games. 

And if you are happy to let them be entertained online for a while, then there is a wealth of fun interactive content on the CBBC website. And the Cbeebies site has a whole section dedicated to Christmas content – there’s an advent calendar to click on, plus festive songs, stories, games and makes.

Got a garden? There are a few things your kids can do at this time of year, to give your local wildlife a helping hand. My daughter and I like putting out peanuts and seed mix for the birds and then spotting which varieties swoop down to tuck in. The RSPB website has a really good kids section. The 'Make ‘n’ Do' pages include a recipe for an inexpensive bird cake, as well as a guide to making a bird feeder from an old plastic bottle. 

The ‘Things to Do’ section on the BBC Breathing Places site has lots of ideas for things to do in your garden – such as putting up a bat/bird box, making a bug home to attract creatures such as ladybirds (and help them through the winter), putting out the right type of food for hedgehogs and other mammals, and tips on protecting your garden wildlife from prowling cats. 

If you want to venture further than your garden (or if you don’t have an outdoor space of your own), then BBC Breathing Places site also has a ‘Places to Go’ section. Just type in your postcode and it will come up with wildlife places or events near you, many of which are free of charge and make a great morning or afternoon out with the kids. Another good searchable database is BBC Thrillseeker. Again you just enter your postcode, to find suggestions for activities and events in your local area. 

Many museums, galleries and arts centres don’t charge admission fees and often have extra events laid on during the school holidays. Log on to the Culture 24 site and discover what is going on near you - the site has listings from more than 4,000 UK venues. Some events may require you to pre-register, even if they’re free, so it’s worth checking in advance.

Why not consider going ice skating? There are more than 60 permanent ice rinks in the UK. And during the Christmas holidays, there are often temporary outdoor rinks in many towns and cities. The Thrillseeker site mentioned above, contains some useful information on ice skating – how much it costs and where to find more information on your nearest indoor rink. If you don’t fancy getting your skates on, swimming doesn’t cost much and can be enjoyed by the whole family. Check out your local council website for opening times or any special kids’ sessions, during the Christmas holidays.

Heritage organisations, like the National Trust, often offer a few seasonal events which children will enjoy. Our local NT property, for example, is hosting a Christmas storytelling event, and has a special lantern trail in the gardens, which children can explore until early January.

Finally, libraries are always a good source of information for cheap or free activities going on, during the school holidays. Check the noticeboards or ask the staff, who are often a font of knowledge. I hope that’s given you a few pointers for stuff you could do with the kids during the next fortnight... Good luck!

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC Parent Panel.

Okay, so with toddlers, there’s a very high chance that they will make a big mess. My advice would be to avoid or limit such activities, if you’re of a nervous disposition or stressed out, and especially if you’re about to move house (as I was earlier this year). Nice clean carpets and walls + paint, glue, glitter, inky pens or cake mixture + prospective buyers coming to view your home = not a good combination. 

But once they are around the age of three, don’t underestimate your child’s ability to focus on the task in hand and have a fantastic learning experience. I’m feeling a lot more relaxed about letting my daughter wield a gloopy paintbrush, or crack eggs and sift flour, as she did the other day. “It’s like how they do things on ‘I Can Cook’  on Cbeebies,”  she announced proudly, standing on her little chair beside me as the contents of her sieve whirled around us. 

 

I think I was a little older than her when I was allowed to help my mum in the kitchen, but I have fond memories of assisting her – whether it was dolloping out the cake mixture into the tin (and gleefully licking the spatula afterwards) or carving out squares of a super-sweet, chewy treat we dubbed ‘Sticky Wicky’ (melted toffee slabs, margarine, marshmallows and Rice Krispies). YUM! 

I guess the latter is probably not the healthiest thing you could make with your child. But it was a great way of introducing us to the concept that cooking could be really fun and we could invent our own recipes. Having a daughter myself, that’s what I want her to experience too - along with the knowledge that you also need to eat a balanced diet.

We often make a compromise when it comes to being healthy, so the home-made flapjacks we bake together have less sugar and fat than the recipe states and more oats, plus added ingredients like dried apricots. We bake this delicious light sponge which is made using whisked egg whites rather than butter, and we place fresh raspberries on top rather than smothering it with jam. We’ve added grated carrots and cream cheese to muffins to create a savoury version, and when it was Hallowe’en we used some of the hollowed-out pumpkin flesh for the filling in a quiche.  

Children love stuff that’s hands-on and getting their fingers covered in edible goo is a bonus. And it’s a good way to fill what can sometimes feel like a very long afternoon with a young child, especially now it’s dark earlier and you’re more confined to your home. Plus, it’s a good way to impart a life-long skill which will come in handy as they grow up. At least, I’m hoping it will... 

And it can sometimes raise cash for a good cause. With BBC Children In Need  approaching (although I never really need an excuse to bake cakes), the Little Lady and I might well be taking up the Get Baking challenge and rustling up a few goodies to sell at her nursery. There are some really good tips and Get Baking recipe ideas if you fancy setting up a bake sale. I think we might try out the recipes for banana bread and lemon drizzle muffins, and perhaps the chocolate brownies. Mmmm. Plus, if you have a younger child take a look at the Grown-ups pages on the Cbeebies site for a few other ideas.

Good luck and I’ll let you know how we get on. I’ve got a feeling I will be the one licking the spatula, not the Little Lady...

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC Parent Panel.

Read Katy Ashworth's blog on cooking with very young children on the BBC Food site.

Check out the Get Baking booklet,  featuring recipes from Great British Bake Off.

Find out how to set up a bake sale with Get Baking for Children in Need.

Fancy making your own bunting? It's an activity the children will enjoy too.

We won't have to submit the primary school application for our daughter until the end of 2011, but it's still something that my husband and I have been discussing quite a lot in the past year. We're in the process of buying a house and have been doing our homework on the types of school  in our preferred neighbourhoods.

The house we're buying is well within the catchment area for a very popular primary, and (to be honest) it's one of the main reasons why we chose our new home. But six months ago we had been looking at another property a few miles away, and the catchment factor led us to backtrack. 

I don't imagine a generation ago parents would have been thinking along quite the same lines. You might have considered the kind of schools within an area when house-hunting, but you probably just assumed your child would get a place at the primary closest to home and then attend a nearby secondary (although you might perhaps have opted to choose a secondary school slightly further afield). I doubt many people 20 or 30 years ago would have been having the kind of conversations I've been having this year. The following is just one example. I've had several other similar conversations with neighbours, friends and family - even with estate agents!

"I know we're just round the corner from the house you're looking at," said one head teacher. "But we're one-form entry [30 pupils per yearly intake] and the street you mention is the wrong side of the main road, so you wouldn't actually fall into our catchment area." 

"But we could still apply?" I enquired. "Your school is definitely the closest one on the map and it would be much easier for us to drop our daughter off there before heading into work." 

She hesitated, then added: 'You could apply - we do get the occasional child from out-of-catchment - but I wouldn't like to say what your chances would be."

It's only really when you've started to dig beneath the surface veneer of 'choice' that you realise that, actually, there isn't really a lot of choice when it comes to the school applications process - especially if you take faith schools out of the equation. Well, that's what it feels like to us. The house we originally wanted to buy was pretty close to a highly-regarded Catholic primary. But we aren't religious, so the chances of our daughter getting in would be slim. And, besides, we don't really want to send her to a faith school.

So, where did it leave us? Well, there was a highly-regarded and not surprisingly, very oversubscribed community school a 10-minute walk away, but we were out of catchment. Nothing to stop us applying, but the school we were most likely to be offered a place at was a community school with an Ofsted report (and reputation) that was hardly glowing. Oh, and it was a longer walk door-to-door so not as convenient. Part of me felt guilty for not being happy just to accept what was on offer. But then the other part of me kicked in, the part that said perhaps we should be entitled to a bit more choice - and if I'm we’re not going to get it here, then we'll have to house-hunt elsewhere. 

And so that's what we did. We're fortunate that we had the option. But nothing's guaranteed. Our daughter doesn't have a sibling so doesn't fit one of the main admissions criteria. However, the school that we are well within catchment for is two-form entry, so our daughter has a very good chance of gaining a place. But we'll still have to fill in those forms at the end of next year and await the outcome. I read on the BBC News website the other day that 20% of primaries (and almost 30% of secondaries) are full to bursting point so places are in short supply. 

It's a stressful business which can seem like a total lottery to some. It's a system ripe for change. Judging by the blog entry of a fellow Parent panel member, the system north of the border in Scotland seems to be a bit more straightforward. I wish it were the case south of the border too.  

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC Parent Panel.

Fast forward to the present day and I have a daughter of my own. She will celebrate her 3rd birthday next month. She recently started nursery school and it proved to be more emotional than I had imagined. Part of that was probably down to the fact that we had only moved house three days before her first day. Hundreds of miles from our friends and family in a new town and everything felt a bit strange - for both of us.

There’s no doubt that starting nursery or pre-school is a big milestone in your child’s life, and a big moment for you too. And it feels like a huge milestone when that child hasn’t been in a stranger’s care before.  (Some of my friends who have children a year or two older than my daughter, had warned me that it might be a more emotionally-charged time than I had expected.) But I guess it’s one of the inevitable parts of being the parent – having to relinquish a certain degree of control and realise that, from now on, other people are going to shape your child’s learning and development. 

The first time I ushered my daughter through the nursery’s front door, it actually felt rather liberating as well as exciting. She’d been telling me and my husband for months that she wanted to go to nursery (“to do painting, lots of playing and learn things”), and I was quite looking forward to the prospect of having each morning to myself without my little shadow following me everywhere! I could start work on a freelance project, get some neglected jobs done around the house and maybe enjoy a little ‘me’ time. 

But settling in to nursery wasn’t plain sailing. Within minutes of entering the building on the first day, I had one small trembling child clinging to my leg, tears streaming down her cheeks. I managed to prize her off with promises that it was all going to be okay, but I felt uneasy and not sure what to do. I stayed a while, she calmed down and then I slipped out. 

The next three of four sessions pretty much followed the same pattern, with my normally chilled-out child disintegrating into hysterical sobs. Heartbreaking is too strong a word, but it was distressing and not the best start to a day. Assurances that she was fine within five minutes of my departure didn’t really help. But talking to friends with older children did. I had to try not to worry, and just ride it out...  

And they were right. It felt like a switch had flicked. It seems to be the way with children - nothing’s ever a shade of grey, it’s very much black and white. When I went to collect her the following week, I had to bribe her with chocolate to get her to climb down from the playground apparatus and come home with me!

She’s thriving, and she seems to be relishing the taste of independence and new experiences nursery can offer her. She’s proudly telling me about her latest work of art or what they all talked about in circle time, and I get a daily progress report in the form of a little diary kept by her key carer.  

It’s no longer just the two of us going everywhere together. She’s branching out on her own, immersing herself in a different kind of routine and developing new relationships and friendships. It feels good. And – most importantly – she’s happy. “Mummy, is it nursery day today?” she asks eagerly as soon as she wakes up each morning. 

Joanna Youngs is a member of the BBC parent panel.