AFTER weeks of lockdown and home schooling, parents across the land now face the prospect of keeping the kids entertained over the summer holidays; something which can always be a challenge, but even more so this year.

Here are a few cheap and cheerful ideas which will suit most children.

If the sun shines…

1. Pick-your-own farms make a great day out, but for some real foraging, take a walk or drive into the country to pick blackberries, which, of course, are free!

2. Take a garden safari or get out into the parks and lanes and become nature detectives. Download the free apps to help with identifying birdsong, insects, trees and plants.

3. Most children love the adventure of camping and garden clamping is easy and cheap to do. If a full overnight is too much, just opt for early evening and some hotdogs to round the day off.

4. Use the free Star Walk 2 app for star gazing. Simply point the phone at the stars for instant identification.

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Self-isolation and rainy day activities…

1. The Summer Reading Challenge. Lots going on at summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

2. Get back to nature with the Woodland Trust. Visit https://bit.ly/2WZDyvn for indoor nature-based activities.

3. Audible, continues to offer free online stories for children at stories.audible.com/start-listen

4. Paint a pebble – it’s easy. Find a nice smooth pebble, sketch the design and then paint.

5. If you managed to go strawberry picking, or just have a few in the fridge, get the kids to melt some chocolate and dip each strawberry, pop them on to greaseproof paper and into the fridge to set the chocolate.