Adam Green: Enlist kids in war on weeds

Adam Green

Opinion

School Holidays.

The collective cheers of the children ring out as the collective fears of the parents are realised.

"What do you mean we have to have them an extra six to seven hours a day? For HOW LONG? Two WEEKS?!"

The questions silently asked to yourself, as you again remind yourself you knew this was coming

It happens every year. Fingers flick the screen of your phone in a flurry, firing out texts and calls.

Who's available, who's not, how much annual leave do we have, and worst of all, how are we going to entertain them!

Well this school holidays I propose a number of new games to help keep the kids occupied, and your house ship shape.

1. The Ice Castle. In this game we pretend we are Princes and Princesses in a castle made of ice, and to make sure the game is as realistic as possible we need to make our "ice" very clear. So let's take this Mr Muscle glass cleaner and these paper towels and clean ALL the "ice" in the house. Hopefully once we get through a three-bedroom home's worth of window cleaning the kids are exhausted and ready for a nap.

2. Scrub the decks! Pirate patches for everyone and a squeegee mop each, and we sing a little shanty while we get the floors shining! "Ohhhh the pirate's life is the life for me, working all day long and we don't charge fees."

3. Hospitality Helpout. "Welcome to our house restaurant" you tell them. "I'm head chef, and you are my sous chefs. At every great restaurant you have to work your way up, so you start in the dish department. By Christmas you could have reached the top of the kitchen, so get washing!"

4. The garden army. "Put on your camo and join the war on weeds. Hit the garden as weed-destruction squad one. For every 100 weeds you bring in, you climb the ranks. Who wants to make Admiral of the garden army? Well, get fighting, soldier, and join the war on weeds. I'll stay here and prep the mess for afternoon tea."

With some creative thinking, and a little enthusiasm you, too, could have a school holidays full of fun and productivity! And hey, there's always Netflix!

• Don't miss Adam Green and Sarah Van Der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.