There are no more educational outings.

It’s been raining for three days straight.

You think maybe the kids’ hands and their tablet devices have fused, they’ve been using them so much.

It’s time to think about handing the kids back to their usual custodians – their teachers and classmates. Let’s face it, you’re beginning to think, they know what they’re doing with them.

You’re feeling guilt about the fact you’re fantasising about a clean house, a house that isn’t always full of children – yours and other miscellaneous buddies – and that the kitchen wasn’t just an ocean of juice and water glasses (because of course they need a fresh one every time they want a drink – of course they do). You’re dreaming of a chopping board free of crumbs. And, guilt of guilts, you’re dreaming of going back to work.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Kmart. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words.

You love having the kids home. Of course you do. But it isn’t real life, with real rules and real stresses. Which is exactly as it should be – holidays are the time for throwing out the healthy lunches and the bedtime deadline and the homework-before-dinner rule – but you’re beginning to hanker for some order, some sanity in the chaos. And yes, a break from making sandwiches.

The kids have turned their attention to getting back to school with a vengeance. It’s only been two weeks, but somehow it seems they need new everything, and although they’ve been communicating with their friends every five minutes, they’re hankering to get back to being alongside them every day, and it’s making you feel a bit inadequate.

Also, you’re getting twitchy about work. The things you’ve put on hold during the weeks of school holidays are beginning to keep you up at nights. Reality is looming.

But that’s okay, because in the last days of school holidays all these battling thoughts are conspiring to push you to make one final push at making the holidays AWESOME. After all, if everyone’s going back to real life, you want them to do that with warm fuzzy memories of the time that they’ve spent at home, with you.

So you get back online to Google up some truly brilliant muffin recipes, you hit the shops, not just for back-to-school supplies, but to add a couple of seriously cute and quirky things to their baskets to make them remember what a very awesome mum you are. You’re going to surprise them by actually sitting down and watching a movie with them, from beginning to end, and you’re going to amaze them by saying YES when they ask if they can watch Frozen – again.

You call your other half and inform them that there will be some very strictly observed FAMILY TIME coming up. “I want them to have happy memories,” you insist, “of us all being TOGETHER.” Early dinner plans are made for family round-tables that obviously will be stress and argument-free because you’re MAKING MEMORIES. And that’s no pressure at all.

And then you start with the resolutions:

This term, every lunch will be perfectly nutritionally balanced. Beer nuts will not feature.

This term, we will polish shoes once a fortnight, sports kit will always be clean and the trumpet (argh, that bloody trumpet) will never be left at home on trumpet day.

This term, you will never forget costume day, or that Reader that somehow always ends up behind the bedhead, or to brush your daughter’s hair on photo day.

This term, you will not bristle with the teacher every time her tone of voice suggests that your child is NOT the centre of her universe.

This term, you won’t just iron the collar and cuffs and tell you daughter to keep her jumper on.

This term, you and the other half will write dinner menus for the week, every week, and shop accordingly, so that it’s never Tuesday and you’re looking in the cupboard going, “what can I do with a tin of chickpeas and a three-day-old lettuce?”

Because, at the end of school holidays, just like the beginning, anything is possible.

You haven’t screwed anything up yet, you have a clean sate to start from.

You can imagine that it will be easy to rebuild your relationship with the teacher you seemed to be suggesting were stupid when you rolled your eyes at their asssessment of your son’s enthusiasm for English.

You can imagine that your daughter will just organically choose not to hang around with that girl who you feel is always putting her down. You can imagine that your child’s marks are going to be at least a grade up at the end of next term.

You can imagine all these things, because they haven’t happened yet.

And when you look back on these school holidays, you can imagine that they were as perfect and stress-free as you like. Because, hey, there’s always next time…

Take a look at Kmart’s easy guide to school holiday activities below …

What do you look forward to about going back to school?

Say No to Boredom!!

When it comes to the power of imagination, kids prove anything is possible.  A saucepan lid suddenly becomes a mighty warrior’s shield, or cleverly stacked blocks can form a three-tier wedding cake. 

Kmart understands creative play and we never want the fun to end.  Inside this easy guide to school holiday activities you’ll find playful twists on all Kmart’s fun everyday items and toys at the low prices we’re famous for.

CLICK HERE to view Kmart’s easy guide to school holiday activities.