Tigers who come to tease — and how to tame them

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS can be a bit Tiger-Who-Came-To-Teaish at the best of times — the kids prowling aimlessly about their cage (sorry, house), foraging for food to stave off boredom. The good thing about the Passover school holidays, though, is Passover itself — the best family-fun activity around — with no entry fee and no need to book.

For the first few days of the holiday, until the festival starts, you can keep kids happy doing Pesach baking. Who cares if it’s inedible — will you even be able to tell if they get the ingredients or method wrong? All Passover home baking tastes of coconut and matzah meal, anyway.

You may even be able to trick the young ones into doing some housework — “it’s special Passover cleaning, — such fun!” or, for the smallest of the family, Hebrew reading practice (“you want to be the best at Mah Nishtanah, don’t you?).

The novelty/challenge of Pesach food will carry you through the first couple of chol hamoed days, too. With ready-meals out of bounds, you can involve children in preparing meals from scratch.

A matzah ramble or picnic may sound gruesome to grown-ups but still seems like fun to less-jaded undertens. And eating outdoors is a great way of keeping the matzah crumbs out of the dining-room carpet. Just try to avoid locations where delicious chametz alternatives will be tantalisingly on sale (beware the Pied-Piper jingles of an approaching ice-cream van).

If you have a garden, spring is the ideal time to get small people interested in growing plants (to look at, or eat). At times like this, I always consult Dawn Isaac’s invaluable books — my current favourite is 101 Things for Kids to Do Outside, which goes far beyond horticulture to suggestions such as building a human sundial, setting up a wormery, planting a potato tower and flying a home-made kite. In case of foul weather, there are rainy-day and science-based books in the series, too.

Eventually, Passover will pass over. Change your crockery back with as much help as you can muster from youthful assistants (“It’s special Pesach tidying up, dear — such fun!”.

Binge on toast and peanut butter while guiltily sliding any remaining gobbets of desiccated coconut, jam and ground almonds into the foodwaste bin.

And then study the empty spaces on your calendar. Can there really be another week of the holidays left? Time to look further afield for entertainment. For family-outing inspiration, from trampolining to tiger-tracking, there are plenty of ideas inside this supplement.

Passover is a familyfun activity in its own right