“Derek,” hollered Mrs Dee as she shook her son in his bed. “Just because you have summer break doesn’t mean that you have to sleep all day.” But Derek merely moaned in sleep and turned over in his loft of soft hay only to doze off again.

Mrs Dee looked at her other two younger sons, Dave and Don. They too were lounging on their bunks and playing with marbles.

“It’s nearly mid-day and they all have wasted their entire morning,” Mrs Dee said to Grandmamma in exasperation. “Din Din is the only one who gets up at a respectable time to go and work in his garden.”

“This is a dilemma faced by all parents in the summer,” remarked Grandmamma. “The young ones have two months of absolutely nothing to do.”

“I have planned a lot of activities for them but they refuse to get up on time. By the time they manage to get out of bed its afternoon and then in the evenings they run out to play with friends,” lamented Mrs Dee as she rinsed a few fresh pears and apples.

“Yes, these two months can prove to be so productive, yet, the young ones just don’t have any routine to discipline them,” Grandmamma nodded in agreement as she helped Mrs Dee chop the fruit to make a salad for lunch.

Just then Beatrice knocked at their cave home entrance. “Hello Beatrice,” greeted Mrs Dee in delight. “It’s been so long since you visited us.” Beatrice the brontosaurus used to be Din Din’s neighbour before Din Din and his family moved to a bigger cave in a better neighbourhood.

“Hello. I thought I’d surprise you with a visit,” Beatrice said in her cheery way. Beatrice was followed by Bronto and Bella, her twins, who were also friends with Din Din and his brothers.

“Come Beatrice, let me brew you a cup of herbal tea. Bronto and Bella, please go into Derek’s room. Perhaps he will wake up once he sees you. And call Dave and Don out for breakfast even though its midday,” Mrs Dee said, shaking her head.

“I am facing the same problem,” Beatrice said as she sipped on a cup of hot tea. “It’s a challenge trying to figure out how to keep these young ones occupied in the summer holidays.”

“I think all of you mothers should get together to devise a camp of sorts where young kids can come and spend their mornings learning something in a fun way,” Grandmamma suggested thoughtfully.

“What a wonderful idea,” replied Mrs Dee and Beatrice in unison.

“I’ll gather all the mother dinosaurs I know personally. I’m sure each mother has a special skill she can teach,” Beatrice said. “And I’ll ask Din Din to get permission from Dr Trish and Old Rex for us to use the Orange Orchard. That’s the only place big enough for many dinosaurs to gather,” said Mrs Dee enthusiastically.

Beatrice called a meeting of the neighbourhood mothers in Mrs Dee’s garden that evening. Needless to say, the mother dinosaurs were all thrilled with the idea and enthusiastic to volunteer.

“We have Ella, the oviraptor, who will teach pottery; Pam, the triceratops, will teach painting and sketching; Sarah, the tyrannosaurus, will teach self-defence, and Zeen, the dilophosaurus, will teach dance and aerobics,” Beatrice shared with Mrs Dee that night as the two mothers planned details of the camp. They were referring to the carefully created list before them where the mothers had noted down their skills.

“I will teach cooking, Grandmamma will give acting classes and Din Din has also volunteered to conduct a basic gardening course,” Mrs Dee added.

“That’s great. This has been a great way to identify the skills of the mothers in the dinosaur community! We now have a range of activities. It’s important that the children choose an activity they are excited about so that they may enjoy while they learn. Let’s make pamphlets and posters to advertise all these courses,” Beatrice suggested.

Din Din and his brothers were entrusted with the task of creating colourful pamphlets and nailing them onto trees. Within a week the summer camp had an astonishing rate of registrations from young dinosaurs who were eager to participate in the camp. The Orange Orchard was erected with segregated canopies of thatched grass to accommodate dinosaurs for all the different courses.

Dr Trish personally came to oversee the construction of the awnings and insisted that she inaugurate the summer camp. “It is so important for the young of our community to come together and learn from each other!” she appreciated the mothers in her opening address.

Din Din was excited about teaching gardening. Even though only five young dinosaurs had registered for his course, yet, he was thoroughly prepared with a range of pots and natural fertiliser, seeds and watering cans.

“The young ones were so keen to learn,” Din Din shared at the end of the first day of the summer camp as the family sat around the dinner table and exchanged stories.

“My painting class with Mrs Pam, the triceratops, was so interesting. I learnt so many new techniques to use paint brushes,” said Derek.

“And I learnt some great self-defence moves with Mrs Sarah. I can’t wait to try them on you all,” Dave interrupted in glee.

“And I really enjoyed myself at the pottery class. I realised that my love for playing in mud and sand can be an art in itself,” Don rejoined. “Look Ma, I made you a vase.”“How lovely, Don dear. I’m just so pleased that you all will be up and about early every morning for the summer camp and will be looking forward to learning something new,” Mrs Dee said with a sigh of relief.

“And making new friends,” reminded Derek who had found many like-minded art lovers at the art course.

“Here’s to mother power and what it can achieve!” Grandmamma said, raising her of cup of juice.

“Cheers!” toasted the family in unison.

This content is an advertisement by K&N’s and is not associated with or necessarily reflective of the views of Dawn.com or its editorial staff.