Holidays
Did we get so many days off school? I’m serious. I don’t know if it’s because I was a kid and breaks seemed few and far between or if the kids now days really have more time off.
At any rate, the kiddos were off again yesterday. It seems like school just went back into session. Oh, it did. Their first day back after Christmas vacation was Jan 14th.
As you can imagine, having all the kids at home makes for a full house.
In the past, when the kids were home, I’d try to make good use of the time by planning crafts, educational exercises, excursions. Mostly because I didn’t want them playing video games all day, but also because I love to teach and I want my children to have fond memories of their childhood. This Christmas vacation, I didn’t plan a thing. You know what? It made the time I spent with the kids a lot more fun– a lot less stressful for me and for them. We still did some of those things, but I didn’t schedule them. This Martin Luther King day, I did not plan a history lesson or craft project.
The interesting thing? I even got more work done that I usually do when they’re home.
I guess it’s taken some time, and seven kids, but I’ve finally taken a more relaxed approach to parenting. I may still look through the craft books and browse Pininterest with dreams of filling my walks with framed child-like art work but I won’t put the pressure on myself any more. So how about you? Do you try to keep the kids busy during vacations? Do you let them do their own thing?
Jan 22, 2013 @ 09:36:54
Shawna- I KNOW we didn’t get so many days off…Because of freezing rain, teacher in-service, weekends and MLK, the kids in our local school system on went to school two of the last nine days! It’s like another Christmas break!
Jan 22, 2013 @ 23:44:02
I answered all of these in my head after reading them on my iPhone… but never actually posted anything. Sorry. yup. It’s been one of those days. We have several 4 day weeks coming up with teacher in-service and holidays. It’s crazy.
Jan 22, 2013 @ 11:24:16
Wow, my kids went back to school on January 2nd! You can bet there was some complaining there.
My kids are old enough that they pretty much do their own thing anyway, but we occasionally try to schedule a day trip. Like last weekend, we went into DC for the day.
Glad you’re finding a less stressful way to handle all that vacation time.
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Jan 22, 2013 @ 23:46:05
Yup, I used to buy workbooks so they wouldn’t fall behind in school… You can imagine how that went over. I wouldn’t mind if they were off more before Christmas and went back earlier. Than we’d have time to bake and whatnot…(see I’m doing it again.)
Jan 22, 2013 @ 14:04:51
mine generally does his own thing. He’s pretty independant, but we do some stuff too. He likes to eat cake and asks if “we can bake” and by that he means, he’ll pour in flour by helping and then wait until I’m done for the eating. We’ve only done a couple craft things?
we have things indoors and out. so if it’s too cold or hot or rainy, he can get some physical exercise inside (Wii and the kinect) or some mental stimulation by getting on a computer or the ipad.
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Jan 22, 2013 @ 23:47:27
That’s my favorite way to “bake” with kids. ; ) Mine are getting more independent…and less likely to want to participate in my group activities.
Jan 22, 2013 @ 14:19:48
The law is the same as when we were kids: 180 days of school required.
That said, they do seem to get around that in some sneaky ways. My kids’ district isn’t too bad, though they do half days for parent/teacher conferences and stuff more than I think we did.
One local district has a two-hour delay one Tuesday a month. Another one’s kids are far enough apart in age that one is currently in high school and one in middle school. They’ve always had DIFFERENT days off. So the schools technically did 180 days for the district, but their time off was ridic.
Shawna, how the heck did yours stay off until Jan. 14?! When is their last day of school?
I started after Labor Day and had a full week off in February and again in April, but went late in June (how late depended on the snow days, and we always had a TON). My kids start the week before Labor Day and are done the first week of June, and have far more 2-hour delays in the winter than snow days.
I was a working mom, so most of the time, they were in day care during breaks.
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Jan 22, 2013 @ 23:49:29
You know, I’m wondering. It’s 180 minimum. Maybe we had more. Even 185 would make a difference. They didn’t get off until Dec 23 and were on vacation until Jan 14…In summer, they get out the second week of June and start the second week of August. I do remember starting school in September so that’s probably where they’re making up the days.
Jan 23, 2013 @ 06:01:10
Oh, yeah, yours start the year three weeks earlier than mine and go a week later. That’s why they have so much off in the middle!
Jan 23, 2013 @ 11:55:17
I wish I was or had been better organized to plan stuff out for the kids. When they were younger, I kept some of their favorites activities around, playdough, clay, coloring books, building blocks, paints, stuff like that for when they came to me with the “I’m bored.” Now teenagers, they stir clear of mom on their days off because I put them to work! LOL
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