Break. The word itself is perfectly suited for life with kids as they fit in a society of school and after-school lessons. It’s says, if it could talk: If life goes on like this very much longer I am going to BREAK!” And then there’s a break. Spring Break.
When I was Primary chorister I could never start teaching a new song at one of the school breaks, because there would be so few kids in Primary. I kind of did a secret cheer for the kids who remained on home base for Spring Break.
Frankly, for me as a parent, the most wonderful part of Spring Break was the lack of homework. Homework was the bane of my parental existence during the school year. Just give my kids a break from getting up early and staying up late doing homework and my life is changed for the better!
I’ve noticed lately that Spring Break has become kind of weird in that people think something big has to happen over Spring Break or it won’t feel like a break. If we don’t do something big we risk becoming members of the family-fail club.
Why can’t spring break just plain be a break from school? It’s taking on the personality of “holiday” where there are certain expectations that are, quite frankly, artificial. Once you get started taking a vacation every Spring and Fall Break there is a painful let down if you don’t go somewhere. It’s crazy!
Instead, why can’t we make a simple little plan on a couple of those days, something like, “OK kids, we are going to sleep in until 10 am, then we will make real pancakes on the griddle with hot butter and syrup. We gather in the family room for the reading of one book or chapter of a book. Next, we will set a timer and we will gather up all our winter shoes and have a shoe sorting, separating the winter from summer stuff, and then we will go to the park and we are going to make a short movie on mom’s phone. Then it’s little Caesar's pizza on a park bench. Then we are going to have a little down time and maybe a nap and then two of you kids are going to make dinner, and mom and dad are going to do the dishes and then, ta-da, we are going to watch the movie we made at the park, followed by another movie of one of our kid’s choosing. Why not that? That takes as much planning, is as much of a break, and costs a whole lot less than a trip to the Grand Canyon.
Here, therefore, is a worksheet I prepared for a stay at home Spring Break for a family with kids in school.
Day 1
Sleep in until it is uncomfortable to try to sleep any more. Let’s say 10 am.
The rest of the day needs to be flexible and not subject to times, unless we use a timer to make a hard task seem easier by making it a game against the clock.
BRUNCH:
Menu by:______________
Prepared by:_____________
Book, chosen by:____________________
Timed task:_________________________
Fun outdoor Activity:____________________________
Recorded by:________________________
DOWN TIME until:____________________
Dinner menu chosen by:_________________
Prepared by:__________________________
Movie:________________________________
Or bowling, or roller skating, or hike
If you let a kid choose the activity each day, and another one select the menu, and another film the activity, and another choose the movie, then everyone owns the day.
I would suggest you do this one day of Spring Break, and see how it goes. You can choose to do it another day, or you can veg out and do nothing, which is another definition of “break”. And here's another idea, grandparents can be a part of Spring Break too! (Use us!)
Break means change of state, and it doesn’t require us to go very far.
All this being said, if you just plain need a break from home, then by all means, go for it!
All this being said, if you just plain need a break from home, then by all means, go for it!
