My kids’ spring break from school is coming up and I wanted to share my tips for a school break when you plan to stay home.
Manage expectations. This means for you and your kids. In our house my husband works from home for a large corporation and I am going to school online part-time. The kids know that the parents have work to do and the parents know that the kids need some attention.
Plan one or two activities per day. Ideally these will be activities that you can start your kids on and then leave them to it. I like to plan one for the morning and one for the afternoon. This means you still get work done, the kids get attention, and they learn to play and work together. This also means the kids get some unstructured time when the real playing happens.
Eat lunch outside if you can. The fresh air of spring is good for the soul. And let everyone sleep in a little.
School Break ideas:
Bubbles. I have used this recipe with sucess. We just use string and our fingers. https://happyhooligans.ca/homemade-giant-bubbles/
Sidewalk chalk. They might need some ideas for what to do. Suggestions: a map, a game, or pictures they can be a part of. The colors really pop if you get the surface wet first.
Backyard camping. Set up your tent and let the kids play in there. Consider having a family sleep out.
Planting things. Flowers in a pot, a vegetable garden, or whatever you want.
Backyard gymnastics. Find some videos online of how to do different moves.
Craft kits. These are good if you need an idea, don’t want to buy a hundred things, or both. Target, Joann’s, Michael’s, Barnes and Nobel, and others all have some.
Paper mache. Last fall we made the planets. Tons of fun and slightly educational.
Movie marathon. If you have a rainy day I like this idea. Go with a theme or let everyone pick their favorite.
Reading marathon. Good for a rainy day or if dad has a meeting with the CEO. Take turns reading from a family favorite and do different voices for the characters. If you don’t have a lot of good readers then listen to an audio book.
Obstacle course creation. In the house or outside. Have them design their own and time each other going through.
Baking lesson. Made from scratch or from a box, doesn’t matter.
Cooking lesson. Great as a late morning activity to make lunch.
Lego. Put on some flip flops to protect your feet and let them make the biggest city ever, or space station, or jungle, or whatever.
American Girl. After they create a house for their dolls let them keep it up for a few days.
Painting. We have discovered paint by numbers and love them. Water colors, acrylic, whatever you have.
Scavenger hunt. After you set up the first one the kids will want to do one for their siblings and you.
Games. Board, card, whatever.
Water fun. Fill buckets with water and buy everyone a squirt gun or just use cups to dump on each other.
Build a fort. Let them use the table and chairs and eat pizza in the living room or the fort if it’s big enough.
Backyard Olympics. Races on foot. Races on bike. Who can swing the highest? Hold their breath the longest? Balance the longest on one foot? Anything goes. Need some inspiration? A lot of the past Olympic videos can be found on YouTube.
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