Spring Break / Co-Vid 19 Activities-The Real Deal

So…….

Spring break is here and you may be thinking what I am thinking

Whew that was fast! Christmas was 2 weeks ago!

When are my kids going back to school?  (Since Co-Vid 19- the return date keeps changing.  At the time of writing we are scheduled to go back April 15! )

A few years back-I sent out a very cute and informative post about some cute and educational activities that you  could do during the week off that didn’t involve technology or television.  One was creating a book about an adventure you may have whether it was a trip to the beach or a staycation.

Well even though that was a great post and great idea-this weeks’ post is for the following:

-Parents that work and therefore do not get a full week off.

-Parents that do have the week off and in fact need-a week off

– Parents that are working remotely along with watching kids due to camp, school closures.

Ok ok ok ok! Televison and technology is not a bad thing.  It just is a distracting thing!  This year for spring break let’s use these things to help us get the most from our spring break.  Let’s start with a before you do list:

1. Before you do list (not a todo list). On this list you write a few things down that need to happen BEFORE television and social media.  Here are some suggestions:

-Make your bed

-Brush your teeth and get dressed

-Make your brother breakfast

-Empty the dishwasher

-Do 3 sheets in your workbook

-Read for 20 min (that one will be hard to track especially if you’re at work).

2.  TV Show retell-If they are going to watch tv anyway at least they should be able to answer a few questions about it.  Retelling a story whether its read or watched is a great skill for kids to work on. Pick one episode and ask them to tell you about it.  What was the problem?  Who are the characters?  How did it get solved?  How did the character feel?Vocabulary 3. Tik Tok-If you have teens or tweens chances are that you have hear of this new social media hit!  Kids (and adults) are making 15 sec videos (usually set to music and usually they are dancing).  But at the beginning of the day think of 4-5 words you want defined or even use their vocab words from school and see if they can define it in 15 sec or less on their phones-have them send it to you at work or let them show you when you get home. 

4. Grab a bite or an ice cream and just talk. Since it is spring break-and you don’t have homework to do with your kid-take time to do something out of the ordinary: go to the park, grab lunch or dinner or go for a drive and then get ice cream, gelato, a smoothie, etc.

5. Make a schedule for your kids and yourself-I have been home for the past 2 days and last night I decided to make a schedule for MYSELF! Even though I have been productive-I feel myself going off my regular schedule.  I am eating more and working less.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a day or so.  But in light of recent events-make a plan of some sort of when I will work, when I will break and when I will watch tv is a great tool for keeping myself on track and I suspect it will be a great tool for keeping your children on track too (plus it may keep those grocery bills down!)

I am not sure what will happen with Co-Vid 19 as things are changing daily. But we will all get through this.  Be safe, take care of yourselves and keep on reading and working with your children.  You will be glad you did!

Adrienne