Ok folks. We are in the thick of it.
Right in the middle of Christmas Vacation.
Halfway done.
You can do it!
Are your kids starting to repeat that dreaded phrase "I'm bored!"?
Thankfully this year mine haven't (success!) because I staved it off with a totally new outlook for us on Christmas vacation.
Moms (and Dads) - we don't have to have everything meticulously planned out. We don't need a schedule with every available moment blocked with some kind of ridiculous activity meant to "make memories". This year, we took a low-key, unplanned approach, and it has honestly been the best year we've had.
Monday, we didn't plan anything. We let them stay in their jammies as long as they wanted (teeth did have to be brushed, though. Come on.) They played with their Christmas toys, and when they started to get hyper we told them they could take those toys outside and play. We watched movies, ate leftovers, and just hung out.
Tuesday we went to the zoo and then to Chick Fil A with some sweet friends. We didn't have a schedule or timetable that we had to keep, and yes, us mommas were getting a little hangry and impatient at just how long the boys were running around the playground at the zoo, BUT we just sat back and let them have fun. Family came over after dinner that night and spent a few hours at our house
Wednesday, we spent the morning doing much of what we had done the other days - relax, spend time enjoying their new gifts and goodies. Watched a movie. Played with the neighborhood kids. They've done that A LOT this week.
Thursday was the same way - just hang out and enjoy yourselves. Spend time being a kid. We went over to some friends' house for a few hours. Came home, played a game of marbles (ours is handmade, and you can order it from our sister site Lone Star Designs or grab something similar here), and watched a movie.
Our marbles board (made by J's grandfather for us - isn't it pretty?)
It's my opinion (which means take it or leave it, but I'm get one and so do you) that kids today are so over-scheduled and over planned that they don't get to be kids. I was guilty of that, too. AND it was much easier, in what little downtime we DID have, to let the electronics keep them happy for me. But you know what I noticed? We could go for hours being in the same room, and not saying more than 5 words to eachother. Unless it was complaining about someone sucking up all the WiFi bandwidth by watching Netflix or something. Over the past few weeks, I have been observing my family and noticing that this is not the kind of parent I want to be, and that the only ones that living like his benefits is... No one.
Kids don't learn how to socialize, problem solve, use their imaginations, create, play, interact. They think that everything must be done for them, because let's be honest here - up until now it all had been. I had been running their calendars. I had been making sure they got up, got ready to go, had the things they needed, and got to all their activities on time. And God forbid we didn't have an activity planned!
I remember disappearing for hours and knowing that I had to be on good behavior and come home when the street lights came on. The first couple of times I sent my kids out to play with no directions, just said "go outside and play", they sat on the patio furniture and said "we don't know what to do". But after a few weeks of encouraging them to figure it out, I now have had a week of fort building, bike races, Nerf wars, sidewalk chalk, and spontaneous performances in our front yard. The neighborhood kids live over here now, and the sounds of Big Wheels and bikes being dropped in my driveway has punctuated this week.
Sure we've had a few minor incidents where someone got too rambunctious and got hurt. And you know what? They sorted it out. I used to have concerns that I was going to be raising a bunch of video gaming cry babies. Now I've got BOYS out there, whittling something wonderful out of some sticks that they found, and shoring up the sides of Fort Lee, and planning out a major battle strategy for their Epic Nerf War Part II.
I know that the desire to fill their little lives with wonderful memories is strong, momma. And it's a great goal to have. Just don't forget to UN-plan a few things and let them make their own memories.
It's my opinion (which means take it or leave it, but I'm get one and so do you) that kids today are so over-scheduled and over planned that they don't get to be kids. I was guilty of that, too. AND it was much easier, in what little downtime we DID have, to let the electronics keep them happy for me. But you know what I noticed? We could go for hours being in the same room, and not saying more than 5 words to eachother. Unless it was complaining about someone sucking up all the WiFi bandwidth by watching Netflix or something. Over the past few weeks, I have been observing my family and noticing that this is not the kind of parent I want to be, and that the only ones that living like his benefits is... No one.
Kids don't learn how to socialize, problem solve, use their imaginations, create, play, interact. They think that everything must be done for them, because let's be honest here - up until now it all had been. I had been running their calendars. I had been making sure they got up, got ready to go, had the things they needed, and got to all their activities on time. And God forbid we didn't have an activity planned!
I remember disappearing for hours and knowing that I had to be on good behavior and come home when the street lights came on. The first couple of times I sent my kids out to play with no directions, just said "go outside and play", they sat on the patio furniture and said "we don't know what to do". But after a few weeks of encouraging them to figure it out, I now have had a week of fort building, bike races, Nerf wars, sidewalk chalk, and spontaneous performances in our front yard. The neighborhood kids live over here now, and the sounds of Big Wheels and bikes being dropped in my driveway has punctuated this week.
Sure we've had a few minor incidents where someone got too rambunctious and got hurt. And you know what? They sorted it out. I used to have concerns that I was going to be raising a bunch of video gaming cry babies. Now I've got BOYS out there, whittling something wonderful out of some sticks that they found, and shoring up the sides of Fort Lee, and planning out a major battle strategy for their Epic Nerf War Part II.
I know that the desire to fill their little lives with wonderful memories is strong, momma. And it's a great goal to have. Just don't forget to UN-plan a few things and let them make their own memories.
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