Spring Break will be here in a little over a week! This can be exciting- especially if you are vacationing near a beach- or it can be something you may be anticipating with a little dread if you are staying local. We are staying close to home this year because we have other vacations planned throughout the year instead. The little humans will be all mine for 9 days with no school. Eek!

I always think of Spring Break like a little preview of Summer break. I find out what worked well and what where I need to up my game to make summer go smoothly. Also related to this- aren’t teachers amazing?! They really are magical unicorns. How do they have 20+ kids every.single.weekday. and manage to keep order AND teach them things WHILE having fun doing it! They are the real heroes. Anyway, I digress. Spring break is something I do look forward to, but more so if I am prepared!

Here are are few areas I focus on to prepare for (and enjoy!) Spring break:

FOOD

My kids are bottomless pits when they are home. I know they don’t eat this much at school, but when they are home they graze all day! It can be maddening if I don’t have a plan to deal with the food situation. I schedule a grocery pickup the day before break starts and it is usually a big one with lots of blue bins! I get a lot of grab and go items like granola bars, fruit, yogurt, cereal, single serving applesauce, chips, string cheese, etc. I have these things in a cabinet or drawer in the fridge where the kids can go to for snacks throughout the day rather than asking me to get them something 4586 times (<—actual number).

For dinner it’s business as usual, but during the day is where I have to plan ahead if I don’t want to be D.O.N.E. by 5pm. I usually make the kids the same thing for breakfast such as waffles, oatmeal, or cereal. For lunch we usually do a nuggets and french fries option or a chicken noodle soup. I’m not striving for diversity, just crowd pleasers. Don’t judge.

I have found if I am not prepared in the food department then nothing else goes well. This is true on Christmas break, summer break, and even weekends. Food planning is so important to have a smooth day with kids!

ACTIVITIES

I can almost hear my kids on day one of Spring break asking me, “mom, what are we doing today? What do you have planned for our week?” Umm. Yeah. They know we are staying home, but they will be stir crazy after a few days. I have thought of a short list of possibilities for one fun activity each day even if we are staying home that will provide structure and give them an incentive to work towards. I’ll talk about that next 🙂

These activities do not have to be over the top or expensive, just something extra to break up the day- and only one thing- two is too many.

Here is a short list of ideas:

• playdate
• hiking
• bowling
• mini-vaca with friends
• volunteer somewhere
• go to a park
• have a homeday
• scavenger hunt
• build an epic fort
• go to a movie
• craft day

INCENTIVES

When there is a behavior incentive that leads to a fun reward (see activity list above) my kids are at their best. If they know that they will get to do something fun the next day if they can do their chores, get along with their siblings, and be a willing helper they will be on their behavior each day.

If I threaten taking away a fun day for their current behavior they usually correct it immediately. I post the list of activities on the fridge so that they can see the fun that is ahead. Sometimes I do a simple point system where as a group they have to get five good behavior points each day to do the fun activity the next day. They love this and ask me throughout the day how many points they have. It challenges them to get along with siblings since the points are not earned individually. And if I ever tell them that I will take a point away they straighten up because they worked hard to earn those behavior points!

I hope these tips help make your Spring break go as smooth as possible! If you are at the beach these tips are still true, but if you are staying close to home then hopefully this gave you a jump start on your planning!

Spring break can be enjoyed, not just survived- it just takes a little planning with a dash of structure 😉 Try to think like a magical unicorn teacher. You got this.

Until next time,