Sometimes, we need to switch things up a bit around the house when the weather gets a little cooler and the holidays start coming up over the horizon. The kids and I get a little restless. These are a few of the things I do to keep things calm.
1. I tweak our fall schedule. I feel refreshed when I address the gaps in our scheduling. I don't feel as overwhelmed when I need to go to Plan B because there is a Plan B more or less.
2. More art. I love art lessons with the kids. I forgot how much I loved art in middle/high school. I forgot about creativity and losing yourself in your piece. We do a lot of chalk pastel drawings because it's such a forgiving medium, and the kids can create some great stuff! It's a bit messy, but it's lot of fun. During the fall, we'll create fallish masterpieces. My favorite pastel tutorial site is located at Hodgepodge.
3. Head to the corn maze. Our local corn maze offers discounted pricing certain days during October. The kids love it. I love it. We all love being outside doing a little something different. We don't really get into trick or treating. No one does it in our neighborhood. It's not like it was when I was a kid. We generally let the kids dress up and head to the Corn Maze so they don't miss out on dressing up. Although, the girls and Daniel tend to dress up all year long, so I don't know why I worry about them missing out on it.
4. If we need a change of scenery, I take the kids and their school work and go out to our church. We may pack up and head to the library one day. Sometimes, we get more done in less time when we switch up our schooling location.
5. Go outside. Take a walk. Have a picnic in the front yard and read the current read aloud during the kids' lunch. I do this a lot, and I eat my lunch solo during the kids' quiet time.
6. Music. Turn on some quiet music. Sometimes, it distracts them from their need to be noisy. Some days, it seems like they just need some sort of noise, and if there is none, they make their own.
7. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and watch the kids play outside. Stop and pray for them.
8. Pick a project. I'm planning to have the kids do a fall project. Let them pick a topic, give them guidelines, and let them loose.
9. Have an apple or a pumpkin day. We read stories, do a craft or art project, and make some sort of goody in the kitchen. The boys participate but I'm afraid their days of being interested in that sort of thing are coming to a close. They still like the art and the food though.
10. We'll have a game afternoon and a movie marathon at some point. Popular games, at this point, are Phase 10, Checkers, and Uno. They also like to hook my laptop up to the TV and take turns playing Angry Birds. We may make smores and drink apple cider.
Traditions can be what makes memories. I, intentionally, want to help my family make memories. When they're grown, with a family of the own, I want them to look back and say with a smile, "Every fall, we would_______as a family."
No comments:
Post a Comment