Spring is coming!

Does your household get all off-kilter when spring is around the corner? Sometimes ours goes a little crazy when it first warms up. What do you do about that?

There are a lot of options, but I'll just share a few we've used to get some order/ learning back on the daily menu.

1. Go outside. If the weather is calling you outside, put on your jackets and your mud boots and take a walk. Even something as seemingly mundane as picking up the trash in the yard can give you & your kids 10 or 15 minutes of fresh air & sunshine. If you can swing it, plan an hour. Look for signs of Spring, like budding trees or the shoots of daffodils. Take pictures, draw pictures... or just let your kids play in the mud - they're washable!

2. Watch a DVD. Spring may be calling, but it might still be too cold to go outside. Watch an educational DVD about something of interest to your kids. Maybe a show about plants, animals, or a documentary about a historical site. You can always do 2 math lessons tomorrow. Remember, you are NOT the only one on your house with cabin fever.

3. Bake something, or eat a fruit salad. Seriously, just doing SOMETHING different today can help all of you get out of your 'this-winter-is-lasting-forever' doldrums. Maybe it's time to break out the Legos and build something from your history lesson.



4. Read a book, preferably a picture book with lots of trees and flowers. It doesn't really matter how old your kids are, they still like to be read to. It saves them from reading themselves. Our re-read a favorite, just because!

5. Put on an audio book to listen to while you clean. Literature, and finding the floor can go hand in hand. Save the vacuuming for after the story, or use it as an after-lunch break in the story.


Take a day this week and DO something different. You'll be surprised at how much better everyone feels after a break from routine.