Things may be a bit *unusual* right now, but I still wanted to document our 2020 Spring Break fun, for memory's sake. We aren't a Spring Break travelin' family, aside from the traditional quick trip we take to Aiken, South Carolina, where my hub and the big kids go fishing with Pop for a couple days. Otherwise, we've always stayed in town, finding little adventures all around our little town (putt-putt; movie theater; Top Golf; etc.). This year, though, we had to forego the fishing-with-Pop tradition thanks to the stay-at-home order. BUT we weren't going to let that pesky coronavirus steal our fun; so, we made plans for a fun little corona-cation of our own. ;)
For me, it was helpful to have a couple planned activities each day to complete together as a family and then have the rest of the day for open play. So, I came up with the "Jar o' Fun." Each day, one of the kiddos would close their eyes and choose a slip of paper from the jar, which outlined the theme for the day's surprise activities. They LOVED seeing what the day would entail, depending on the theme. That being said, here's what our Spring Break days looked like for 2020:
On the first day of Spring Break, Banks pulled "STEAM Day." Our sweet related arts teachers had sent a list of fun, creative STEAM-related activities as options for the kiddos to complete over Spring Break. We chose three from that list, which included (1) making a pond out of outdoor materials, (2) creating weapons out of things found in nature, and my favorite (3) treasure hunting. Each kiddo hid a toy in our yard and then had to draw a map of where it was for the other kids to use to find it. They loved it!
The second day of Spring Break, Raleigh pulled "Art Day." This ended up being one of their favorite days: I painted their faces, we colored their hair, and they painted butterfly stepping stones to put in our yard.
Harrison pulled "Game Day" on the third day of Spring Break. This entailed lots of outdoor gaming fun, including driveway tennis, frisbee, hangman, and a family tournament using a giant badminton set (snagged from Walmart a couple weeks ago).
On the fourth day of Spring Break, "Kindness Day" was drawn from the jar by Bella. We painted rocks and then hid them around the neighborhood. We also chalked positive messages on the sidewalk in front of our house to encourage our neighbors during their daily walks/runs/bike rides.
Banks pulled "Nature Day" on Day Five. We made flower crowns using a kit Raleigh had received for Christmas but we hadn't yet used. We then ventured to the nature trail at the end of our street, and walked all around the woods, hunting for different treasures and collecting them in little bags. Once home, we created nature bracelets using what we had found.
The sixth day of Spring Break, Raleigh pulled "Water Day." We were so thankful for the gorgeous, sunny 80+ degree weather we had throughout our Spring Break week and were able to bust out all kinds of water play fun this day: We washed our bikes, scooters, and golf cart first before heading to our backyard to play in the sprinklers, splash around in water tables, and coast down the slip 'n slide.
On the seventh day of Spring Break, "Easter Day" was pulled by Harrison from the "Jar o' Fun." This meant (1) dyeing our Easter eggs, (2) decorating Easter egg cookies thanks to some cute cookie kits I found at Walmart, and (3) going on a virtual Easter Egg hunt around our neighborhood. We had to count alllllll the paper eggs our many neighbors had decorated and taped to their windows. We went down every single street in our neighborhood, counting hundreds of eggs, and ended up being one of five families to win the counting contest, being awarded a fun surprise!
Bella pulled "Show Day" on the eighth day of Spring Break. The kids had to work together to create their own talent show. They each had to come up with an act as well as create tickets, poster advertisements, and seating arrangements. They even found a way to have Banks' chromebook announce the acts before each took the stage and played music as they put on their showcase: Raleigh and Bella performed a dance/gymnastics number; Harrison showed off his football skills; and Banks battled it out against his brother in a soccer showdown.
The nineth day was "Baking Day." We hand-painted Easter cookies for the kiddos of my LifeGroup girls and left them on their porches for them to find. We also baked some yummy bunny cupcakes, perfect since this day also happened to be Easter. :)
On the last official day of Spring Break, we ventured about 25 minutes away, to the quaintest little farm, still open for "Pick Your Own" strawberries (not an option at the fields directly across from our neighborhood this year). We made a (socially-distanced approved ;) ) appointment and arrived to pick over 8 pounds of beautiful strawberries. It was a good day. :)
And THAT is how our Spring Break played out this year. Aside from the aforementioned activities, we spent most waking hours outside, just playing, together. It was a really good week with my Lu Crew, a Spring Break none of us will soon forget. <3
And now, we are two days back into e-learning and gearing up for the week ahead. Be safe and well out there, friends. Back soon...
On the first day of Spring Break, Banks pulled "STEAM Day." Our sweet related arts teachers had sent a list of fun, creative STEAM-related activities as options for the kiddos to complete over Spring Break. We chose three from that list, which included (1) making a pond out of outdoor materials, (2) creating weapons out of things found in nature, and my favorite (3) treasure hunting. Each kiddo hid a toy in our yard and then had to draw a map of where it was for the other kids to use to find it. They loved it!
The second day of Spring Break, Raleigh pulled "Art Day." This ended up being one of their favorite days: I painted their faces, we colored their hair, and they painted butterfly stepping stones to put in our yard.
Harrison pulled "Game Day" on the third day of Spring Break. This entailed lots of outdoor gaming fun, including driveway tennis, frisbee, hangman, and a family tournament using a giant badminton set (snagged from Walmart a couple weeks ago).
On the fourth day of Spring Break, "Kindness Day" was drawn from the jar by Bella. We painted rocks and then hid them around the neighborhood. We also chalked positive messages on the sidewalk in front of our house to encourage our neighbors during their daily walks/runs/bike rides.
Banks pulled "Nature Day" on Day Five. We made flower crowns using a kit Raleigh had received for Christmas but we hadn't yet used. We then ventured to the nature trail at the end of our street, and walked all around the woods, hunting for different treasures and collecting them in little bags. Once home, we created nature bracelets using what we had found.
The sixth day of Spring Break, Raleigh pulled "Water Day." We were so thankful for the gorgeous, sunny 80+ degree weather we had throughout our Spring Break week and were able to bust out all kinds of water play fun this day: We washed our bikes, scooters, and golf cart first before heading to our backyard to play in the sprinklers, splash around in water tables, and coast down the slip 'n slide.
On the seventh day of Spring Break, "Easter Day" was pulled by Harrison from the "Jar o' Fun." This meant (1) dyeing our Easter eggs, (2) decorating Easter egg cookies thanks to some cute cookie kits I found at Walmart, and (3) going on a virtual Easter Egg hunt around our neighborhood. We had to count alllllll the paper eggs our many neighbors had decorated and taped to their windows. We went down every single street in our neighborhood, counting hundreds of eggs, and ended up being one of five families to win the counting contest, being awarded a fun surprise!
Bella pulled "Show Day" on the eighth day of Spring Break. The kids had to work together to create their own talent show. They each had to come up with an act as well as create tickets, poster advertisements, and seating arrangements. They even found a way to have Banks' chromebook announce the acts before each took the stage and played music as they put on their showcase: Raleigh and Bella performed a dance/gymnastics number; Harrison showed off his football skills; and Banks battled it out against his brother in a soccer showdown.
The nineth day was "Baking Day." We hand-painted Easter cookies for the kiddos of my LifeGroup girls and left them on their porches for them to find. We also baked some yummy bunny cupcakes, perfect since this day also happened to be Easter. :)
On the last official day of Spring Break, we ventured about 25 minutes away, to the quaintest little farm, still open for "Pick Your Own" strawberries (not an option at the fields directly across from our neighborhood this year). We made a (socially-distanced approved ;) ) appointment and arrived to pick over 8 pounds of beautiful strawberries. It was a good day. :)
And THAT is how our Spring Break played out this year. Aside from the aforementioned activities, we spent most waking hours outside, just playing, together. It was a really good week with my Lu Crew, a Spring Break none of us will soon forget. <3
And now, we are two days back into e-learning and gearing up for the week ahead. Be safe and well out there, friends. Back soon...
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