One of my goals this year was to be more present with my kids in the after school hours. And one piece of that was reinstating our Wednesday adventures! Low-Key Afternoons with Kids My 3 elementary school kiddos all have … Read More
Join us as we learn about South Korea with kids! During this virtual tour of South Korea for kids, we’ll enjoy fun and inspiring South Korea activities. This South Korea virtual field trip as part of the Global Children’s Book … Read More
Dry Tortugas National Park is definitely a bucket list destination. With only 1% of the park on dry land, it’s an underwater dreamland. Plus, it has an amazing old fort and some of the most unique bird species in all … Read More
Today, baby M is TWO years old! It’s absolutely blowing my mind. The last two years have absolutely flown by, and she has been the very best part of pandemic life. We all feel so grateful that this weird time … Read More
We loved reading The Orphan of Ellis Island for the January 2022 Global Children’s Book Club! If you also enjoyed it, here are some other books that are similar that you might love, too. Shooting Kabul Purchase on Amazon, Bookshop, … Read More
Especially with a big family, our kids definitely need to help out with carrying some of their own stuff when we travel. This is especially true when we fly, but also helpful when we road trip or RV. We love … Read More
With 5 kids of different ages and sizes, it’s often tricky to find Indian clothes for kids. Though we live in an area with several Indian shops, they often don’t have a huge stock and don’t have the sizes, styles, … Read More
One of the big reasons we loved flying Avianca for our summer 2021 adventures was because of the fantastic route availability they had through Central and South America. While Ecuador and Guatemala were the primary focus of our trip, we … Read More
While the Global Children’s Book Club is obviously focused on families with children, I’ve had requests from a number of adults who’d like their own book list! This is the perfect way to read around the world with us this … Read More
Just the thought of flying with a toddler seems to send fear coursing through many people’s veins. And to be fair, it can definitely be challenging. I know with each one of my 5 babies, I’ve felt a bit of … Read More
Oh masks! I never thought a year and a half ago that I’d still be writing a post on the best masks for kids, but here we are. To be clear, this is NOT a comprehensive post on all of … Read More
Back when I did the A-Z Global Children’s Book Club, one of the best parts was the darling printable passport with a page for each country. So for I decided to bring back that idea for the 2022 GCBC! So … Read More
One of my goals this year was to be more present with my kids in the after school hours. And one piece of that was reinstating our Wednesday adventures!
My 3 elementary school kiddos all have early release on Wednesdays, which means they get out of school shortly after lunch. After walking home, they’re usually in the door by about 1:15 or so.
While we used to be good about taking advantage of those open afternoons to do something fun together, we’d fallen out of the habit. It was just so easy to get caught up in other work or responsibilities. Our kids are also good at playing together or finding activities at home. They never ask for screen time on week days because it’s never been a part of our routine, and they always want more time to just chill and read or play with toys or do crafts.
Still, as nice as the relaxing afternoons were, it started to feel like all the days blurred together and we were all picking on each other more. With the extra time, I wanted them to accomplish something else, while they would get more bugged with siblings. And even on the days that everything went perfectly, it just didn’t feel like we were taking advantage of the time to truly spend together.
So I decided to reinstate our Wednesday afternoon adventures this year! To help with this, I gave them the day completely off from chores – I figured for one day a week, it was more important to choose fun than to choose work. They still need to practice their instruments, but since it’s right after lunch, they don’t yet need a snack. That way, they can jump right into practice as soon as they walk in the door while the baby finishes her nap.
Then as soon as she wakes up, I step away from work and we all get ready to head out the door. It’s the best.
Honestly, at first, a couple of my kids resisted. They’d gotten in the habit of having a relaxing, lazy afternoon one day a week. They didn’t want to give that up to go do something just Mom wanted to do. So instead of starting off with a bunch of activities that were my first preference, I brainstormed some things that they’d love to do.
I decided to start off small – just a trip to the library and a playground. It was so simple, but it was nice to have just a small thing to look forward to. Everyone was happy, everyone was tired, everyone was connected.
After the first one, my kids were much more into the idea when they realized it could just be simple things that they were into. Here are some things we’ve done already, as well as a bunch we have on our list!
There are plenty more ideas of fun things to do for free or cheap. And we may still take some of these days at home to do fun projects there, together – science projects or baking or sidewalk chalk or board games. Once we’re in a good rhythm of setting aside that afternoon, I think it will be easier to ensure it stays connected at home, too.
And, of course, things will change with different sports schedules starting, but I love that we have this foundation of making an effort to set aside time for each other. Planning that into our week has made all the difference!
Do you have some fun family traditions? Do you do them at a certain time, or are you more flexible? I’d love to hear how it works for you!
