With Thanksgiving break next week and two weeks of holiday bliss not far behind that, I am about to experience my first-ever dilemma of how to navigate working with an energetic four-year-old at home.
Sure, camp is an option. And it definitely will be, come summertime. But for the relatively short stretches of no school, I’d rather keep my son home. I am lucky enough to have a flexible job where I can work from home, so I’d like to take advantage of saving the camp fees and also – just having my kid home.
I remember being home from school during holidays and summer breaks. I loved being home – waking when I wanted, not following a strict routine, snacking, watching shows.
Homeschool for the Holidays
Not that my son will be snacking and watching TV all day. I will have to prepare activities for him, give him daily tasks, and make sure he understands just because he is off school doesn’t mean every day is a free-for-all.
My son, though creative and adventurous, needs structure. He can play by himself for a while, but like any four-year-old, he gets bored. And when you have a bored four-year-old roaming around the house (opening random drawers and rearranging photo frames) while you are on a Zoom call, things go haywire real quick.
So, I intend to have each day planned out for him, just like he is used to at school, only from the comfort of his own home. It will be an experimental homeschool situation with practicing his letters and sight words, arts and crafts, earned tablet time, and lots of outdoor excursions.
Planning out each day off of school day is crucial so that my son won’t completely lose all sense of responsibility and I won’t lose my mind.
And if some of those days the planned activities don’t keep him entertained long enough for me to get my work done, or let’s be real, he flat out refuses, I will put him in front of the TV and let him snack.
Because sometimes, Mama, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Activities to avoid Thanksgiving break boredom
Here are some activities and free resources I plan to use for the Thanksgiving holiday break.
Read all about it!
We love to go to the library. I can get my work done, and my kids can pick out some new books for free! Here is a list of some Thanksgiving books we will look for when we go.
Outdoor Fun
My kids love to be outside, I love for them to be outside. It’s a win-win! Here are a ton of outdoor activities that look like lots of fun and, more importantly, time-consuming! My kids LOVE to paint and play with water, and since Thanksgiving break won’t be that cold, why not let them play?!
And check out this blog post for even more outdoor activities.
