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2014: Our Spring Break Activities

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2014: Spring Break Activities

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Thankful for another early spring break this year, we planned a little getaway.

In years past, we have stayed near home and enjoyed the activities around town while the other school-age students were in school.

In 2012, we spent time entertaining, playing, jumping and visiting.

Then in 2013, we played arcade games at Chuck E. Cheese, jumped, met friends at the park, colored Easter eggs, and hunted eggs.

This year, we started our spring break as soon as school let out.

Friday: Preparing for our Getaway

With our children getting bigger and ready for more adventure, we planned a weekend trip up to Charlotte, NC. When school let out early on Friday, March 7, we headed home to finish packing for our weekend trip.

Saturday: Travel and Visiting Two Science Museums

2014: Our Spring Break Activities On Saturday morning, we headed to Charlotte to visit the Charlotte Nature Museum and Discovery Place using our favorite history and science museum membership.

Getting FREE admission to both venues, we enjoyed the displays, activities, and programs. Both museums were in close proximity, and we had packed our lunch to cut down on time away from playing.

Though we ended up staying longer at the Nature Museum to see the showing of Grandpa Tree, we had about 1.5 hours to find our favorite activities at Discovery Place before they closed at 6:00 p.m.

At closing time, we headed to our friends’ home in the area. We were fed a delicious meal and enjoyed talking the night away with them.

Sunday: Daylight Savings Time, Church, and the Great Wolf Lodge

2014: Our Spring Break Activities It was a short night as Daylight Savings sprung us forward an hour, so we were yawning a bit in church the next morning.

After church, we said our thank yous and goodbyes, and headed to the Great Wolf Lodge.

We stopped by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for our FREE original glazed doughnuts and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Wendy’s getting our $1 key tags for this spring and summer.

We then arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte/Concord, NC. To read more about our wonderful stay and adventure, check out this series recap for all my tips and tricks for a fun visit.

Monday: Day 2 at the Great Wolf Lodge

2014: Our Spring Break Activities We continued our two-day stay at the lodge with lots of waterpark fun.

After leaving the lodge in the early evening, we stopped by Chick-fil-A for dinner where we used our Chick-fil-A calendar cards for FREE Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Yum!

With full tummies and worn out from the busy weekend, we all relaxed as Paul drove us home.

Ah! Home . . . it was a nice getaway, but getting back home was really nice.

Tuesday: Recovery Day

We spent the day relaxing, unpacking, and working on the piles of laundry while we recovered from the great weekend.

It was really nice to have no place to go and no schedule to follow.

The girls were fun to watch as they rediscovered their toys. They missed playing with their favorites while we were away.

2014: Our Spring Break Activities

Wednesday: Crafts

2014: Our Spring Break Activities With the weather getting a bit chilly, we had another day at home with the girls painting a craft and asking for more projects.

Getting a little restless after being home for 2 days, we planned an outing for Thursday.

Thursday: Jump Zone

Needing to work out their stored up energy, my children jumped all morning and afternoon at our local jump zone.

By early evening, they were ready to head home for dinner, baths, and movie night.

Friday: Outing with Grandparents

Taking up my in-laws’ offer to watch their grandchildren on Friday, I dropped them off and ran some errands alone before heading home.

After Paul finished work, he picked them up and brought them home.

They had learned to whittle with Grandpa and were working on their blocks of wood until dinner was ready.

Saturday: Bonding Time

As our spring break was coming to an end, we were gearing up to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

For a little mother-daughter bonding time, Miss 6 and I painted our nails for the Irish holiday.

Kicking off our spring break with a getaway and then taking the week to recover worked well for us. My children enjoyed their time off but were not exhausted when heading back to the school routine on Monday morning.

As the school year is winding down and schedules are ramping up, recovery days are necessary in our home for a bit of calm. Finding a balance takes time, but the recovery days allow us to rest which is keeping us healthy this allergy season. Happy spring break!

Question: What do you have planned, or did you do on your spring break?

2014: St. Patrick’s Day Activities

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2014: St. Patrick’s Day ActivitiesAre you ready to get your green on? St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon. For the one who does not wear green, be prepared to get pinched. 😉

My children have been carefully planning how to incorporate green into their school uniform for Monday.

My son is already wearing his green bracelet and has chosen to wear his black tennis shoes with the green stripe on them.

My daughter has her hair bow selected along with her necklace (see Amazon link below) and ring. She and I spent some time this afternoon painting our nails green, of course.

I will enjoy donning my hat, green shirt, and matching necklace to tone down my nail polish. On Monday morning, I will send my little ones to school with their St. Patrick’s Day jokes in their lunch boxes. They enjoy getting jokes to share with their classmates.

Having posted St. Patrick’s Day party ideas and a list of St. Patrick’s Day activities in 2013, I hope you find lots of shamrock, rainbow, and leprechaun inspiration from these additional St. Patrick’s Day activities.

2014: St. Patrick’s Day ActivitiesSt. Patrick’s Day Accessories

  • Cute nail art designs shared by Quida at Simple Savings for Atlanta Moms
  • Shamrock pendent sold by Amazon for $3.49 with FREE shipping (This is my affiliate link, and Miss 6 is wearing it in the above picture.)

St. Patrick’s Day Printable Activities

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

St. Patrick’s Day Deals

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

With all these St. Patrick’s Day accessories, activities, crafts, deals, and recipes, I hope you can find a way to make Monday very special. Enjoy your day as you get on your green.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Question: How will you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

2014: Presidents’ Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

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2014: President’s Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

Photograph Credit: iClipArt

This coming Monday, February 17, 2014, is the United States’ federal holiday honoring our Presidents.

Though most activities are centered on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Presidents’ Day encompasses all our American Presidents.

When Paul and I lived in Pennsylvania, we took a train ride into Philadelphia one Saturday morning. Besides visiting Independence Hall and the huge Liberty Bell, we toured the Philadelphia Mint.

Wow! I still remember this experience from over 10 years ago.

My U.S. Mint Visit

At that time, the museum portion was intriguing as we learned of the choosing process for each type of American currency printed at that Mint.

Highlighting the events of the Presidents, who were chosen for that currency, I remember how awed I was by the precise and intentional decisions of each stroke.

After viewing the museum portion, we watched from a large window, the workers printing currency. Dressed in their uniforms, including gloves, the process was precise, just like choosing the design.

Though I have not returned to a U.S. Mint since that visit, I still remember that experience and think of it around Presidents’ Day each year. Not sure if Mints still offer visits. If they do, I highly recommend taking a tour.

Without a U.S. Mint in our area, we are not planning any outings – although Sonic has a good hot dog deal. However, we can celebrate Monday with these Presidents’ Day activities, crafts, recipes, and worksheets:

Presidents’ Day Activities, Crafts, Recipes, and Worksheets

  • Enchanted Learning includes a popsicle stick log cabin craft along with Presidents’ Day printable pages, like the math decoder
  • Family Education links to 30+ Presidents’ Day activities
  • Including Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt, DLTK’s Crafts for Kids focuses on activities for preschool, kindergarten, and grade-school children
  • The list of crafts, coloring pages, and recipes by Spoonful includes the paper plate Uncle Sam
  • A Kid’s Heart provides trivia, games, and puzzles for the child who loves computer time
  • More Presidents’ Day online puzzles and games found at Primary Games
  • FREE George Washington unit study available through Educents
  • Love the creativity for serving lunch by Cookie Cutter Lunch
  • Seeded at the Table shows how to make these red, white, and blue skewers
  • Home and School Mosaics included a Presidents’ Day mini unit complete with videos
  • BeCentsAble compiled a list of Presidents’ Day coupons

If these activities leave you wanting more, then access more patriotic activities from this 2013 post, celebrating Independence Day.

Wishing all Americans a wonderful Presidents’ Day, as we celebrate those who fought, founded, and led the United States of America.

Happy Presidents’ Day!

2014: Snow Day Activities

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2014: Snow Day ActivitiesThankful for a warm home, power, and a healthy family, we have enjoyed our snow days this week. Though it took some time for the snow to accumulate, we were not disappointed with the final results.

This afternoon, we enjoyed sledding and playing with our neighbors in the white stuff before it turned into slush. We tossed snowballs, made snow angels, sled down the hill, and built snowmen.

The time outdoors was great as we have been cooped up this week. We topped off the outdoor activities with an indoor hot chocolate treat. Yum!

2014: Snow Day Activities

The snow did what the train tracks, crafts, drawings, reading, and movie-watching from the last few days could not do. The trips up the snow-covered hill wore them out. All three of my kids were ready for bed tonight.

If you are still stuck indoors and needing some snow day activities to stay active, then try some of these activities:

Snow Day Baking

From this Snow Ice Cream Recipe posted by BeCentsAble to your favorite chocolate chip cookies, baking provides lots of fun in the kitchen while keeping your home warm.

Snow Day Crafts, Games, and More

From building a tent to pulling out the board games, kids hop from one activity to another. For the mama and daddy, who just need a little inspiration, check out these snow day activities posts:

Snow Day Printable Packs

Though Phil, the groundhog, says spring is on the way, we are still very much experiencing winter. My backyard is still thawing the snow, and Miss 3 is not happy that the snowmen are melting. As we could still see some more ice and snow in the coming weeks, these activities are close at hand.

Finding snow day activities lifesavers on these cold days, I am so grateful for the many bloggers who compile these lists and create these printable packs. I appreciate their hard work and willingly pass along their accomplishments that we all may enjoy them.

As I am off to bundle up under a warm blanket to watch the Olympics, may you stay warm, healthy, and energized with these snow day activities. Happy creating!

Question: Are you experiencing snow days this winter?

2014: Valentine’s Day Activities

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2013: Valentine's Day ActivitiesLove is in the air! My children put together their Valentine’s Day gifts for their classmates over the weekend.

They chose the candy and wrote their friends’ names on the cards.

Now, we are hoping they get to give them out on Friday with all the snow we are expected to get today and tomorrow.

With so many wonderful Valentine’s Day activities, I chose only the FREE options.

Having posted party ideas in 2012 and then a list of Valentine’s Day activities in 2013, I am adding to those posts with the following Valentine’s Day gifts, deals, crafts, recipes, cards, and packs:

Valentine’s Day Gifts

Valentine’s Day Restaurant Deals

Valentine’s Day Crafts

Valentine’s Day Recipes

Valentine’s Day Printable Cards

Valentine’s Day Printable Packs

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. These FREE resources are just suggestions. Paul and I get a night out for Valentine’s Day. 🙂 We purchased a Groupon a few weeks back which we plan to use before heading to a production of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Whether you plan to stay in or venture out, may you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and a special celebration with those you love!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Question: What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?