2014: Our Spring Break Activities

April 10, 2014 by Tracy

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

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

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

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.

Wednesday: Crafts

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?

2013: Spring Break Opportunities

March 26, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: iClipart

An early Easter means an early spring break this year. The air is still chilly, but there are still lots of options for a fun-filled spring break.

Whether spring break is upon you or coming very quickly, the following list contains our favorite spring break opportunities:

Inexpensive Outings

Chuck E. Cheese: We eat before arriving and use a coupon to purchase tokens where each child gets between 15-20 tokens. We play the arcade games, and then save the remaining tokens for another day.

Zoo: Though we have an annual zoo membership, the reciprocal program gives us a 50% discount at our local zoo. (We get free admission to the zoo where we purchased the membership.) With a less than $8 fee per adult, a day at the zoo is a reasonable family outing.

Daily Deal Vouchers: Purchasing admittance into venues through daily deal sites offers 100% fun with at least a 50% discount. Without our annual memberships, we would seize more of these deals for spring break fun.

Free Outings

Park playground: Our parks and recreation department invested their resources into updating a number of playgrounds in our area. My children enjoy testing as many as possible. 😉

Play Date: Invite a friend or more to your home or park to play and build relationships.

Free Outings for Members

Jump Zone: To get the wiggles out, my children love to go bounce for a few hours. We gain free admission with our annual membership, and entrance for our friends cost around $7 per child.

Science museum: Using our annual membership for free admittance, we enjoy a day browsing and learning about the world around us.

Inside Outings

Game day: With a love for games, my children are content to remain at home playing one game after another.

Movie: Picking up a Red Box movie (use promotional code F2AMA8TG3 for a free one-day rental – valid through May 8, 2013) and snuggling in bed with a bowl of popcorn equals perfect bonding time.

Baking: Making an Easter surprise or whipping up chocolate chip cookies offers opportunities to learn while warming our home.

Easter crafts: Coloring eggs, creating Resurrection eggs, making cards, painting, an egg hunt, or any other Easter activity or tradition makes memories.

With so many options, we might need a two-week spring break. Oh, won’t that be nice – although, I might not want to return to our normal school routine. Knowing that our fourth quarter starts the week we return shows us the light at the end of the tunnel. Only two more months of school until we get summer break. This year, I need that vacation more than my children. 🙂

In using time wisely with your children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and grandchildren enjoy an activity or outing with a little planning and a day of fun. Happy spring break!

Question: What are your plans for spring break?

2012: Spring Break Activities

March 23, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Tata)

The time of constant hand washing, nose blowing, watery eyes, and bottles of Benadryl are upon us. Allergy season has sprung. With the cool temperatures and sunny days, my kids enjoy playing outsides, but we pay for it later with sleepless nights.

In keeping a balance between fun activities and not aggravating my family’s allergies, I enjoyed planning our spring break. Since our school’s calendar parallels a college schedule more than grade school schedules, we have an early spring break. During that week, our family had a blast without breaking the bank.

Monday: Dinner Party

To recover from our weekend, we remained home to finish laundry, tidy the house, and prepare for our evening visitors. My children spent the day playing, relaxing, and helping.

My son enjoyed writing the names of our dinner guests on the name cards while my daughter helped pick up the toys and match the newly laundered socks.

By the time our guests arrived, we had a clean home, the table set, and dinner ready. Our family enjoyed the special time spent with my son’s teacher and her husband. What a great start to our fun spring break.

Tuesday: Play Date

With a clean house, we invited our friends over to play. During this time, my children practiced sharing their toys and teaching their friends our family rules. All six kids played well together which ended with naps for my girls in the afternoon.

Wednesday: Bounce House Day

Back in September, I purchased two LivingSocial deals for a total of $18. The offer was a 4-visit punch card to a local bounce house for $9 each. As each admission is regularly $6 per child, I saved 63% by purchasing this deal. In fact, the deal was so good, I purchased two of them. Since our family had not visited this establishment, we went not knowing what to expect.

Wow! Impressive! Since most children were in school, we had the entire room to ourselves. I used our LivingSocial voucher and received two punch cards. After using three of the 8 punches on this visit, we get to return again.

My children enjoyed running, sliding, jumping, riding the toys, and bouncing the rubber balls really high. I enjoyed the enclosed space behind a solid door and carpeted floors. Though I would prefer better lighting, we had a great time and will return again for another fun visit.

Thursday: Another Bounce House Day

We visited our favorite bounce house next. I used a voucher purchased in October from LivingSocial for $7 which included admission for two. This deal was a 50% savings. Yeah! For our third admission, I used a free pass saved from our summer reading reward.

Though I would have liked to space out our bounce house trips, we worked around the plans of our friends and the events at the bounce houses. Our spring break occurred during St. Patrick’s Day week, so some of the bounce houses had special events on Thursday and Friday.

In choosing days that were less busy, we enjoyed having the bounce house to ourselves. Though a few families came and went during our stay, we mainly had the place to ourselves.

After a few hours of indoor play, we went outside to climb and swing on the new playground equipment. With others on the equipment, my children had playmates for part of their adventures. 😉

A little too sunny for pictures 🙂

Friday: Visiting Grandparents’ House

After a full week of fun, my children opted to forgo visiting a new indoor playground establishment. (I purchased a daily deal for admission which we will try at another time.)

Tired out, my children chose to have lunch with Daddy and relax at home. So, we packed our lunches, drove to Daddy’s office, and enjoyed an outdoor picnic before visiting some of his co-workers.

During the evening, Paul and I enjoyed a long-overdue date night (using a Groupon, of course 🙂 ) while our kids spent special time with Grandpa and Grandma, who love to spoil them.

Saturday: Planting our Garden

Our spring break came to a close with the start of our garden. Paul built the frame, and then we planted our herbs and vegetables. Stay tuned on Thursday’s food posts for updates and pictures of our garden’s bounty.

Though allergy season arrived early, we planned around the outdoor activities and enjoyed our spring break. Planning ahead, using vouchers from daily deal sites, and adjusting to your family’s needs will result in a fantastic spring break. If need further inspiration for spring break activities, our family participated in these events last year.

In using time wisely, enjoy your spring break while taking a break from your regular routine. Happy planning!

Question: What are you planning for spring break?

Spring Break: Daily Activities

April 15, 2011 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Jessica Merz)

Are you anticipating spring break? We did! My son’s school has an earlier spring break than most schools in our area. Having the run of places while other children were in school was SO nice! As you prepare for your extra time with your school-age children, I will share how we spent our spring break without breaking the bank on the activities.

Monday: We ran errands all day, but I worked in fun stops along the way. For example: I spaced out the two grocery store trips. We visited one in the morning around 10:00 a.m. which is snack time. The free cookie program took care of the morning snack which is a very nice free option. The second grocery store was visited as the last stop on the way home. We also snagged a free cookie for the kids which held them over until dinner.

We ran our first batch of errands at stores close to home. We then made a stop at home for lunch and to unload before heading out for the afternoon session. In addition to grocery shopping, I had 3 errands to accomplish at a local mall. After lunch, we went to the mall. After accomplishing our errands, I allowed the kids to play at the Kidgits Area, which is an in-door playground. They were climbing, sliding, crawling, and playing for over an hour. They had a great time, and I was able to accomplish a long list of errands.

Tuesday: With the errands completed, we spent the morning at our local library. I was hoping to catch our usual story time class, but the library took their spring break that same week. Though we did not have an official story time with songs and stories, the kids returned their books, chose new ones, and played in the kids area with the puzzles, toys, and computers. After our library visit, we went home for lunch and a restful afternoon.

Wednesday: I scheduled a play date at our house. Our neighbors came down to play for the morning. My kids enjoyed having other children come play with their toys in their house. I enjoyed the visit with my neighbor as our kids played well together. We then rested in the afternoon before heading to church for Kids 4 Truth.

Thursday: We played at home for the morning and allowed the baby to get her morning nap. After an early lunch, we headed for our local Bounce House with inflatables on which the kids jump. We had saved some passes that were given to us, and I brought snacks for them. This all-afternoon activity was a highlight for the week. With their energy exhausted, my kids slept really well that night. 🙂

Friday: After adjusting our schedule due to the baby’s long morning nap, we met up with our friends for the afternoon at the zoo. With our Family Plus Zoo Membership, our family and guests were granted free admission into the zoo. All seven kids enjoyed looking, laughing, and playing together while watching all the animals. At the conclusion of our visit, the kids enjoyed playing on the playground together. This activity was by far THE highlight of our spring break.

With a little advanced planning, I was able to schedule at least one special activity each day. Since all these activities were free, except the cost of gas, we were able to enjoy an activity-slammed week without breaking the bank.

What special activities did you or are you planning to do during spring break? I hope you have a great time with your family as you enjoy each other!