Last fall, I implemented our casual Fridays or “fun” Fridays, as the kids call them, where we lay aside our structured day for more relaxed learning. The workbooks, the readers, even the schedule are laid aside, and we tackle a little more “living” learning. It has worked out so well for us, such a nice finish for our week. Not only do the kids need it mentally, but I’ve found that I really need the change as well.
We make flip-books of the animals from the country we’ve studied or bake some cookies together or play games. Here’s a peak at what we did this last Friday.
They chose to do these activities at the dining room table. “Fun” Fridays are our day to get out of the school room a little bit. I was really surprised at what a huge hit these two activities turned out to be. They kept pulling them back out to work on them again and again. Before lunch, after lunch, after nap/quiet time, after supper (to show Daddy)—and then they asked to do it again the next day. I’d say these were definitely worth repeating.
We did take a little break to get a few more things in, like reading. My son chose the back porch area for this; and as it tends to get a little chilly back there, we all grabbed our favorite throws and blankets and cuddled together while my son read to us.
Next, we took a moment to remember last year. I’d made a “yearbook” of sorts using Shutterfly, and then bided my time waiting for a significant sale. The sale code finally came, and I finally ordered a book of last year’s memories. The kids had a lot of fun reminiscing.
The blur of the photos is from the fact that I could hardly get pictures: the two of them were excitedly jumping and pointing and bobbing up and down. It was a fun stroll down memory lane.
And that was our day! A nice break from routine while still covering the essentials.
