Get OUT!!!

I saw this meme over the break and decided to take the idea to heart and to our homeschool.

At first, when I kicked the kids out of the house after they finished school, chores* and lunch; I got a little kick-back.  When they realized I wasn't going to give on this, they decided to use the time to take their favorite new toys outside.  Our family gift for the kids this year came with much begging from Titus (which is why he had to wait and be surprised at Christmas when he had given up all hope of ever getting it).  On Christmas Day they found a box of four "Laser X - Revolution Guns".  They work so much better than any of us thought.  So much so that we bought two more to have when friends come over.

Even on rainy days the kids are learning to have fun.  The other day Amber and Titus came in soaking wet from taking the dogs around the block and jumping in puddles.  But they had smiles on their faces, they'd learned to have fun despite the circumstances and that is the point.

*For the first time ever, I created an official chore chart with chores each child has to complete each day.  In the past I felt such schedules were too rigid but strangely structure is something we've all needed more in the past year.  It seems to be helping the kids finish chores without push-back, its just like their school schedule in that its just another item that needs completion.  Its funny how structure has ebbed and flowed over the years in our home.  At times the kids need less and other times they crave more; its good to be flexible.