The Longest Month of School {Parenthood}

 I pick up my son from school, we are a couple weeks into the month. He looks at me and asks, "Mom, when is the next half day." He looks tired. The homework load is getting harder to help prepare for the next grade level and he has not been sleeping well. Sure he has been waking up early and able to get to school on time in the morning, but it's taking its toll on his poor little body. I can tell he is overtired, his action lately has proven his exhaustion. I feel like the only thing to do know is to start counting down the days to summer break.

April. This is the month where our state does their standardized testing (we aren't there yet in 1st grade thankfully!). It is the only month during the school year without a break, a day off or a half-day to make it feel like it goes by faster. Now that I double check the calendar, there is nothing until the end of school at the end of May! Because of this, it feels like the longest last couple months of the school year.

I look back at my little guy while he sits and waits nicely, rather uncharacteristically patient of him to do, for my response. I know when the next half day takes place. I just don't know if I want to tell him he still has another month before he gets the respite he so clearly wants right now. The last day off he had from school was Good Friday, a couple weeks prior.

Last year we were invited to a cousins wedding on the east coast and took a week off from school and work to make a vacation of the trip. We missed a whole week out of this long month, so our experiences were entirely different. Even with half-day kindergarten, I could tell he needed a break midway through this month. This is our first full-day school year, and it seems to make this month a little bit harder.

This year I don't have the vacation to give that buffer for us. I would much rather do something to survive this month without having to go about counting down for summer. Even though we are at the end of the year I still want to maintain that certain level of excitement about attending school. It's so hard to do though when the kids feel like they need a break.

I had spent some time thinking about activities I can do with the kids to keep them occupied and active. The kids love to spend time watching t.v. which was one of the last things I wanted to spend time doing this month and until school lets out. I searched for activities to do outside with the kids, though most activities seemed to be summer based. Those would be fun, but a bit too involved and planning necessary for a weekend or after-school activity. I felt I needed something structured for them.

As I watch my kids play after we get home I realize sometimes it is the unstructured activity they need to unwind. This last month + of school is already going to be structured time upon structured time. I can hear the three of them laughing from one of their bedrooms as they goof off and play. I can't help but smile at the sounds of their free time together. No expectations (aside from the love and kindness expectations we have within our family).

I think we are going to take it easy during this final stretch of the school year. I know I will be asked a few more times when the next half day or day off will be. But, until that moment comes I won't try to push activities on them, I will let them come up with their own games on their own. We will survive this exhausting time day by day. Slowly. Because sometimes it's ok to just let the kids do their own things.