This half-term I decided that I was not going to pack a load of activities/days out/adventures in for my boys – that actually what they needed was some down time, time to just be. With them at 3 different schools now I thought that just time together being themselves would be best. I have loved seeing them all getting along so well – for example hearing how they are challenging each other about who can stay in their pjs the longest!
Some things the boys have got up to as we have had nothing planned
To name a few of the things we have got up to when we had absolutely nothing planned: We have watched many films, eaten too many sweet things, walked in the rain, played at the park, climbed trees (and hung from them), played board games, got crafty with play doh (and not dictated by some idea about making hearts or flowers), drank special hot chocolates, played Minecraft & LEGO Batman 3, read books, played with toys, built LEGO, read magazines and just chilled.
No rushing, no plan, no dictation. Just enjoying not HAVING to do stuff. Just bonding together and having a very relaxed pace. I know this because my Fitbit tells me that not once this week have I reached my 10,000 steps target! (I did 30,000 last Friday too!). It is actually surprising at how much stuff has been done when the children have just been given the choice.
The Benefits of family time together
Seeing each of the boys having a smile on their faces which is a direct result of their relationship with one another is such a satisfying feeling. I think this quality time together is good for so many reasons including team building, confidence boosting, an opportunity to model behaviour and morals/values, strengths and weaknesses can be built upon, help pass on skills, and positive relations between each other.
We always set aside time as a family every evening at meal time, we work together to prepare the food and table, discuss our “highlights” of the day and there’s an opportunity to express anything that has upset us – before working together to clear everything away again. We make this possible by having a table that completely folds flat and extends on both sides. Our chairs also fold flat and have a special cupboard in the kitchen where they all go into. I think that our table is really important to us as a family and spending time together each day.
Clothes over Half Term
I had been noticing more and more that I needed to sort the boys’ clothes out, with them either being short of something (like warm trousers) or that their existing ones had been grown out of. Well I had been speaking to Aly from Bug, Bird Bee about a book she has been reading (well 2 actually) and she was telling me how the best way to sort clothes is to get them all (apart from the ones waiting to be washed) all in one room and get everyone to sort through getting rid of any that did not spark joy! Well 11 black bags later we had decluttered our clothes big style (including mine and my husband’s wedding clothes because we aren’t going to wear them again!).
The amount of times our clothes are washed it is easy for them to get ruined so I would rather buy cheaper and replace them than spend a fortune in the first place. They only have to leave the house for five minutes at this time of year and they end up either wet or covered in mud – or both. The tops you can see in the pictures are from Saltrock Clothing and are really good value for money (with t-shirts starting at just £2.50 each and the boys fleeces pictured were just £7.99 each*). My children were happy with the feel and quality of the boys t-shirts and the Surfanic fleeces kept them warm and dry (tell me I am not the only one who struggles to get their children to keep a coat on!)
There’s a code for Pinkoddy readers – PINKODDY10 – which will give you 10% off the basket total including sale items.
*I received 4 of the boys t-shirts and 3 Surfanic fleeces free for the boys for purposes of this post. All words and opinions are honest and my own. No other financial compensation has been given.