How YOU spent March break

If you haven't had a chance to read Andrea Gordon's great piece on what children really want to do for March break, please be sure to check it out.

Her article is a good reminder that, for all the pressure to come up with the cash for a week-long peak-season family vacation, or all the guilt we feel if we can't take the week off work, kids have really simple expectations of March break.

They just want the week off school.

Tweens and teens relish the chance to sleep in and little guys like my Cameron just want to play Lego with friends. And even an outing to the playground or swimming pool is enough to qualify as March-break fun in the eyes of most school-aged kids.

We hit Bowlerama with the kids on Saturday afternoon. Bowling turned out to be a great rainy-day activity. And we laughed until diaphragms ached at the impossibly slow journey of 2-year-old Alister's bowling ball down the alley. (Was it stopped? No, there was just enough gravity to pull it toward the pins, maybe merely wobbling one a little or knocking it over to his enthusiastic cries of "I winned!")

Last week I asked some of you what you remember from March break. Not surprisingly, the events you recalled told a tale of a much less structured time in school holidays!

Here are some of the responses (via Twitter, of course):

@femwriter: Drove my mom crazy. 11 kids at home all at the same time.

@hvbabywilltrvl I usually spent the week with my grandma. I week of junk food and TV. I LOVED it!

@YMCbuzz I liked to embark on a week-long project. Snow-fort, tree house, sew an outfit for my dolly, knit a craft!

@janelangille Go tobogganing, but of course there was usually more snow back then.

@jamesspeedy Video games. Oh wait, did you mean outside?

@SproutRight Ontario Science Centre!

@TheHaj Play outside with friends all day until suppertime. Parents didn't take time off work because we were at school. Pure freedom!

These days childrens' aid would likely get wind of it if you left your under-12 kids home alone, so if you need some inspiration, you can find it in our March break guide. For instance, we've got a round-up of events happening throughout the GTA, as well as some crafts you can make at home. And if you need to find some grown-up fun amid all this excitement, here are some ideas from @PartyMummy on planning some March break fun for moms.

Comments

[Andrea Gordon]

I love this one from @shannonboodram Me and my cousins would set up a small business, a drink cart or goodies stand (my parents hated it because we gave away their food)