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Read And Relax

I am a big fan of school holidays, and not just because I’m a teacher and I get to stay home (though that is a pretty good thing too!). I love that the kids get time to be free. They play without time constraints, they create artworks, they run around the farm, and they read. Boy do I want my kids to be good readers. Kids who like reading, and are good at it, just find things easier.

During school holidays we have a mandated read and relax time after lunch everyday. Hannah picks up whatever book she is reading, and Meg picks a pile of picture books to look at – though she is now starting to read early readers (Toby still has an afternoon sleep). They spend an hour or so just quietly lying there, looking, thinking, reading, and relaxing. They accept that this is part of the holiday routine and do it happily (mostly).

At the end of reading time, we have all had a quiet break from each other, and it just helps the rest of the day to go smoothly.

This is my secret for a happy school holiday. What is yours?

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Comments

  1. EssentiallyJess says

    April 22, 2013 at 1:46 am

    My kids go through stages with reading. They will love books for ages, and then not be interested for a while. It usually coincides with when I'm reading and they see me do it all the time. 🙂
    We have a quiet time after lunch here too, but it's usually a movie. Reading would be better for them

    Reply
  2. Tammy MultiBlogging Mum says

    April 22, 2013 at 1:35 am

    Hi..
    I am trying to love school holidays – day 1 week 1 here in Tasmania.
    At the moment we are just lazing around and doing not alot – except the boys are playing Minecraft … a thing that I will be trying to drag them away from to do other things that are better for them!
    I'd love to get them reading during the afternoon .. but I cant see that happening easily with 2x17yr olds, 15yr old, 14 yr old, 13 yr old and a 9 yr old …
    Ah well one can wish!!

    Enjoy the rest of your holidays!!

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…
A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the scho A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the school holidays. We’ve been busy spending time with friends and family, harvesting the last of the summer produce, as well as a short escape to explore the big smoke. After the craziness of last term it was the break we all needed. It’s back to school for me tomorrow, and the kids are back on Wednesday. Shearing starts soon and so it’s all systems go over the next few weeks.
Covid has made some late changes to our weekend pl Covid has made some late changes to our weekend plans so we are embracing the unexpected and doing not much at home. Plenty of time for hanging out on the dam and enjoy the perfect weather.
Autumn has arrived in the orchard and the apple tr Autumn has arrived in the orchard and the apple trees are full of fruit. Yesterday we filled five baskets of apples that had fallen off the trees. Then we had apple crumble for dessert last night. Between the orchard and the vegetable garden this time of year is always super busy as we deal with all the harvest. No so busy though, that I can’t grab the camera and snap a few pics.
On weekends he makes himself a hot milo and lies o On weekends he makes himself a hot milo and lies on the veranda in the sun, just chilling and enjoying the freedom (until mum grabs her camera at least 🙄🤣).
Late summer evenings spent picking fruit in the or Late summer evenings spent picking fruit in the orchard are just the best. We take baskets down to gather the fruit and we inspect the trees and plan what we will do with it all. Tonight we gathered blackberries, nectarines and the first apples. The kids eat the fruit right off the trees - it tastes so much better than shop bought fruit. All the rain this year has not been good for all our plants; no mulberries and a lot less of some of the others. It reminds us of how much we depend on the weather and how much is out of our hands.

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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