Our Long Vacation: Fun, Learning, and Back-to-School Prep

It's been a lengthy vacay, and my kids have really relaxed and rested very well at home since 21st July of this year, when they returned home for holiday. Initially, I wanted to enroll them for summer lessons, but surprisingly, my husband objected to the idea; he said I should allow the kids to rest their brains and catch up with other activities different from academics this time. Anyways, I saw reasons with him, but since he wasn't at home with us, I have been the only one dealing with their troubles, hehehe. However, the holiday is over, and we are getting ready for a new academic year.

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Back-to-school items are a must-buy for parents when schools are resuming, but for me, it's majorly for items that really need to be changed. A fellow parent during my back-to-school shopping told me that for every new term, she changes her kids' back-to-school items like shoes, bags, water bottles, etc., whether they are old, worn out, or not. As long as it's a new term, her kids go back to school with new materials.

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I began to wonder if new school materials add extra knowledge to the kids because why should I replace items that aren't old? Even if I have excess money, I would rather dash it out to those students wearing bad shoes and clothes whose parents lack the resources to replace them for the kids rather than spending money unnecessarily. That's by the way, this time, my kids really needed to get some new back-to-school items, and I got that already, warming up for their resumption on the 15th of this month.

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There is something I started doing for my kids two weeks ago in preparation for a new academic year. So since they have been at home, having fun with varieties of games, going out, and all that, I thought it would be nice to refresh their memories academically and not just leave them to play all through. So I have a whiteboard in my home, which we use to learn together. Sometimes within the week, I get them to write; I set questions for them to solve, recite, and memorize just for, like, 40 minutes without burdening them. Even my husband, who didn't want me to bother them academically throughout the holiday, loved this idea.

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That's all about our preparation for returning back to school for a new academic year, aside from the school fee and transportation bills, which are still a work in progress.

Having said that, we had a lot of activities to spice up the holiday. The likes of bicycle races for three of my kids. They did that almost every morning in the form of exercise, but I wouldn't overlook the fact that they sustained injuries some of the days without accepting to stop, lol.

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I got the kids' Ludo game too for indoor game activities, and I can't help but admire how they brainstorm to win each other. 😀

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They have been helping me at home with little chores; my 7-year-old son mops the living room, while his older brother cleans the furniture. Even in my kitchen while cooking, it's been awesome with them helping out, telling stories, and bonding more. It's a win-win. 💞

We also visited the kids' game center for some fun activities.

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Trust me, they loved the experience, as usual, and are craving more outings before they finally resume school, but that will be more expenses for me, you know. 😀

Overall it's been a memorable holiday for my kids and me, and I am sure that if they are being given an essay to write on how they spent their long vacation, they will have a lot of nice things to say.

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All images are mine