Laugh With Us Blog

Family, food, and travel!

  • Home
  • Family
    • My Man
    • Kids
      • Faith
      • Joy
      • Grace
      • Little Jason
      • Bobby
    • Homeschooling
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
    • Funny
  • Food
  • Travel
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • California
    • Cruising
    • Florida
    • Indiana
    • Israel
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Minnesota
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • Oklahoma
    • Texas
  • Contact
  • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Promotional

A Spontaneous Picnic

It was one of THOSE days.  I woke up feeling horrible.  Homeschooling was not going well–every item of school work seemed to be a struggle.  The youngest two were fighting.  We were all in tears off and on all morning.  By lunch time I had had it.  I didn’t even want to see the inside of my house any longer, much less fix lunch.

“Everyone get your shoes on,” I yelled, “we’re going on a picnic for lunch!”

They were ready in a flash.  I gathered up paper plates, napkins, water bottles, and lemonade packets and drove away.  My kids think those little individual packets of lemonade that you pour into bottled water are SO special.  I went through the Chick-fil-A drive-through, ordering only chicken and fries, and drove to a park we had never been to before.   Oh, it was good to get outside!  We laughed and had fun eating in the gentle breeze, and then the kids played and chased squirrels until I yelled it was time to go home.

We all felt better.  We went home refreshed and happy.  How much I would have missed out on if I had just kept pushing everyone to get things done.  It still all eventually got done.  Sometimes you’ve just got to get out and play!

I’m linked to Hip Homeschool Hop, Works For Me Wednesday, and Gratitueday.

Esther

Related Posts

  • Teach Them Diligently Kids ProgramTeach Them Diligently Kids Program
  • You know you’re an awesome homeschool mom when…You know you’re an awesome homeschool mom when…
  • Adjusting to five childrenAdjusting to five children
  • Poopy DiapersPoopy Diapers
  • How to get kids to eat their vegetablesHow to get kids to eat their vegetables
  • Another First Day of School 2011Another First Day of School 2011

17 Comments Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged: homeschooling, kids

Comments

  1. varunner7 says

    September 20, 2011 at 7:48 am

    Definitely good advice that when a day is going downhill to get out. Sometimes we just drop it all and take a nature walk. It’s amazing what an hour outside can do for the mindset!

    Reply
  2. Frieda says

    September 20, 2011 at 7:50 am

    That does look like fun! You’re right–sometimes a very simple inexpensive break works wonders.

    Reply
  3. Ruth says

    September 20, 2011 at 9:20 am

    Love those spontaneous outings! Have a playfilled week. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Shari Lynne says

    September 20, 2011 at 10:10 am

    Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! That’s what homeschooling is all about!!…Well sorta:) Can you see me jumping up and down!

    Have a great day Esther!

    Shari

    Reply
  5. Sarita Edgerton says

    September 20, 2011 at 10:18 am

    Some days I need to remember this!

    Reply
  6. Diane says

    September 20, 2011 at 10:32 am

    A bit of fresh air definitely resets my world!

    Reply
  7. aurie says

    September 20, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    Some days you just need to run and play 🙂

    Reply
  8. Hannah says

    September 20, 2011 at 12:37 pm

    It does seem like some days you just get off to a bad start, and everyone…Mom included…feeds off each other. Sometimes you just need to break the bad thinking cycle and let your kids know you still love them! Great idea!

    Reply
  9. Robin says

    September 20, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    So true – I agree completely. My trip to Cape Town re-taught me that again too…

    Reply
  10. Lori says

    September 20, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    I love it! Giving yourself permission to take a break is so important when your children school in a home-base.

    Reply
  11. Dr Momi says

    September 20, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    I would just call that the “Phy-Ed” part of the school day 🙂

    Reply
  12. Lauren says

    September 20, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    Hi, Esther!
    I found you through Gratituesday, where I also linked up. When your page pulled up, it caught my eye because I too have three girls and a baby boy! I’m sure you and I could be rich if we had a dollar for each comment “Finally got the boy!” – I’ll be back!

    Reply
  13. Tanya says

    September 20, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    Great idea! I’ll file that away for some time I’m sure in the not-so-distant future. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Jihan says

    September 20, 2011 at 4:27 pm

    picnics are so much fun when you have kids, I don’t right now, so don’t like picnics right now.

    Reply
  15. Susan Evans says

    September 20, 2011 at 7:40 pm

    Great idea to turn attitudes around. I should do that more often.

    Reply
  16. Jessica@Team Rasler says

    September 20, 2011 at 11:31 pm

    I bet this is one of the best things about homeschooling: that if it’s not working, you can change it up even if it means taking a break for a picnic. Even in my public school classrooms, sometimes the kids and I just needed to get outside, but I didn’t always feel like I could. I’m glad you did!

    Reply
  17. Ruth says

    September 23, 2011 at 1:13 pm

    Good choice! =)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! We believe laughter is the best medicine. Join in with us as we share our family laughs, fun with food, and love of travel. Great to meet you! Esther Irish




Favorite Posts

  • 25 Random Things About Me
  • The Hardest Year of My Life
  • Joy's Christmas Concert
  • My Bright Idea
  • Losing My Baby
  • A Bug in My Shirt
  • Why I don't fly with kids

Archives

© 2010 - 2023 · All rights reserved by Esther Irish · Privacy Policy · Log in

Copyright © 2023 · Laugh With Us Blog on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in