This week is the kids’ Spring Break. With a tax-preparing GeekMom, we are in town while this GeekDad works from home. The first few days of weather did not cooperate to allow the kids to go and play outside, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have fun in their own creative way.
Spring Break and the end of tax season for my wife meant I was working from home. Not a big deal as I do get to do this on a regular basis. The weather, however, was anything but Spring-like – cold, rainy and windy. The kids were stuck inside to entertain themselves while this GeekDad was stuck on back-to-back conference calls and working on tight deadlines.
Monday: Movie Theater Concession Stand – developed by the girls as a surprise for the boys, I came into the kitchen from the home office with a bunch of questions. A few boxes, some printed pages, some tape and a couple afghans made for a concession stand for the kids as they watched The
Chronicles of Narnia. The concession stand offered juice, milk, popcorn and frozen treats. The popcorn bags were complete with red stripes and (unlike the butter “flavoring” offered at movie theaters) real butter. The girls even printed up movie tickets and a special-offer coupon for the boys.
Tuesday: Man-Cave – it really started Monday night, but the guys wanted to do something similar for the girls. Lots and lots of cardboard boxes were used to surround the TV used for video games and the VCR in the basement. The finishing touch was no obvious way to get into what was dubbed "the Man-Cave"…until the secret crawl-space entrance was revealed. Inside the Man-Cave there were drinks, snacks, videos and games for every age.
Each day was filled with giggles and surprises and hours of fun. The kids did great (and trust me, being cooped up inside for two days while I’m trying to work could have been horrible). The thing I liked most was the work to surprise the others and spend time together.
They did a fantastic job and proved to me again that kids need unstructured time just to be kids and be creative.
