Homeschooling Treasure Hunt

Today has been a good day. After 2 frustrating days of trying to get back into the school routine and never feeling like we got in anything worthwhile, we hit the jackpot today. The girls both attacked school with good attitudes, excitement even, right from the time we sat down with pencils in hand.

What made the difference, you're asking?

Erin from Embracing my Cup. And she doesn't even know it.

Last night I was catching up on my blog reading and I came across a post from Erin about a treasure hunt she set up for her boys. It involved maps, shovels, and a treasure chest and it looked like a lot of fun. Sheesh, why can't I ever be that creative?

Then I hit upon THE IDEA OF THE CENTURY. I broke down both girls' schoolwork into individual activities, then added a few chores and a couple of breaks. I wrote the activities down onto slips of paper - white for K, orange for L - and taped them to the bottom of things around the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I put them on the bottom of chairs, shelves, tables, even the shelves in the pantry and the drawers in the kitchen. A homeschooling treasure hunt.

I explained the rules to the girls then sent them off to find a paper of the appropriate color. Once they finished each activity, they got to go find another one. We got every class and chore finished quickly and without complaint since they were anxious to go find their next paper. K even had so much fun, she made ME my own papers to find with things like "Do londry" and "Make luch". Thankfully, she also gave me a "7 min. brake" from all those exhausting chores.

We got finished so quickly that I followed another one of K's papers that said, "Plan something" and we're spending the afternoon at Monkey Joe's. If your area doesn't have one of these, start your own franchise. This place is *the best*! You spend a few dollars to get into a huge warehouse full of inflatables. The kids can run wild and they think you've just given them the biggest treat in the world. But I'll let you in on a little secret; it's just as cool for grown-ups. There are recliners, a big screen TV (today showing classy TV like Jerry Springer), FREE WI-FI, and your kids are caged behind a gate for their safety (and your sanity). It's not nearly as loud and expensive as CEC since there aren't token eating games everywhere with all their bells and sirens. You can actually concentrate enough to write a semi-coherent blog post!

So after a day of being the Best Mom in the Universe, there's one question that can't be avoided.

What can I do that could possibly equal this on Monday?!?