Choice Time

It is Spring Break, at least for my children. But as I am in the lucky position of having work, I am not on break (unless you count not having to wake children at 6am, which, believe me, is a HUGE break!) So, off to work I go each day, leaving them to sleep and enjoy some much-needed respite from their busy school day lives.
 
There was a time when I would have written extensive notes about how they should spend their days--places to go, things to eat, friends with whom I'd made plans. Not this time. Whether it has been choice or inertia on my part, this Spring Break, there are no extensive plans. It's kind of like an extended period of "choice time" in school--a period during which (usually because the class has been good all week) the kids get to decide what they will do for an hour. They can do artwork or play games. It is a bit of unstructured time in a very structured day.
 
So, what does "choice time" mean at home? Some days, I suspect it means hours of playing video games. But what I am seeing is that it also means learning a new card game, or brushing up on chess (with a computer program, but still chess). It means getting creative about what's for lunch. And, perhaps most important, it means working together as siblings to make a day work. Since there are not my usual extensive plans to create individual activities and play dates for each child, my kids need to rely on each other, perhaps more than they're used to. While we are only a few days in, I would like to think it's working pretty well.
 
It is absolutely possible that this "choice time" is a result of my negligence about making plans. In the scheme of busy lives, however, I have this funny feeling that a vacation of "choice time" is actually the best possible vacation. We (my children very much included here) run around a lot on a regular basis. In addition to school, there are always practices and rehearsals and classes and events grabbing at our time. We cannot really survive a week without a written plan and detailed arrangements about who has to be where at what time, and how everyone will actually get home. The getting people to and from might be my problem, but the having to be here, there, and everywhere impacts my kids on a daily basis. So, while they might wish to be in Disneyworld for their vacation, I suspect they can appreciate almost as much the opportunity to sleep late, and to make some of their own choices about how much or how little they will do each day.
 
This "choice time" week doesn't mean I'm not planning for summer camp. Even the best "choice time" in the world can last too long. But for this vacation, it's "choice time" all the way. And if all goes well, we'll be better off for it.