Thursday, June 27, 2013

School Holiday Planning for teenagers

When your kids are little, school holiday planning is all about keeping little minds and busy fingers occupied for a fortnight without losing your mind.

Then they grow.

For me school holiday planning is pretty much all about transport and food.
And so I plan ......

The calendar is Taxi-Central.

When I first got married we had cute little calendars, with groovy pictures and a small box to write anything noteworthy for the day.

Now with 4 kids ( including three roaming teenagers) we forgo the cute picture and aim for maximum writing space.



If you are going somewhere, coming home from somewhere, need to get a friend from somewhere or have cancelled plans, if it isn't on the calendar then it isn't happening. ( That doesn't mean that if it IS on the calendar it will definitely happen, but you have a better shot at getting a ride home this way).

The other essential point of reference is the menu plan.
It gets posted on the fridge and cuts out about 1/2 the questioning that comes my way.

"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"
"What's for dinner?"


Darling teenage children, here is 'what's for dinner'.
If you do not like the meal on any given night, please feel free to make your own arrangements.

School holidays start tomorrow.
Wish me luck.




12 comments:

  1. Gee I wish I was eating at your house!!!! Go, Mummy!!!

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    1. LOL, It's all in the wording - soup and bread is boring, but thick beef soup with crusty bread sounds better. Same thing :-)

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  2. I have forbidden my children to ask "what's for dinner?" instead they are allowed to ask "what can I do to help get dinner ready?" It's working, mostly.

    This afternoon we established that Ms14 has something scheduled for every day of the school holidays, apparently it's my fault because I encouraged her to get a social life and stop hiding in her bedroom 24/7.

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    1. Mim this is the question I resent the most - usually from my husband's mouth. I'll try your tactic. Or "Any thoughts on what you'd like me to cook for dinner?" would be even better!

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    2. I think I missed the window of opportunity on that one, but I love the idea. I have seen a 'jobs chart' that is entitled "How I contributed to my happy home this week" , similar concept.

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  3. This is great Lisa - love the organisation! So different to my life with one teenager who largely gets herself around on public transport and quite often takes care of her own meals.

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    1. Sadly public transport is virtually non-existent in our country city. Buses are sporadic at best, imaginary is probably more accurate. I also plan a nice Morning/afternoon tea most days, so when they ask for the 3867th time what they can munch on I can say "Fruit for now but I'm making scones/cake this afternoon"

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  4. Yep I am coming to eat at your house as well. There are some super yummy meals in there and this is a great way to organise life. When I was growing up mum got dad to put a massive white board the length of the wall. It was divided into nine days and we all had our own colour textas to write up what we were doing. I really need to start thinking about something for here I guess!

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    1. ohhh I'd love a ehite board like that. I'm a list girl, and my hubby loves lists. Plus think of all the pretty whiteboard markers we could buy !

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  5. Whoa...You are organized! I'm in awe Lisa. Well done.
    PS On Sunday, can I get the scrambled eggs with baked beans, slow baked tomato and wholegrain sourdough toast?
    Thanks.

    Good luck for the holidays :)

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    1. LOL Truth be told, they are on their own for Breakfast, but there is nothing wrong with an all day brekkie for dinner- poached eggs benedict with smoked ham or steamed asparagus and homemade hollandaise on sourdough .. nomnomnom

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  6. Superb! I have two teens but only one works and is out and about a lot. Some days I do regret buying this house down at the bottom of a cul de sac, miles from the nearest bus stop! I do like your timetable, an excellent idea. So is the meal plan, I am so disorganised here with the food. Thank goodness for the freezer.

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Your comments are welcome, please be kind and respectful. We all have different views of the world, sharing your view with gentle words is appreciated.xxx Lisa