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After school

I recently wrote a post about after school activities for my elementary aged kids. I wasn't sure what would work best for the kids or myself. 
It has been almost a month now since the kids started school. 
A month of after school bags all over the floor.
A month of loud stir crazy kiddos. 
A month of everyone wanting it their way. 
A month of chaos. 

I need change and I think the kids need change. 

Before I start planning activities I tested the waters with the kids. 
I pulled out some coloring books and crayons, colored pencils. Alice in wonderland and Harry Potter for the older kids and a race car book for the younger. 
I sat down on the floor with the supplies and asked the kids to come and color with me. 

They all came running. They were all excited to color together. We listened to some soft music and chatted while coloring. We admired each other's work. It was quiet relaxing. 

The next day I asked if they would like it if we did activities together after school. They all agreed they would like to do this.  
I figured we could do an activity maybe once or twice a week.

 We brainstormed a few ideas. 
One being a tea party.  
All the kids were tickled at this idea.  Let the tea party planning begin! 

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