Its here. Winter Break. I would love to be somewhere beachy, sunny but its frozen outside. I like to use this time to connect to family and friends that we don' t get to see up here. So we will be off to NYC this coming week to see aunts and uncles and cousins and last but not least Grandma. My husband can't join us so its just me and the little guy. I don't want him to be disconnected from famly so its the priority.

What are you all doing? I'm still playing around with what we can fit in.

By Northcountrymom on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 01:36 pm:

Hopefully you ladies are all off having a good time. We actually are visiting family downstate. Husband is sad - can't come. My son gets to see friends and family. Transition first few hours is bumpy. WE'RE HERE and now they're having fun.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone does this week. I have to plan - we get another week off at Easter.

By Enchens on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 05:07 pm:

This is the first time I've heard of Winter Break in Feb. We usually have ours at the end of December/beginning of January.

I hope you and your family enjoy your break.

By Kidcrazie on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 06:46 am:

We have vacation next week. I so wish that we could go somewhere warm and escape the cold but unfortunately, I have to work even though my kids are home. One of the benefits of having a home child care is that I'll be home for them. One of the drawbacks is that parents still work even though it's school vacation.

By Colette on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 01:50 pm:

Nancy, we get a break for Christmas/New Years, one in Feb, and then another in April. We are off this week as well, but my oldest is a snowboard instructor so she is out straight this week. She is taking Friday off so we can look at a college in Vermont.

By Enchens on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 01:00 pm:

So, this is an East Coast thing?

By Jewlz on Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 02:22 pm:

My hubby is a teacher in calif and he has two weeks off for christmas ..and every other monday off in jan and one week off in feb thats winter break and one week off in april spring break ...

By Northcountrymom on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 10:07 am:

You might be right about the East Coast thing because we go to school until the last week in June and many of our friends elsewhere are out by the end of May. I think weather definitely changes how you schedule the school calendar.

Wherever we have lived there have been winter camps in the Y's, nature preserves, museums, even at the school because not everyone can take off from work 4 weeks per year and summers. Is that true where you are?

By Northcountrymom on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 10:14 am:

Colette,
We visit Vermont quite a bit. What school is your daughter visiting. There really are some excellent schools in Vermont especially if you love the mountains and snow sports. Love UVM because that has a mini internationally traveled city combined with the great outdoors. Heard Vermont was voted healthiest state in the nation.

Linda

By Enchens on Friday, February 20, 2009 - 09:27 pm:

Jewlz,

I was a teacher here in CA and we never had a week off in Feb. Is this recent? Is it for traditional calendar, modified calendar, or year round calendar? Where have I been?

By Colette on Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 09:06 am:

She was supposed to check out the New England Culinary Institute, but I came down with food poisoning so we didn't go. I am also looking at UNH which would be far more feasible tuition-wise, and she could live with and go to school w/my mother(she works at UNH)

By Northcountrymom on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 01:33 am:

Sorry you were sick. Sounds like UNH is the safety school. If snow boarding her thing in addition to wanting to study culinary arts there's also Paul Smith near Lake Placid (Olympics home) in the Adirondacks.

She has great options. Do any of these have scholarships for snow boarding.

By Colette on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 06:10 pm:

I don't think there are snowboarding scholarships, but I will check. I wouldn't even mind if she took the winter off and was a ski bum for a year - if you can't do that when you are 18 - when can you do it? I, of course, have not mentioned that to her though. I have been hearing that she is a really good instructor, one of their best, so that makes me proud.

By Jewlz on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 07:40 pm:

Enchens ... I'm not sure what kind of calendar its called ... they start mid august and end mid june and get alot of time off thru out the year ...its not year round cuz high schools have trouble with sports and band and clubs competitions so they just went to this calendar ... hubby seems to think the kids forget a lil less ... he enjoys it alot. This school is in san jose

By ~harlena on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - 12:00 am:

WOW ... we don't have a winter break around here (FL) in fact, it's fairly rough from Jan-March/April for Spring Break for the kiddos. There are a couple of days off (MLK Day, President's Day) but other than that .... it's straight school from Jan - Spring Break (kinda late this year, it's not til mid-April, agghhh !)

I really enjoy being home with the kids, we have fun, go to the beach or have sleepovers, etc .... and since I work weekends (on-call for nursing agency) we don't have un-interrupted days unless they are out of school .... that being said, I'm not sure how I'd feel about being in school til the end of June. As it is, we get out June 5th I believe.

By Northcountrymom on Friday, March 13, 2009 - 07:59 pm:

I'm having Southern envy again. June 5th. You get an extra month of summer with your kids. That is so great. I agree though that January to April would be hard with no breaks but for me thats because of the snow, and ice and sleet and freezing rain and wind and white out road conditions and shoveling and plowing. Winter break has also helped this year because my little guy is having such a hard time with his classmates being mean (not even to him -just to everyone). The break gives me a chance to mix it up a little.

Do you get Easter/Passover week off or do they not acknowledge holidays like that?

By Northcountrymom on Friday, March 13, 2009 - 08:02 pm:

I'm having Southern envy again. June 5th. You get an extra month of summer with your kids. That is so great. I agree though that January to April would be hard with no breaks but for me thats because of the snow, and ice and sleet and freezing rain and wind and white out road conditions and shoveling and plowing. Winter break has also helped this year because my little guy is having such a hard time with his classmates being mean (not even to him -just to everyone). The break gives me a chance to mix it up a little.

Do you get Easter/Passover week off or do they not acknowledge holidays like that?