Thoughts on school and play

I guess I thought I knew myself pretty well, but apparently there's more to learn.

This week we have been taking a break from school. Basically this means a break from "seat work" like math, phonics, spelling and reading. During the time we would normally be doing school we have been doing fun, spontaneous projects together. I love it. Making play doh, reading books and painting is so much more rewarding to me than spelling, making sure dinner is done and vacuuming. I realized why I get so upset when we're doing lots of seatwork and housework, but no creative work. One day we made play doh, played play doh, made soaps, made cookies, sewed a baby blanket and read aloud together. I felt so productive! I couldn't believe the sense of accomplishment I felt that day. Memories were made, tangible objects were in front of me to show Dan when he got home and I'd had so much fun! I'm going to guess that we did no chores that day and dinner was either thrown together or Dan brought home something, but I still felt so much satisfaction. When we go through seasons where all we do is chores, cooking and seat work I feel so empty. Not to mention I feel like I'm pulling my children through the day...are your chores done? sit back down and finish that page! no we can't do x,y,z you need to finish your math.

I don't really know what to do with this realization. Obviously chores and meals need to be taken care of, as does school. So how do I find that middle ground? How do I fit in fun, productive activities into our schedule? Something to think about as this new year approaches and we start a new schooling schedule. It has made me purpose to add a quiet "independant" time during our morning schedule where I can sew. I love being able to bless my family and friends through things I make. Even if I just have a little time each day, it will add up to enough time to finish more projects than I would if I had never made time.