Relaxation is often synonymous with everything… except releasing anything! But how are the parents at the head of a large family organized? This is what leave will look like in these homes where you have to deal with children of different ages, with different needs and expectations.
Posted yesterday at 12:00 p.m.
Family of 5 children, Montreal: “Nothing is rigid or fixed. We try to have a little spontaneity! »
“We wait until everyone is awake and we leave! This is how Séverine Le Page, 45, mother of five children aged 2 to 15, presents her “very unplanned” school break, she says. She still has an action plan: take advantage of free activities near her home and go on a few cultural outings. “We may go to the Museum of Fine Arts, to the Grande Bibliothèque, and we will look at what is happening on the side of Montreal in light, she announces. We will travel by bicycle if possible, or by public transport. We want to get rid of our car! The week will pass slowly and peacefully between games of chess, slides in the neighborhood park and board games. “The big ones like to play Axis and Allies, she says, they sit in a corner of the house and it lasts for hours and hours! “According to Séverine, the break is made to be with the family… even if the pandemic has multiplied the stuck-up moments. “We want to spend a week without too many obligations or restrictions, with an open mind and just having fun together. »
Family of 8 children, Bas-Saint-Laurent: “I have little time for myself, but I don’t suffer from it! »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMILY
An ice rink has been set up in the courtyard of Andrée-Ann Pinard’s family
Mother of five children and mother-in-law of three children, aged 5 to 13, Andrée-Ann Pinard will be on leave all week with her partner, with whom she has been in a relationship for two years. So it’s their second school break at ten! “I am usually not very far-sighted, but with eight children, in times of a pandemic, you have to be a little more, launches this commercial director of Mont-Joli. We bet on things we know. The family will go to a hotel in Quebec that they have already visited. On the program: swimming, board games, walks. Aside from this short getaway, Andrée-Ann plans to go downhill skiing with her clan. “The school slope is free for the little ones,” she says. And I take the older ones to the mountains to join their friends. To entertain everyone, an ice rink has been set up in the courtyard. And if her day ends with a romantic moment, sipping a glass of wine, Andrée-Ann says she is satisfied. “Yes, spring break is a challenge, because we try to meet everyone’s expectations, she says, but I’m very zen! »
Family of 12 children, Outaouais: “Spring break is for unwinding and having fun”
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Some of Tania Beausoleil’s children
Before the pandemic, Tania Beausoleil and her spouse liked to plan activities and outings with their children, aged 1 to 17. From now on, the clan takes it easy. “We stopped planning lots of things for them, because it was too much ! “says the bubbly 38-year-old mother who will be on vacation all week with her children. The plan for spring break 2022? Outdoors and potatoes. “Doing the potato means doing nothing, crashing, relaxing,” she laughs. For Tania, school break rhymes with abandoning routine, instructions and rules, “except those related to safety and respect”, she hastens to add. Eating pancakes for dinner. Bake marshmallows as a snack. Listening to TV all afternoon (which is not usual). Sleep late in the morning. Go sliding and doing forts all day. Have a picnic in the snow. The goal is to reduce stress and simply spend time together. “It’s good to take the time to observe the children, to see their evolution through their development and to just… savor them,” she confides.
Family of 5 children, Quebec: “I like them to play outside, to be free and creative”
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Once again this year, Véronique Lavoie, mother of five children aged 7 to 15, is repeating her mini reading club project. She challenges her children to read as many books as possible, depending on their age, and to work together towards a common goal. “I tinker with a thermometer on large boxes, which we fill as we go,” says the 41-year-old mother. Mission accomplished ? Her gang is entitled to an unusual reward: more screen time, a chocolate fondue, a box of donuts, a popcorn evening… For the rest, Véronique and her spouse are on leave and the spring break will be spent at home, between games of board games and role-playing games, walks in the forest, construction of forts and afternoons of sledding… and maybe a night in winter camping. “I also try to have individual moments with one or the other,” says Véronique. I do crafts with my 7-year-old daughter, I watch a detective series with my 9-year-old son… and I’m going to invite the blondes of my two teenagers, for a Murder Mystery evening. »