Haloween Parties

Our family went to a Halloween neighborhood block party last night, and we were talking to other parents about our kids being out of school, Again. We were joking that we should all go into teaching because they have a lot of days off, including the summer. Of course, I know that the teachers have money taken out all year to pay for the 3 months that they are out. Not counting that though, schools do take a lot of days off. I am a stay at home mom, so it's not a hardship on us. However, I always wonder about how families with 2 parent incomes handle all the days off. What do they do with their children?
The same night one of my neighbors complained to me that her son's class was having yet another class party this one for Halloween. I sympathised with her and we shared similar stories on this subject. In my children's last school they would have a party and celebrate almost every holiday. Easter, Valentines Day, St. Patrik's Day, etc... The whole day was spent learning about the holiday and the party that followed. Hardly any time was spent on math, reading, or other core subjects. Things like this is why my husband and I put our children into a charter school, which basically means a private school paid by the school district, with no extra cost to us. They were many reasons for this move , but one major reason was that they had no school parties during school. We still celebrate major holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Halloween, but these celebrations or parties are held after school, when the whole family can come. We really enjoy these activities and we love that fact that our child's day is still filled with learning their usual subjects. It is still hard sometimes for our kids, I must admit. Especially Halloween, all they can think about is getting dressed up and getting all that candy. But, in the long run I believe that we have made the best decision in their best interest.

Happy Halloween everyone!!