Special Focus

Shaking Those Midwinter Blues

Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005

Midwinter—that gray eclipse between New Year’s and spring break when we’re tempted to hibernate.With the winter holidays over, academic rigors and extracurricular activities reconvene full force. However, the afternoons are short and often dreary, and long winter nights can become tiresome without some respite from the routine. Although February is the shortest month of the year, it seems to become the longest. Enter the midwinter blues.

The aim is sharing time and experiences that relax and rejuvenate.

How can parents help their children—and themselves—overcome the slump? By using the winter months as a time to reconnect. With a little inventiveness and planning, and little added expense, families can reenergize through hundreds of activities. The National Middle School Association has provided a springboard for the suggestions below. Tailor them to your family’s needs, or, better yet, come up with some unique ideas of your own.

• Get physical. Cold weather doesn’t have to mean inertia. Wintertime is a perfect time for both indoor and outdoor recreation. Try a winter sport like skiing or ice-skating. Take a winter hike. Form a neighborhood family bowling league, or check out the local Department of Parks and Recreation or YMCA for basketball, swimming, and volleyball opportunities. Get into a family workout routine. Become sports fans; follow your local high school, college, or professional teams. The point is not competition but camaraderie.
• Get creative. Some students don’t always have time in their schedules for the creative arts. Recreation departments and local YMCAs offer classes in many areas, such as drawing, painting, photography, dance, music, theater, cake decorating, and cooking. Take advantage of interests or talents you share with your children: prepare a gourmet meal or fancy dessert together, form a musical group, audition for a community theater production. Again, the aim is sharing time and experiences that relax and rejuvenate.
• Get cultural. Winter weekends are great for exploring museums of art, natural science, and history. Many museums offer IMAX films and travelogues. Check your local paper for special exhibits or programs. Let the museum experience be a chance for discovery for everyone; parents should avoid playing “tour guide” and allow their children to make observations for themselves. Other cultural events include plays, concerts, and dance productions. Pick an outing that suits everyone’s interests.
• Get curious. Ever wonder how the night sky differs in the winter? On a clear night, look for the constellations and note their migration since summer. Put up a bird feeder and get out the bird book to identify the winter birds in your yard. Find out what plants bloom in winter and landscape a winter flower garden. Ask questions and elicit help from your children in finding the answers.
• Get organized. Use a winter Saturday to get some of those big family chores done: clean out the garage, paint the family room, purge the closets, or rearrange the furnitureÑanything that requires cooperation. Be sure to block out the time well in advance and make clear that everyone needs to help. Try not to pick anything overwhelming that will drag on too long or become frustrating.
• Get nostalgic. One of those organizational chores might include going through the family photographs and labeling them or placing them in albums. What a perfect opportunity to tell children your favorite stories about them. Old photographs offer a chance to pass on family stories and histories, and your old photographs from high school or college will give your children a glimpse of (and maybe a chuckle at) what you were like before they knew you as Mom or Dad. And while you’re waxing nostalgic, pull out the old hi-fi and those vinyl albums. Rent some television and movie classicsÑepisodes of I Love Lucy or epics like Ben Hur and Gone with the Wind. They’re guaranteed to elicit some interesting observations from your children.
• Get involved. Adopt a cause and make a difference. Social, environmental, and human needs don’t take the winter off, and the opportunities for service are staggering. Explore the options in your area, talk them over as a family, and donate some time
  and energy to something you all agree is worthwhile. Volunteering doesn’t take a lot of time, but it does take commitment and consistency. What better way to pass on your values than to act on them as a family?

Children—and even teenagers—take their cues from adults, so get going! The winter is a perfect time for your family to make memories and make a difference.
—Sarah Boone, MA

Sarah Boone holds a master’s degree in teaching and is certified in gifted education. She teaches at Meredith College.