How to Spend Your Extra Day Off

Along with Homecoming and Halloween, autumn in the United States brings random days off from school. These non-holiday free days off can creep up on you. You're so focused on trying to keep up with your busy schedule—making sure your notes are all in order for that upcoming History exam, practicing your band solo, organizing the after-school food drive—that you completely forget about the upcoming long weekend. So if one of these Staff Development/Regional Teacher's Meeting days catches you off guard, just select one of the following activities and let your (mini) vacation begin:

Option #1: Get ahead on homework Pros: You'll feel really productive and accomplished. And in a few weeks, when everyone else is swamped and complaining about how long it takes to get through Chapter 6 of your massive Biology book, you'll be able to gloat and say, "Oh, Chapter 6? I read that and took copious notes ages ago." At which point, everyone will ask to borrow your notes.

Cons: You're doing homework on a vacation day and everyone will find your gloating terribly annoying.

Option #2: Train for a marathon
Pros: If you're like us, you've seen the packs of people running marathons and have always wondered whether you'd be able to complete 26 (and some change) miles. If your spend your day training, you'll move a bit closer toward that goal. The brisk air rushing past your cheeks will invigorate you, and because you're only training for this vacation day, you don't have to worry about actually running 26 (and some change) miles.

Cons: You might pull a muscle and then have to spend your regularly scheduled weekend stuck in bed while your friends go bowling. And because you're only training for a single day, you'll never get the feeling of triumph that comes when you cross that finish line. Essentially, you went for a brief jog on your vacation.

Option #3: Sleep
Pros: You spend the day cozied up in bed, only venturing out for food (Doritos).

Cons: Before you know it, the entire day is gone and all you have left is a regular old Saturday and Sunday.

Option #4: Complete a comprehensive Youtube survey
Pros: All you have to do is pick a random word, type it in, and let Youtube's autofill do the rest. Start with "ice" and you get "Ice Ice baby"—instant dance party! Youtube has it all, from elephants painting to artsy music videos to totally odd American Girl dance routines.

Cons: In addition to all the cool stuff, you're also going to have to slog through the random personal videos of family vacations. You may as well just ask your mom to pull out the albums. And good luck making it through even a smidge of Youtube's catalogue—it now numbers in the gazillions.

Option #5: Teach yourself to breakdance
Pros: You'll be the star of the next party when you clear the dance floor and throw out some sweet moves, like "turtles,"  "six steps," or "head spins."

Cons: Before you master these moves, they can be pretty painful—especially those head spins.

What do you do with your spare days off? If you don't live in the U.S., do you get long weekends in the fall like we do over here?

Related Post: 50 Ways to Spend Your Sick Day