The rain is back. No surprise there really, but it does mean we're having a few quiet days just pottering around the house.
It's nice, we haven't had a few uninterrupted days to just relax in a while and it starts to feel a bit frantic when there is so much to do.
We've started a new thing around here too. Toots has been a little clingy lately. Well perhaps clingy isn't the right word but she has insisted on doing absolutely everything mummy does for a couple of weeks now.
So this week we've been trying to separate ourselves a bit. She has to play in her bedroom for about 30-45 minutes after breakfast and again for about an hour or so in the afternoon after lunch.
She seems to be taking to it so far, although there is still a novelty to the whole thing. I'm functioning a bit better because of it as well. I know that I have a set out of time to get things done, which she can't help with or which I would prefer she didn't help with and it motivates me to get the tasks done and out of the way. I use the time to make phone calls, write letters, pay bills that kind of thing.
I think in a week or so I may try to bring a little more routine to our day. I'll wait to see what happens once the novelty wears off, it'll give me a better idea of how happy she is to play by herself, but ideally I would like our day to run something like this;
Breakfast (both of us)
Play Time (Toots)
School type work (15 to 20 minutes of maths or working on her handwriting)
Help Mummy (she can help me bake, fold laundry, prepare lunch)
Lunch
Play Time (toots)
School type work (if she chose maths in the morning, then it would be handwriting in the afternoon)
TV (should be around 2.30-3.00pm and she sometimes "hits a wall" around this time)
Outside play
Help Mummy (a last quick tidy for dad coming home and preparing the dinner)
I'll be able to get bits and pieces done while she plays in her room and really the schedule isn't as strict as it appears. I haven't restricted Toots or myself to times because then it would be destined to fail.
The schedule only accounts for about 4 to 5 hours of the day, but you can't really plan every second of a child's day anyway.
I'm hoping it works. Ideally I would like her to be used to a schedule where certain things are required of her and roughly the same time each day so that the schedule of school comes as less of a shock to her system.
What do you think? Have you had any success in setting a schedule for your kids?
I'd be interested to know if you found a schedule that worked for you.
I'm not an at-home parent, so I can't offer any advice, but I agree that independent play is an important skill for kids to learn, especially those with a 24/7 Mommy around as young kids.
ReplyDeleteA certain amount of structure has been helpful for us. I find it especially helpful to keep the time we get up in the morning, the time we go to bed at night, naps (when Kat was still taken them daily) and all of our meals on a consistent schedule. We all feel physically better if our rest and nourishment are consistent from day to day.
ReplyDeleteMost everything else is loosely assigned a "before lunch", "after lunch" or "after dinner" slot. As a result, there is structure AND flexibility.
This type of schedule worked with my older two children, I think it's a very good idea, children do enjoy a rhythm & routine in a day, it creates a stable & secure environment. BUT my 3rd child is autistic & he is so out-of-sync with everything from sleeping to eating, moods & everything - that I constantly worry I'm not doing my best for him. Often he is impossible to teach - ohhhh, sorry going on now!
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I do think you are laying very strong foundations for Toots & you should be very proud of yourself