Days when we stay completely at home tend to drag on in the late afternoon, so in an effort to establish a daily routine, today I implemented a new summer tradition: rest time. The older kids haven't napped in a few years, and Grady is on the verge of giving up his afternoon siesta as well (wiping a tear from my eye). But, I thought a good hour of "alone-in-your-room-time" might do us all a bit of good.
I approached the subject carefully, to not completely anger the natives. I explained that on our "down days at home" that we should embrace the opportunity to relax and discover our own hobbies. I told Madison and Tanner that they would spend one hour in their own room while Grady napped. They didn't have to sleep (that would just be crazy), but they could read, draw, or play with things that are in their rooms (legos, magnets, barbies, pixos, etc.) There was definite reluctance, and attempts to escape their rooms throughout the hour, but I held tough and actually extended the time to an hour and a half (taking into account the extra explanations that were needed).
After the appropriate amount of time had passed, I released them from their solitude. Surprisingly they didn't bolt out of their rooms right away. Tanner had written a book, and wanted to finish. Madison decided to organize her books and prioritize her reading list for the summer. Yay us! We celebrated with a snack of homemade cookies and koolaide. Sum-sum-summertime and the livin' is easy, as long as mommy has super sneaky plans of relaxation up her sleeve!
the story of growing up Scroggins
1 comment:
Lance age 6 does this too. He even does it on the weekends during the school year. For every time he comes out, he gets 10 extra minutes. Since he can tell time now, he doesn't come out until the hour is over. this works well!!
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