But, to be serious for a moment... bringing rhythm into our daily living has done more for the quality of our lives than any other single thing we have implemented.
In the past year we have-
- gotten rid of all plastic toys (except playmobile.... i cannot imagine my life ...erm..... ira's life without playmobile). It has all but squashed the "disposable toy syndrome".
- cut back on how much & what quality of media ira is exposed to. Im not a huge fan of absolutes... i dont like to deal in extremes..... so tv, tv stays, and a healthy relationship is being established. Id rather not have my child turn into a tv addict in her teens/twenties when she discovers HGTV.... oh.... wait... im talking about me again.
- daily arts & crafts.
- RHYTHM. this has changed sooooooo much. it feeds our need for consistency, alternating quiet & active times, outdoor play, etc. We are not strict about specific times, but sticking to a general playbook just WORKS for us.
In case anyone is interested, ours goes something like this.
- Wake, brush teeth, start laundry. Pick up kitchen, listen to music, cook breakfast, free play.
- After about 2 hours, liv goes down for a nap. we have quiet time, books, quiet play, etc.
- Two hours later- we are up and i make lunch while ira & liv are playing. This is when we run errands, i clean, we go outside, etc. If we do not go to any activities, we do a craft of some sort. Sometimes we do a long hour of library books/circle time. Puppet shows. Bake.
- Nurse liv to sleep, quiet play/rest time. Usually lasts an hour.
- Nature walk, park, etc. Lasts anywhere from an hour to three depending on when we head out..
- Come home by 5, Dinner prep, dinner.
- Bath, story time, bed by 9 ish.
I started for ira- to give her a solid routine she could rely on. turns out- i needed it too.
It works for us....
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