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Toddler Routines #3: Misty and Lindsey Have Some GREAT Ideas!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

1.14.10
Misty is a dear friend of mine, and an incredible mama to three kiddos. She has a 12 year old, an 8 year old, and a 2 year old. She inspires me all the time with her faith, her patience, and her incredible optimism. Thanks, Misty, for the following ideas!!
Misty’s Summer Routine
7:00 wake up/make beds
7:30 eat breakfast/clean kitchen/check computer
8:00 start laundry
8:15 kids dressed/teeth brush
8:30 –9:30 watch tv
9:30 snack
9:45 go to park or take a walk/library/errands
10:45 prep dinner/finish load laundry while kids read or color/art
11:45 eat lunch
12:30 nap/quiet time during this time I shower/get ready/clean up toys/computer time
2:30 up from nap/snack time
3:00 flash cards/learning time
4:00 outside play or music time –dance off
5:00 start dinner
6:00eat dinner/clean up from dinner
6:45 nightly walk/quick toy clean up
7:30 bath time/dress for bed/story
8:00 kids asleep
8:00 work out
8:45 computer time
9:30-10:30 bible study with Casey
10:30 bed time
This is roughly our daily summer routine when there is not a camp/VBS or long outing involved.
During learning time my girls love playing with dried pinto beans. Crazy, but give them a bowl full with measuring cups and spoons and they will play for an hour. They count them, inspect them, feel them in their hands, sprinkle them, pour them, and sing with them. They are such great sensory object for them.
When I taught preschool the kids loved latex gloves filled with rice, oatmeal, anything that feels cool to squish in your hands.
Misty, I did not know you taught preschool! I bet you were PERFECT at it! I love the ideas with the bean and the gloves. BRILLIANT!!
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The second one I’m going to share today is from another dear friend, Lindsey. Lindz is the mama of a 2 year old and a 6-month-old baby. She has the most charming southern drawl ever, and is spunky and matter-of-fact with all her dealings. Love ya, Lindz, for your thoughts and ideas!
Schedule-ish :)
*7-7:30: wake up
*7:30-8: Feed Noah, think about what you want to eat for breakfast
*8-9: Mommy’s Breakfast and Time to Think Hour, Noah’s Play-by-Himself-with-Limited-Mommy-Help Hour
*9-11: Do SOMETHING (go somewhere, or stay home and do Something like art, music, etc. This includes time to get ready, do the Something, and come home/clean up afterward)
*11-12ish: Lunch for Mommy and Noah
After lunch (12:30ish to 3ish): Noah’s nap, Mommy Time (maybe shower/start a craft/read/trash tv)
*3-4: Noah TV time so Mommy can finish/clean up/put off to side whatever she was doing
*4-5: Do Something Else (see 9-11 slot for details)
*5-6: Mommy Makes/Preps Dinner, Noah Plays-by-Himself-with-Limited-Mommy-Help (perhaps “helps” with dinner if possible)
*6 and beyond… Family Time!!!
Additional suggestions:
*I highly suggest finding a local community provided activity to do once a week, every week… it totally makes a difference in my whole week when I know I have Rory’s gymnastics at 10 am on Wednesdays. I can plan every day better because of that, for some weird reason.
*If you really like consistency and routine for routine’s sake, you could map out your Do Something time slots per day:
Example:
Monday: Morning/art, Afternoon/take a walk.
Tuesday: Morning/shop, Afternoon/go to park
Wednesday: Morning/Story time, Afternoon/coffee shop
Thursday: Morning/playdate, Afternoon/take a walk
Friday: Morning/art, music, Afternoon/visit Grandma
*The “Mommy’s Breakfast and Time to Think Hour” is literally my saving grace. If I didn’t get that hour at the beginning of my day, with Rory playing mostly by herself in the background and Liberty either still sleeping or playing by herself, I.would.go.crazy.
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LOVE the word “schedule-ish”… isn’t that SO true? We can plan all we want, but if we aren’t open to some flexibility, it will be so much more stress than it should be. Let’s all vow to make our schedules a little more “ish”, okay? So we can relax when we go off of it more than we planned…. :)
I still have a few more of these submissions to share. I hope they are still intriguing and helpful to you. I LOVE this kind of thing!! :) :)

2 comments:

  1. I'm gonna get on my OT soapbox for a minute...
    Beans aren't just good for sensory, they're good for motor control. I also like pasta bins - so many fun shapes to examine and feel (or even better, mixed pasta and beans - and I want to color some of the pasta for my bins as well) Rice, oatmeal, and cornmeal in bins are definitely messier than pasta and beans, but they are also good texture/sensory-motor experiences and the advantage of edible versions (versus the more traditional sand, etc) is that if it *does* go in the mouth, it's at least digestible (sp?).

    Also, as an OT, I love the routine ideas. I was originally introduced to the idea of structured routines, transition "heads up", and "visual schedules" for kiddoes on the Autism spectrum, but more and more I think that most kids can benefit from some elements of these ideas - and that's just what I'm seeing in these great routine suggestions. Which goes towards my theory that sometimes the collective wisdom of "mommies" is as good as the "professional expertise" of, well, professionals.

    So even without children in my home, I look forward to "stealing" from these blog entries for my "kind-of kids" and their moms.

    Thanks

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  2. I've been reading these schedules with curiousity, and wondering how important routine really is for children.

    I found this fantastic article that you might enjoy: http://yourparentingsolutions.com/parenting-tools/family-life/structure-routines

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