A Cocoon Day

Our weekends tend to be quite busy, between errands, swim lessons, catching up with friends and what not. I often find that the first day of each week, in contrast to the busy weekends, needs to be slow paced and quiet. We call them Cocoon Days.

Yesterday was just such a day for us; the three day Memorial Day weekend was filled with adventures, fun and busyness, and I could see that all three of the Little Ones were needing some time to just play at their own pace, read books, lay around for spells of time doing nothing. Perfect!

I often find myself getting a little caught up in the 'busyness' mindset; so much to see, so much to do, and the slippery slope of over-scheduling both myself the the kiddos. But, I am reminded time and again, by my own Little Ones, just how much they need the time to to do their own thing.

A few years ago, I had something on the schedule everyday for The Little Guy and I; our days were full, and honestly, both he and I were feeling the stress of it. The constant rushing and the anxiety over being late were big issues for both of us. 

Even though on an intellectual level I realized how stressful all this rushing was for us, I had not quite anticipated just how freeing it would be to move towards more days that are made up of free time, rather than appointments, play dates and places to be.

So for now our weekly schedule hangs on just one or two events, with plenty of time left over for long conversations, building projects, walks and bicycle rides in our neighborhood, cooking and baking, reading, pottering around, craft projects, playing in the yard, getting muddy, having fun, and all the other 1001 things a child will find to do when given the time and space to do it!


What does your weekly schedule look like? How do you balance appointments versus home time? Feel free to share; I'd love to hear from you!

Miracles and Gardening

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.

Robert Brault

 

What are doing in your garden this season? Feel free to share; I'd love to hear from you!

What Happens When You Let a Child Clean?

Well ... they might just clean for you!

Yesterday The Little Guy was desperate to mop the kitchen floor; so off he went to get out the mop, until he realized that there were a couple of toys on the kitchen floor. So he picked up all the toys and went to put them away. Then he mopped the entire floor, on his own (we currently use one of those Swiffer Wet Jets, which I picked up on Freecycle, mop, pads and solution - everything! Score!!)

Of course, when TLG had finished mopping the floor it was still wet, so he made a caution sign to alert everyone to the still wet floor.

The Little Guy's caution sign; note the freshly mopped floor in the background!

This has been a topic of conversation with friends and on various yahoo loops quite a lot just reccently - how do you get kids involved with house chores.

And on of my first answers is that they have to be allowed to do it! And it should be fun.

And here is the thing - letting them do it, and allowing them the space to do it imperfectly is better than not letting them do it all.

Because chances are they will make a mess, or leave the chore unfinished, or it won't be as good as when you do it. But all of those things are okay! Your child will be learning to clean, have respect for their environment, and it might just wear them out a bit!

And did The Little Guy mop the floor perfectly? Well - no! But it's alright; he is four years old, and he thinks that mopping the floor is "the cat's pajamas" (his quote on mopping!) One day, with years of practice he will be expertly mopping his own floor!


What is your kiddo's favorite way to help around the house? What do you do to allow that to happen? Feel free to share; I'd love to hear from you!