I told you one of my new years resolutions is to be a better mother. That alone can cover just about a billion topics in my head. I am going to start by having a better organized and structured day for my son and myself. They say this is good for children so....I sat down to make our new schedule for our days and nothing came to mind. Really is it that hard to make a schedule for a 18 month old? So I hit up my good friend google. It went something like this.Dear Google,
Yes, it is me again. Well could you please tell me what kind of schedule my son should be on?
I am sure to be back later this week.
muah,
Pink
Google never disappoints me. Now I have this awesome schedule I cannot wait to try out with LM. I just need a bit more time to prepare. And LM is sick with the stomach bug so we really won't start until next week. We are going to attempt something like this..........
-Get up and eat breakfast.
-He can watch some toons while I get ready and (gasp) make the bed.
-School time- this is anything from learning letters to colors and animals. Lets do some arts and crafts....this is where I need more time to prepare.
-Free play-roam the house and do whatever he wants to do.
-lunch time
-quite time-read some books maybe some baby signing time.
-NAP time. :)
-Snack
-go outside and play or just run errands
-Free play again.
-cook dinner/eat
- Play with daddy
-Bedtime routine.
You will notice there are no time frames for this, because lets face it, he may only do school time for 10 minutes. But for those 10 I will feel like I am doing something important with my son. I will know the day did not go by wasted.
Question: is your child on a set schedule and do you like it? Or like not having one?
6 comments:
Joanna (joanna.price(at)live(dot)com) said...
So I was definitely meant to read this tonight! I just got up out of bed because I couldn't sleep. Earlier tonight I spent 30 min crying to my husband about how I feel like I could be doing a better job as a mother. I need some sort of structure in order to feel like I've accomplished something. Maybe it's weird or wrong to write "Play with child" on a to-do list and cross it off- but that might be what I have to do!
I hope this works for you! I like the idea of not using times for your schedule- I think I will make one up like that. My problem is my kids are 13 months and 7 weeks- it's difficult to have any kind of structure. But I need to try!
Cynthia said...
I am a Nana who takes care of my granddaughter and having had four of my own and 10 grandchildren total I think some schedule is very important. I like the no actual time schedule with one exceptiong and that being the nap times I feel need to be somewhat on a schedule otherwise its kinda running a muck. Her nap time is either my time to catch up~if there's such a thing or just plain relax myself. I've also found there are some days when even nap time on a schedule is not working so I go ahead and let her play just a little longer usually 10-15 min then she's ready it was like get those extra little wiggles out. All day long is a teaching experience for both her and myself.
Enjoy your blogsite.
Anara said...
@Joanna - 13 months, especially with a new baby in the house, is the perfect time to start a routine.Dr. Sears recommend calling it "special time." If you are busy with the baby, on the phone, etc, tell your toddler that when you are done you will have special time.Then also countdown to the ending (in 3 minutes ST is all done). This is also a good time to use a timer to let them know that your play time is over because they will not want it to end. And remember teaching time at this age is about social skills, not just abc's.Sitting in one spot, learning to follow directions (that starts at around 18 months so you are preparing them for listening),holding a book the right way.
We only have two "scheduled" one on one times during the day. We do an activity before lunch, then again after snack.It can be a game,arts & crafts, the bounce house, or going outside. That's my one on one time. We always read books at naptime and bedtime.The rest of the day it's spontaneous.
I have an almost 3 year old son and a 4 year daughter old with Down Syndrome & Autism. I think they are ready to add a little more formal schedule. They both know all the pre-school knowledge: abc's,counting,shapes,etc. Since all learning is play at this age, a lot of this has come from spontaneous play, singing and dancing,an alphabet quilt on the wall,cooking together. Until recently, the only tv/movies they watched was educational or sign language, and they have learned a lot from these.
Rebecca, where is your blogging time in this routine?
Pink Nothings said...
Joanne- I am glad that I am not the only mother who is still trying to figure things out!
So for Anara, I normally will only blog durig nap time and bedtimes. Really if I try to do it any other time he will crawl all over me and the keyboard. If I have a something I want to write about, I think about it throughout the day so when I sit down I almost always know just what I should write and I don't sit there for 30 minutes wasting my time. I have become better at not being on it so much.
My life in a blog said...
First of all, go to pbsparents.org and type in "good enough mother" in the search box. Read that article.
We have a schedule, and it has time frames, but I think the most important thing is for me to not freak out if we don't follow the schedule. ;) I'm trying to play more with my kids, have less TV on and such, but I don't beat myself up if one day we watch a ton of TV and only read 1 book. :)
Pink Nothings said...
I am going right now mommyD!! Thanks. I didn't put time frames because I do freak out over messing up the time. So I am trying to destress a bit. Also I should have said nap time is pretty much on a time schedule. I cannot mess with that!!
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