I always get this question that I don’t know how to answer:
Can you provide a schedule of your day that shows when you fit activities into your day?
Simple question. A not-so-easy answer. Especially since I share an activity planner that helps you fit those activities in your day, but yet I can’t tell you how to schedule them into your day.
You see, my days are very rarely the same. I am not a scheduled person. I roll with the flow most days.
I find this works best for us. It takes a lot of pressure off me that I would put on if I had a schedule to follow. That doesn’t mean that I don’t gather ideas for the week or have plans. I do have those.
However, I do have routines here and there that we do. Little things that happen. They might not happen every day. And may not happen at the same time every day. But they do happen.
Routines make everything simpler. And they’re actually really good for the kids – it helps them learn to do their everyday task on their own. Read more about why routines are important for kids here.
I am excited to work along with L’il Critters™ gummy vitamins to share these little tips on how our simple routines are keeping me balanced while their vitamins make it super easy (they’re gummies and they taste awesome! The kids love them)!
One of our simple routines is in the morning. First thing in the morning we get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, play a little, and head to school.
That’s it. Short and simple and fairly obvious, right?
Bedtime is fairly the same. The boys get a bath, get pajamas on, get their L’il Critters™ vitamins, brush their teeth, read a book and say goodnight.
That’s it. Everything in between is pretty much up for grabs.
My oldest is in school. The two younger boys go to preschool and daycare three mornings a week. Those are my work hours.
Activities happen anywhere in between.
But where exactly?
First off, a little more about how my home works. I’m primarily a stay at home mom. So I’m at home with my kids and work when I can. My husband works nights, so he’s home during the days with us as well (in the morning he’s sleeping). He is there to help me during activities if I want it.
Your home might be a little different in that you work out of the home all day, or you’re at home by yourself until the late hours of the night. If that’s the case, I urge you to jot down 7 of your own ways that you can squeeze in activities into your daily routine.
These are 7 of our times that we do activities. Please take note that we do not do activities during every single of these times all the time. We’re not activity-making machines! We like to take it easy too! These are just the time slots when we usually have some time to squeeze one in here or there.
As long as activities are kept simple they can be squeezed into any part of the day!
Another thing to remember is that activities usually only take 15 minutes or so (give or take a few depending on the age of your child). So don’t be discouraged if you don’t have huge chunks of times to squeeze them into. They literally can be squeezed in small spots!
7 Ways We Squeeze Activities in:
In the Morning. Activities are most often slipped into the mornings when the kids don’t have preschool or daycare. Sometimes even on mornings before they go to school! If they’re up super early some days (because it happens!) we’ll sometimes squeeze an activity in after we’re ready to go and have a little bit of time to spare.
During the toddler’s nap time. Nap time has always been a life saver for me and activities. It’s when I have been able to focus on my preschooler and do more advanced activities that my toddler might disrupt or get in the way of.
After nap time. This is hit or miss for us because after nap times my kids can often be very grumpy (are mine the only ones?). If I’m not just sitting and holding them to keep them from a meltdown we’ll often sneak in a quick activity before my oldest gets home from school.
After school. Right now, the weather is fantastic (which has been a long time coming here in Iowa), so this time is less and less. They’re often just running around outside enjoying the weather. But when we’re stuck inside or once this newfound fun of the outdoors has worn off, we’ll be back to doing activities in this time slot. I love doing activities with all three kids!
Before Dinner. This is always a crazy time of day when I’m trying to get dinner on the table. Which makes it the perfect time of day to get them settled in a busy activity. I get them started and it’s an activity that they can keep going on their own while I get dinner ready and supervise from afar. See our 20 easy activities to keep kids busy.
Weekends. I often leave Sundays open to family, but Saturdays are fair game for activities! It’s also often the perfect time for a walk around town that leads to the playground. Yes, that counts as an activity, too!
Before heading out for the day. We have one day of the week that I usually reserve for errands or going to Grandma’s house. There have been countless times that we squeeze an activity in before we head out. I find this to be a perfect time to connect with them (and give them that one-on-one time) before heading out and doing things that are all about me. Or at Grandma’s, it’s all about Grandma and not a time for me to connect with them.
Bonus time: The Witching Hour. Between dinner and bedtime. This is the perfect time if time allows. Often our dinner runs into our bedtime routine so there’s not always time. See 10 activities to do during the Witching Hour.
It’s not anything scientific, or anything really secret. It’s just how we flow around here. Simple (if you haven’t noticed, that’s how I like it).
I keep finding over and over again that a simple life is a much happier life. I try to keep things as uncomplicated as possible and that goes for my parenting, our activities, and our day to day routines. Simple makes it much more balanced in our house.
What balances your life the best?
While maintaining balance, I’m also trying to maintain my family’s health with the aide of L’il Critters™ gummy vitamins in our daily routine.* Every night each of my kids beg to get their vitamins because they’re so good! Little do they know how much good they’re doing for them! I know that my kids are not eating the healthiest (does peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day count as healthy?), so the fact that their vitamins offer many of the vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements to meet my kids’ health needs (not to mention mine and my husband’s) may help make up for my lack of lunch ideas.
Just a quick FYI: L’il Critters™ gummy vitamins have no high fructose corn syrup, no synthetic (FD&C) dyes, and are gluten free. And L’il Critters™ gummy vitamins are available at club, mass, drug and grocery stores nationwide including: Costco, Walmart, Target and Walgreens. More information can be found at www.gummyvites.com.
Leave a comment below letting me know how you create balance for your family to enter for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I received free product and payment for this sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.
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7 Times We Sneak an Activity into Our Daily Routine on handsonaswegrow.com
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