A special time where our children lay down their sleepy heads and rejuvinate their bodies and minds. A beautiful time where the growing happens. Where the owies mend. Where the icky colds and other bugs are destroyed.
A quiet time where snores are heard and screams are notta.
A peaceful time where stools get painted, projects get completed, dinner gets planned, phone call get made, internets get surfed, photos get edited, emails get sent, dishes get washed, tivos get set, lists get made, lists get checked off...ect.
But what happens when this afternoon time of peace and slumber goes away?! What happens when your 3 1/2 year old, no longer needs a nap? Do you freak out and run for hills? Do you hop the next plane to Bermuda? Do you just lock them in a room and not allow them to come out? Well, that would be an option.......errrr not.
Well, in our house, we have established "quiet time". It is just a time where Leighton has to lay down and "try" to nap. And sometimes, just sometimes.....he does. And when the nap happens, it's usually a few hours. Praise our good-lovin Lord! But, mostly, it doesn't anymore. So, he reads books and keeps himself occupied. And then he comes upstairs. If "quiet time isn't quite over, he gets sent to a spot of his choice to continue his quiet time. And sometimes, he does cute things like this:
working on his little school book.........how cute.
or....he comes up with other creative ideas like this........the sticker monster!
Either way, it works out quite lovely for all of us for the time being.
So....what do you all do? Do or did your 3 1/2 year olds still nap? Do they not nap? Should mine be napping? What if he should be napping but he isn't? Am I a bad mother? Should I be reported to the authorities for nap deprivation? All joking aside, really, what do your kiddos do?
2 comments:
Cuteness, Shannon!
Leah quit napping at 2 1/2. Yes. I was sad.
We did quiet times, too, for about an hour. She would do puzzles, look at books, and our favorite, listen to books on CD. You can get lots of books with CD (and signals for the kids to turn the page) at the library, and then plenty of kid audiobooks for the older ones. Now Ben & Leah BOTH listen to them, because you know we all still need those QUIET times.
oh awesome idea Lyz! thanks so much. i'm so excited to check out books on CD! i know Leighton will eat this right up! he usually does books for his quiet time now so this will be even cooler for him! thanks, thanks and thanks!
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