Each morning begins the same. I awake to a child “whispering” in my ear or to the wakeful sounds of a hungry Laelia. There are usually four people in our queen sized bed, but sometimes a fifth person sneaks in there too. Although it’s cramped and sometimes there is a complaint or two about who gets to lay by mama, it’s usually a snuggly, giggly start to our day.
Then we all get up and go have breakfast.
Since our family is seated around the table, it’s a great time for family devotions. We read from our devotion book and from the Bible and pray.
After devotions, we make our beds and get dressed, fix our hair, and brush our teeth.
Then comes……..CHASE!
In our house, chase is a very important part of the day. It’s a special time when Daddy chases the little girlsaround while they scream and giggle with excitement. It really is a wonderful time. Daddy picks them up and throws them on the bed or couch. He holds Chloe upside down and swings her around (Willow is afraid of upside down). Then they get tickled! They love it.
After chase, the girls play for a while in their play room. I get things cleaned up and then they play outside for a while. We also do our gardening while we are out there.
Then we come inside where we do a little dancing and play instruments. Sometimes they put on a performance for me—and it’s absolutely fabulous!
After we are a little tired out from our dance party we settle down on the floor with a bunch of pillows or on the sofa and read some books.
School work comes next, but just a bit and only because Chloe really wants to learn to read. Otherwise, I would only touch on it while we were reading. I feel strongly that the majority of their learning at this young age comes from exploration, discovery, and imagination and most of it needs to be done outside.
After our school work we do our project. Projects rotate every day.
Mondays we finger knit.
Tuesdays we color.
Wednesdays we make and play with play dough.
Thursdays we paint with water colors.
Friday we sew.
Now, I realize by this point it seems as though our morning is just completely jam packed with no wiggle room. I keep our schedule pretty loose. Should the girls become completely immersed in their imaginative play, I don’t disturb them. I find that they get so much fulfillment from being fully integrated, mind, body, and spirit, in what they are doing, so sometimes it’s best to just let them continue. However, if movement to the next activity is necessary, I find a way to transition smoothly, without disrupting their feeling of integration. We just transfer their feeling of oneness in a way that they find fun—singing, jumping, and counting work well for us.
Okay! Now it’s time to clean up from our project and get ready for lunch. The girls like to help get lunch ready. They do a great job setting the table and like to plate their food.
After lunch, it’s rest time for Chloe and Willow and nap time for Laelia. During rest time, the girls are allowed to read quietly in their beds. Chloe absolutely loves reading. She told me the other day that she would love to read 100 books. She can’t wait until she is able to read by herself. Willow looks at books too, but her real love is playing with her little wooden toys and imagining all the wonderful things they are doing. Sometimes I let her take one or two of them in her bed with her for rest time.
What do I do during rest time? So glad you asked. I have about a zillion things that I am in the middle of doing (you too?). So, I try to tackle some of them. They are household chores, like laundry and dishes and cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, and also the many crafts and DIY projects I have fun with.
So, now that naptime is over, we have a snack and play for a little while. This is a part of the day that isn’t very structured. We have about a two hour period where we do different things. Sometimes we bake. Sometimes we go to the market. Sometimes we go to the beach. Sometimes we color or do something else per the girls’ request. We also spend a little time outside, biking, playing, swimming, going on nature walks, gardening, etc. It’s pretty wide open.
Now it’s time to make bread. Before dinner we get the dough going for the bread we will eat the following day. This is so great for the girls to do for many reasons. I love that they know we make it, rather than buy it. Just one more thing we don’t purchase pre-made in the store. They take part in making their own food. They get to learn about the steps needed when baking—counting, adding ingredients, the job of each ingredient, mixing, kneading, waiting, and being conscious of the next necessary step in order to get the perfect end result. And, they know that if we don’t make our bread today, we won’t have any tomorrow for our family to eat.
Next, I make dinner. By this time the girls usually want to play a little bit. Sometimes they help me cook. When Laelia is a little older it will be easier to let them help me more. At this time of day, she wants to be held…the whole time. She’ll grow out of it, and I don’t mind that she wants to be close to me. She’s super precious.
The girls do a great job setting the table for us. One gets the napkins from the drawer and the other gets the silverware and they do a great job preparing our table.
After dinner, the girls clean up their play room.
Then it’s bath time! They usually have a really fun time in the tub.
The girls get dressed for bed and then, even though we just had dinner, they reeeeeally want a snack.
We have just enough time for a pile of books, some fun songs, and lots of snuggling before bed time.
After each little lady has been snuggled, kissed, and tucked softly in her bed, it’s time for Mama to get the house all cleaned up before Daddy comes home…and then a short visit with you! Good night!
