13 Hours... on average that is the amount of time that my son will be up each day during the summer. That is the amount of time that needs to be occupied each day. Thinking of it as a whole, especially when you multiply that by the number of days in the summer... phew!
My son... the early bird. It does not matter what time he goes to bed. It could be 6:30 pm or 9:30 pm and he'll still wake up at about 6:00 am give or take about 20 minutes, lol. So our day starts at 6:00, actually his day does, lol. Since he is older now, he is capable of playing or watching t.v. on his own for about an hour or so while I "snooze." As long as he has strawberry milk and a "snack" he's good to go (checking in on me about every 15 minutes or so, lol).
I like to break up my typical days by meals. So the first chunk of time is about 4 hours or so between breakfast and lunch. Everyday depending on the day, there is something. Whether its the library activity day, laundry day, grocery day, or a quick trip to the playground, park, beach, zoo, or gardens (yup, I live that close to all of them) I can do any one of them and can find atleast an hour or so of "unfilled time."
Between lunch and dinner we have about 4 hours again. My son doesn't nap anymore, atleast not with me. That was a battle I decided not worth fighting when I realized he could go a full day without getting crabby. I do miss that break time though. This is the time that can get to be tricky if there's nothing planned. Again, I could do some of the things that I listed for the morning. But if I've done something "big" in the morning, then the afternoon would be something "small" like going to the playground. But that still leaves about 2 hours of "unfilled" time. About an hour of that time I take to clean up and make dinner. During that time he'll play independently and/or watch tv. But if he acts up at all during the day, its usually this time. He gets bored, I get bored. Puzzles, books, crafts, playing school, baking and his leap pad are helpful during this time, but it can still get a little daunting.
Finally, the homestretch! After dinner we have about an hour and a half until bath time and bed. Since it's summer now, we'll go outside. Sidewalk chalk, water balloons, scooter, bike or a quick trip to the park to play tee ball are some of our options. This time isn't so bad.
My biggest concern is the amount of television that he watches. I have to admit my son is a big nerd and likes to watch educational shows, many which are nonfiction. But still... I'd rather him not, atleast not so much. Being able to spend time outside is a big, big help. But there are still those "unfilled" times that need to be filled (blowing my nose, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, and using the bathroom are all necessities that I have). If anyone has anymore "downtime" filler ideas, please share.
For anyone who is not a parent, perhaps you can see now why (as I posted yesterday) I like to keep busy and plan some bigger activities. Otherwise, that 13 hour day, feels like a 13 hour day. That's a long time! My workday is from 8:30-3:30, 7 hours. My time with my son is almost double that! Again that's why I posted my views on summertime exhaustion and upmost respect for stay at home moms (and dads). It's a tough, tough job. Rewarding. Very Rewarding, but tough.
My son... the early bird. It does not matter what time he goes to bed. It could be 6:30 pm or 9:30 pm and he'll still wake up at about 6:00 am give or take about 20 minutes, lol. So our day starts at 6:00, actually his day does, lol. Since he is older now, he is capable of playing or watching t.v. on his own for about an hour or so while I "snooze." As long as he has strawberry milk and a "snack" he's good to go (checking in on me about every 15 minutes or so, lol).
I like to break up my typical days by meals. So the first chunk of time is about 4 hours or so between breakfast and lunch. Everyday depending on the day, there is something. Whether its the library activity day, laundry day, grocery day, or a quick trip to the playground, park, beach, zoo, or gardens (yup, I live that close to all of them) I can do any one of them and can find atleast an hour or so of "unfilled time."
Between lunch and dinner we have about 4 hours again. My son doesn't nap anymore, atleast not with me. That was a battle I decided not worth fighting when I realized he could go a full day without getting crabby. I do miss that break time though. This is the time that can get to be tricky if there's nothing planned. Again, I could do some of the things that I listed for the morning. But if I've done something "big" in the morning, then the afternoon would be something "small" like going to the playground. But that still leaves about 2 hours of "unfilled" time. About an hour of that time I take to clean up and make dinner. During that time he'll play independently and/or watch tv. But if he acts up at all during the day, its usually this time. He gets bored, I get bored. Puzzles, books, crafts, playing school, baking and his leap pad are helpful during this time, but it can still get a little daunting.
Finally, the homestretch! After dinner we have about an hour and a half until bath time and bed. Since it's summer now, we'll go outside. Sidewalk chalk, water balloons, scooter, bike or a quick trip to the park to play tee ball are some of our options. This time isn't so bad.
My biggest concern is the amount of television that he watches. I have to admit my son is a big nerd and likes to watch educational shows, many which are nonfiction. But still... I'd rather him not, atleast not so much. Being able to spend time outside is a big, big help. But there are still those "unfilled" times that need to be filled (blowing my nose, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, and using the bathroom are all necessities that I have). If anyone has anymore "downtime" filler ideas, please share.
For anyone who is not a parent, perhaps you can see now why (as I posted yesterday) I like to keep busy and plan some bigger activities. Otherwise, that 13 hour day, feels like a 13 hour day. That's a long time! My workday is from 8:30-3:30, 7 hours. My time with my son is almost double that! Again that's why I posted my views on summertime exhaustion and upmost respect for stay at home moms (and dads). It's a tough, tough job. Rewarding. Very Rewarding, but tough.
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