December 15, 2014
Quiet Time Activities | When Kids Grow Out of Naps

Floor Roadways

It’s no secret I love quiet time once those munchkins move beyond their need for naps. Masking tape, a toy vehicle or two and a few minutes is all you need to pull this together. After turning his bedroom into a racetrack with his parking garage, my 3 year old requested that I “never take it off!”

Choose the low tack tape at the paint store if you think you might leave it set up for a few days… trust me.

Resource: Check out my Quiet Time board on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/" onclick="__gaTracker('send', 'event', 'outbound-article', 'http://www actos 30 mg.pinterest.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/’, ‘Pinterest’);” title=”Pinterest – Terrific Quiet Time” target=”_blank”>Pinterest for plenty more activities for encouraging independent play.

xxoo Krista

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November 12, 2012

Color Wonderful Markers

Thanks again Crayola!  Color Wonderful markers work with Color Wonderful paper – and nothing else.  So not your walls, floors, furniture, or even little hands or clothes. These markers are going to be neat and tidy for your budding artist.

Of course, we HAD to purchase the princess themed package.  Which came with glittered paper. For any parents out there, you know you do a glitter craft once and then never again.  There is now glitter on me and her.  And all over her room.  You don’t have to purchase the glittered paper – in fact, I would advise against it.  There are plenty of options which are non-glitter.

I’m stocking up on activities which I know will work well for when we’re travelling to Europe in December.  Color Wonderful (non glittered) gets a big thumbs up!

 

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October 2, 2012

Puzzles

Quiet Time doesn’t need to be complicated.  Something your child would usually enjoy out of their room can be easily repackaged as a special quiet time activity.  We like puzzles that our child has been successful with in the past.  Ensuring an activity your child can do independently and successfully is key!

Wander over to Pinterest for some more Quiet Time Inspiration.

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September 5, 2012

Magnets

Quiet Time Activities

Just a baking tray and magnets from the dollar store. We had number magnets. Letter magnets or pretty much any other magnets you can find would work too. There are even some downloadable activities to print and put on your trays here and here.

I set this up on an easel for her for a couple reasons:

1) It’s just easier for her to manipulate when she’s standing and facing her task.

2) Her room is small. She often ends up hanging out on her bed. Which isn’t a huge deal, but keeping the bed just for sleeping is consistent with what I suggest when I’m consulting with families.

Wander over to Pinterest for more Terrific Quiet Time inspiration.

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August 27, 2012

Window Crayons

We purchased Crayola Window Crayons the other week and I’ve been excited to share them with my preschooler.  We found these at Michaels, but most places that carry a comprehensive line of Crayola products should have them.

My daughter enjoys being creative, but is hardly the kid who will sit down to colour for more than 5 minutes anymore.  These kept her busy for an entire hour!  She was thrilled to share her artwork with me when I went to end her quiet time.

Here’s some tips for trying these at your house:

Carefully outline the rules: “The crayons are just for the windows.  If they’re used on anything but the windows, we’ll have to put them away.”  If your child is too young to understand and follow those rules, consider finding another more age appropriate <a href="http://pinterest.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/" onclick="__gaTracker('send', 'event', 'outbound-article', 'http://pinterest actos drug.com/sleeperific/terrific-quiet-time/’, ‘Quiet Time’);” title=”Terrific Quiet Time” target=”_blank”>Quiet Time activity.

Help for little hands: Provide a little tray for them to keep the crayons together when they’re not in use on the floor. It might not be realistic to expect your little one to uncap and recap the crayons after use (especially since the caps are not easy to get on and off).

Clean up: Any type of window cleaner will do the trick. I recommend using a cleaning cloth first, to get rid of the majority of the crayon. Your child can help with this part and will likely be happy to do so.  Tidy up with your usual window cleaner. Make sure your budding Picasso is done with their artwork. We had to save ours to show her Dad.

 

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August 18, 2012

As a sleep consultant, I always suggest maintaining “Quiet Time” when naps begin to ebb.  It encourages independent play, but it also allows them to rest and even nap if they wish.

As a parent, I NEED Quiet Time.  A few minutes to myself to “regroup” is enough to recharge my parent batteries.

When I can keep my daughter interested in something interesting, quiet time is much more successful.

Felt boards are fun and quiet.  It’s a great way to foster imaginative play.  We have super girlie and very pink/purple ballerinas.  There are lots of options from Creatology, which they carry at Michaels.  We always seem to get flyers that include coupons for 40% off (check the front of the store for flyers, or if you can’t find one, I believe you can join a email list and they’ll offer you the deal).

There are a tonne of options available from Etsy as well!

 

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