My Annie has struggled with sleep since she left the womb 5 1/2 years ago. She didn’t sleep through the night until she was almost 4 years old – and even now only sleeps all night 2-3 nights per week. So, for all you mamas out there with kids that sleep great, drop to your knees right now and thank the good Lord above for this blessing. 😉 I felt the Spirit right there.
In the past month or so, she started getting up earlier – around 6am, no matter what time we put her to sleep at night. I know a lot of you probably have kids that get up at this same time. However, my other children are still asleep and I want them to stay that way. Don’t wake a sleeping baby – probably the best baby advice of all time. Ha!
When I wake up, I hurry around to pack Barry’s lunch and fix his breakfast so he can head to work – and then I like to get ready myself…because if I stay in my PJs all day, I feel like Mama from Mama’s Family. If I have 45 minutes to an hour, I can get all of that done easily. So, I needed Annie to be occupied for that long without my help – which is a feat even for some adults I know.
Enter – Quiet Mornings Basket…the idea of my GENIUS husband, Barry. What is a Quiet Mornings Basket, you ask? It’s a basket filled with quiet toys that Annie gets to play with when she wakes up in the morning.
The rules are:
- You must stay in your room.
- You must play quietly.
- When you are done, please put the toys back into the basket.
The items that we’ve put in the basket aren’t things that she plays with on a daily basis – so it makes the basket seem special to her…and she looks forward to it every morning. I change the items out a few times a week so she doesn’t get tired of the things in there.
After she goes to bed at night, the Quiet Basket Fairy (aka, Barry – don’t tell him I called him a fairy) puts the basket in her room so it’s there when she wakes up in the morning.
This is working really great for us. I hope this idea sparks some ideas for you guys if you need this same type of morning quiet time. I’ll list some of the items that we use below, to get your creative juices flowing. Man – creative juices is a WEIRD phrase. I don’t like it.
- Magna Doodle
- Books
- Coloring book and crayons
- Color by Number or Dot
- Where’s Waldo books or the like (available at the library)
- Slinky
- YoYo
- Paper dolls
- Notebook and pencil
- Easy readers
- Puzzles
- Stickers
- Photo Albums (Annie LOVES this one)
- Learning toys
- QUIET electronic toys like the ABC Text and Go (we use this very sparingly)
If you have any additional ideas, please list them below. Thanks! 🙂
I am soooo telling 🙂
You would. :-p
Great idea! We have a quiet bin we use during nap time. Photo albums our are daughters favorite to look at. I love the storage/night stands by Annie’s bed did Barry make them or did you buy them?
Thanks! Barry made those. 🙂
Great idea! My mum used to do this when my sister and I were little. (I’m 63 now!). On Sunday mornings, when my mum & dad wanted some privacy, there would be a box/basket on top of the wardrobe similar to what you do. She would rotate stuff and very often we got something new. We both loved paper cut out dolls (and I now know they don’t cost much). Very often there would be a large rolled up piece of cardboard, which turned out to be new paper cut out dolls. We would spend a lot of time cutting them out and then playing with them. If your daughter is big enough to be allowed scissors, paper dolls is an idea. Nowadays you can download them from the internet. She can glue them onto a firmer card and cut them out and play with them. Hours of fun!
I’ve been following you blog for about a year now. (Don’t know how you find the time to do this….) and I enjoy it.
Lisca
Annie loves paper dolls – it’s up there on the list. 🙂 But, her scissor activity is limited to mommy time…otherwise things happen. LOL
Great idea! I have a 4 1/2 year old who has never slept through the night too. He keeps a pile of books in his bed, but this sounds so much better. My 3 month old is an awesome sleeper, and my 2 year old is pretty good about it too, so I am pretty sure that is just how some kids are wired. It’s rough for a mama who likes a solid 9 hours!
It’s nice to know I’m not alone. 🙂
Your husband is a genius, and I ain’t calling him no fairy.
I’m sure he appreciates that. 😉
Great idea for younger kids! Lincoln is our early bird, when he wakes up he reads or plays at the Lego table.
We haven’t delved into the world of Legos yet – I’m scared. LOL
What a great idea! I’ll have to out this on a list of stuff to remember for when my baby is older. 🙂
I hope it works for you too!
Our children are long gone out on their own, raising careers and families. BUT, I find myself in need of an Early Morning Basket! I don’t want to busy myself with house stuff that would awaken my Awesome Wonderful, so mine is actually a stack on the hearth next to my chair: Bible, Sudoku and crossword books, planner and note pad. Works great!
Well, that’s awesome! 🙂 How nice of you!!
Genius, and a great read 🙂
I’ll tell Barry you said so. 🙂