In the summer of 2019 I started a public instagram account, I said to my husband, “Don’t follow me, it will be spammy, I just need somewhere to vent”. He dutifully gave me space to be ‘spammy’ and I’ve posted probably too many stories and posts over the past 8 or so months figuring out what I like saying and what other people like hearing. I *think* I’ve figured out what I like talking about most, and surprisingly it’s not what I’ve gotten a bit of a reputation for going on about – eco stuff – it’s parenting… or more specifically motherhood. I’m nearly 5 years into motherhood and feel like maybe I might be starting to figure out what I’m doing! And just as I’ve discovered that less in more when it comes to possessions, “stuff”, I’ve discovered less is more when it comes to motherhood. Not less love, or attention, but less scheduled, less busy, less perfect. So I hope you’ll enjoy my thoughts on running an efficient household and budget and all with the goal of enjoying, and sometimes enduring, motherhood in all it’s stickiness, giggles, tantrums, revelations and joy. Here’s to slow motherhood, because childhood is not a race.
TOY ROTATION
Do you rotate your toys? If yes, you know how magical this simple method is, if no, you seriously need to give it a try!
Why is toy rotation so magical? Well, it’s waaay less mess which is reason enough alone but actually, more importantly, it makes for better play and happier kids.
When we started rotating there were still quite a lot of toys out, you know what I’ve learned? Less is 100% more! Right now, my two kids (age 2 and 4) have a dolls house + pegs dolls and small wooden animals, a set of dominos, a box of bricks, 5 books, a set of 12 crayons and a colouring book each. Oh and a cuddly toy each. They also have a hideous baby rocking horse which I hate but they love!
We’ve been doing this a little over a year and about a week ago I reduced their toy rotation by about another 3 toys – this past week has been great! Lots of creative play, easy to tidy (even for miss 4 on her own) and it made it fun and special when I pulled out an extra toy like a family game or craft to do together. Looking forward to another (mostly) peaceful week with the toys I’ve listed above!
So how does toy rotation work? Well it’s kind of up to you, but the basic idea is your put away ALL the toys and then get out just a few (that number is up to you) for your kids to have access to. Then after a shortish amount of time, rotate them (put them all away again and get out a few more!). I aim for once a week, during this recent lockdown/quarantine I’ve done it a little more frequently, but when they’re out at day care I sometimes leave it longer (mostly because I forget!). A good rule of thumb I’ve found – if the kids are restless and cranky, rotate the toys.
Toy swap day is so lovely to watch, the kids are so excited, it’s like they’ve got a whole collection of brand new toys! It’s also a great way to see what they like. If there are only 5 toys and one is ignored all week, probably time to donate/sell it.
Don’t forget you can rotate big toys like play kitchens or dolls houses too… though you may need to clear out a cupboard! And you can rotate clothes. This is especially good if your kids dress themselves and like multiple outfits per day like mine! When they get all the clothes out, it’s just a few items to tidy away again – phew!
Any questions? Shoot them my way, I LOVE to talk about toy rotation, it’s completely changed our home life!
10 Screen-Free Ideas
My kids are screen-free Monday to Thursday. It’s not always been that way and it may not always be this way, but for this stage, this works best for us. I honestly feel my kids are happier when the TV is off most of the time and we’ve not yet entered the world of iPads or phone games (they are 4 and nearly-2). I do need to add in a small caveat here… we watch a yoga instruction video (from Cosmic Kids Yoga) every evening as part of the bedtime routine.
The kids are also definitely better behaved when the TV is mostly off. A 20 minutes episode can result in an hour of grumpiness when turned off, and that’s not a good enough trade off for me! Friday afternoon the girls watch a movie after they get home from daycare because they are always EXHAUSTED and they also get a couple of episodes on Saturday morning (usually while I have a ‘lie in’… until 8am) and a couple of episodes on a Sunday evening after we’ve finished church and lunch with Gran.
“How do you get anything done??” I hear you ask. Well. Here are 10 free screen free winter-friendly activities that work for my pre-schoolers. 9/10 are indoors and at least some of them can be done unsupervised.
1. Craft box. A well stocked selection of crafts that can be used with minimal supervision is a great go-to screen free activity. Ours currently has crayons, watercolour paint, paper, age appropriate scissors and stamps.
2. Bath+. This is quite a fun one to use what you have to hand. Baths are always a good calm down tool but have you ever considered adding some building blocks? (probably not wooden ones!) we have a box of megabloks that work well for little hands. Another bath+ idea is giving them a snack in the bath – blows their tiny minds! An ice lolly or an apple work well. Any other water-friendly additions you can think of?
3. Tea Party. See my post on Le Goûter, a break to make a snack fancy uses up a good chunk of time, and is a great place for conversation and connection. Even plain crackers can be a tea party if you put them on a plate and all sit together to eat them.
4. Stack of books. This is one of my favourites because I feel like a super-mum when I read a bunch of books to the kids! This is especially easy if you use toy rotation and you can say bring ALL the books (and it’s still a manageable pile).
5. Playdough. This is one of the most effective activities in our house for when I need to get something done like cooking dinner. I usually make my own playdough (try this recipe) and I give them a few tools like rolling pins, silicone cupcake cakes, cookie cutters and pompoms to make up games with. This can be done totally unsupervised and keeps them quiet for ages.
6. Clean the windows. This is actually semi-helpful even if they do leave it a little streaky. Both of my girls enjoy this chore, though in fairness it doesn’t hold their attention for ages. Just give them a cloth wetted with water/vinegar mix or if they can be trusted, a dry cloth and a spray bottle with water/vinegar mix.
7. Yoga. OK, this isn’t technically screen-free as most people will need an instruction video to follow BUT it’s active and can be done together or unsupervised. As mentioned above, we like Cosmic Kids Yoga and if we do one during the day we go for a longer one than the 10-15 min bedtime ones.
8. Puzzle party. Most kids love puzzles, so grab out a big one to do together or one each per kid at different stages and enjoy!
9. Make cornflake cakes. Or ricecrispy cakes or basically any easy, store cupboard baking that you can do with the kids without going insane! Make them and then make a big deal about presenting and eating them together.
10. Play outside. This is the outlier and obviously isn’t always an option but if the weather is nice or you have good waterproofs a short play outside or a little walk can be a huge mood booster and an oppourtunity for lots of creative play.
Here’s a handy kid-friendly printable of these ideas. Stick it up and point to it when your kids say “I’m bored!”.
Share your favourite screen-free activities in the comments!
Le Goûter
I read a blog post about Le Goûter in the spring and immediately loved the idea! It’s basically a fancy french word for after school snack (and 4 year olds saying french words is the CUTEST)
French people, correct me if I’m wrong here, but basically in France, kids are met at the school gate with a sweet snack to keep them going through afternoon sports etc. Apparently a common snack is a baguette with squares of chocolate inside, as well as pain au chocolates, YUM. M has a seriously sweet tooth and really looks forward to a sweet treat in the afternoon. I do try and mix it up a little with savoury items but it’s mostly sweet if I’m honest. Sometimes its a special occasion and we bake or buy cookies or doughnuts but often it’s as simple as jam on toast or a smoothie. Either way, it’s a moment to pause and sit together for a few moments every day.
I found that this designated time in the afternoon helps to stop the “I’m HUUUUUNGRY” whines and helps to stop snacking all afternoon, especially on days we’re all home together like in the holidays.
I think most importantly though, it makes a easy space for making an ordinary moment special – afternoon snack doesn’t inspire me to get out the fancy plates as much as le Goûter – and this has made space for lots of lovely moments with the kids.
What snack or meal traditions have you created in your family?
SLOW MOTHERHOOD 