Without the tasks of home schooling to fill the days and occupy the minds of your children, the school holidays can look a little daunting, especially for those of us confined to our homes and with limited access to the great outdoors!
Do you know what helps your kids get a good nights sleep? A day filled with engaging actives for the mind and the body.
We have some other blogs that might be of interest for you like, Keeping a good sleep routine during the holidays, and Getting the most out of your glow these school holidays.
But this blog? This will give you some ideas to get through the day. We hope you find them helpful!
1. Focus and Concentration.
It can be easy to be distracted or overwhelmed in most things, but as a kid at home who tonnes of energy and lacking the usual ways of expending it? You want to try and help them get the most out of the activities you set or tasks you come up with.
This is where the Glow Dreaming comes in to help you start the day right.
Did you know that the Green LED function of the Glow Dreaming that you already use and love to help your kids sleep, is also a great tool for awake time? It helps with mood, concentration and focus. So move it to the living room and turn it on!
2. Crafts/Arts
Providing a time a space for your kids to be creative artistically is fantastic.
Not only does this help with stimulating the imagination but it also serves as a way for kids to gain a sense of accomplishment at achieving something.
The best part about doing something artistic is that you don't have to set guidelines outside of the medium of choice.
Another added benefit of doing arts and crafts at home is that its a great way to reduce stress. For a lot of kids, a sudden change in routine or inability to get on with 'normal life tasks' can be hard to conceptualise. Feelings of frustration can occur and even sometimes anger. This is an awesome way to deal with and prevent that.
3. In Home Essential Helpers!
Include your kids in the essential things that need to be done in the house.
Not only is this a great added help to you, but it proves useful for a few reason.
It provides an aspect of normalcy. This can be a really important thing especially when you look at what's going on. A change of routine that's occurring within a change of lifestyle, within living with restriction, yeah, its a lot!
Although it's a necessary reality for us at the moment, it can still be overwhelming.
Having them be apart of tasks like dishes, groceries, vacuuming, putting away laundry, will not only give them an added purpose in their day, it will also teach them responsibility and serve as a reminder that thing will get back to normal!
Divide the tasks up amongst the house hold and create a relaxing, well deserved activity at the end as the goal, like watching a movie or a favourite show!
4. Outside Walks
Take advantage of that outside time.
Make it a point to - weather permitting - start and end the day with stretching your legs and getting some fresh air.
Of course, kids can race around the house for hours but getting outside and having a bit of time to explore will help to create a firm beginning and end to the days.
Being in lockdown, sometimes our days can all blend together. This is an opportunity for structure.
5. Games
Board games are always a fun go-to. Something that stimulates the mind!
As much as it is absolutely important to have kids move their bodies and burn some energy, you will always find sleep to come easiest with a satisfied mind as well!
The options here are really endless, from card games, to memory games, to interactive games like charades and hide and seek, participating in these types of activities will not only fill your day with a bit of fun, but excitement too! And, with such a broad range of option, it means there can be something new to do everyday as well which, in lockdown, can be a pretty exciting prospect!
6. Write Letters.
One of the hardest things about being in lockdown is being away from our loved ones.
Something that can add a lot of value to the days is being able to tell someone about them!
Writing letters to friends and family can help your kids maintain a connection to the people they care about while they can't see them.
Of course, phone calls and facetimes are amazing, but there is certainly something special about a hand written letter, and why not have them as a keep sake for later!
And at the end of it all, you'll find that all you want is a good night sleep!
This is where you grab the Glow that's been on in the living room all day back into your kiddies room, pop on their sleep settings and enjoy a full night of uninterrupted sleep, ready for the next day!.