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What does "Quiet Time" look like in your home?
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What do you do with your older kids (such as ages 4+) in the afternoons and for how long? My boys certainly need something different than what we are doing now. Yet some kind structure as well. As much detail as you can give would be extremely helpful – thanks!!
At my house 1pm begins quiet time. The following children go to their bed with books to look at/read:
Sons ages: 9, 6, 4 (shared bedroom). Daughter age: 8
I turn an audio book on in the hall between bedrooms that they can listen to, or they can sleep, or if they are trustworthy, they can draw (some like to draw on things not paper).
The 3 year old boy is on the couch downstairs near me and naps.
The almost 2 year old boy lays in his baby brother’s crib and naps.
The 6 almost 6 month old baby naps or stays awake depending on his mood, on me or on a blanket nearby.
The 12 year old girl either draws at her artist desk (bedroom shared with younger sister and 2yo), writes, or crafts. She may also choose to do school work downstairs near me if she wants one on one help.
I blog, email, read, or nap. If Daddy is home he joins us for quiet time.
Quiet time ends at 2:20pm, though napping children keep sleeping.
Hope that helps!
I have two boys, 5.5 and 7.5. They have a one hour rest time after lunch. Usually, one is on my bed, the other is on his bed. They share a room and don’t rest well together; they’d rather chat and play.
They take a stack of books, one small toy (usually LEGO), and occasionally paper and pencil. They have to stay put except for a quick trip to the restroom. The younger sometimes falls asleep. The elder usually doesn’t. During that time , I rest, read, drink my tea HOT, do a chore or two, knit. Works well most days.
Sometimes, I let them rest in the same room and listen to a Jim Weiss or other audio book. Today was a rare day. They actually listened to Jim Hodges’ Stories of the Pilgrims ( all three hours of it) while alternately playing LEGO and resting under a blanket.
I have an almost 5 daughter, almost 3 son and 5 week old daughter. The older two go down for naps any time between 12-1 depending on when the baby goes down. The baby is in a pack n play in the office/sewing room. The almost 5 is on my bed and the almost 3 is in his bed. They share a room so nap would not happen of they were together. They get books to look at and the oldest falls asleep 3/5 days. Rest time is 2.5-3 hours. I nap, read, watch tv/fold laundry, or clean. Nap time is precious in our house and not something we skip. I need the time to my self with no kids to make it through the afternoon.
My 17, 12, 11 and almost 9 year old boys are in their beds (same room). They usually save some of their school reading to do during this time.
The 6 year old girl and 4 year old boy take turns in their room and on the stair landing (their choice – it’s a big landing). They can have their choice of quite toys. The 4 year old will fall asleep a few days a week.
The 10mon baby sleeps in her bed in my room.We start at 2 and go until 3 or 3:30 (baby’s nap time).
I take a nap (17 year old supervises), read, read blogs, work on a project or whatever is calling to me that day.
When my kids were all younger (under 12), I would have them each get a blanket and spread it out in the living room (except nappers who were in beds). They could have quiet toys or books. Then I could nap on the couch while keeping an ear on them, or read or work on a project. Having them all where I could hear them was a life saver as I was frequently pregnant or nursing a night nursing baby and was TIRED!
-Rebecca
My children are 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2. From the time my oldest outgrew her nap, we’ve always had “quiet time”. The exact hour of the day has varied a bit through the years, depending on baby schedules, but it usually begins around 2:00-2:30 and goes for one hour.
Each child goes to a different part of the house. They choose whatever cozy spot they want, as long as they aren’t near anyone else. I always tell them that when you have lots of people living in the same house, EVERYONE benefits from some uninterrupted alone time. They look forward to the peace and quiet of not having a little sibling following them or asking them to do something. 🙂
All they get to do is read. Non-readers look at picture books. Sometimes I put quiet, relaxing music on. The rule has always been that if they’re noisy or if they come talk to me (unless it’s an emergency, of course), they go down for a nap that day – no if, ands or buts.
The age that each child has stopped napping has ranged from 3 to 5 years old. It has become a rite of passage to be “able” to stay up for quiet time, so they try very hard to be quiet and “be big” so they can stay up!
With the exception of days that we are gone from the house or have guests over, quiet time has been a constant in our home. None of my children remember a time without it.
It has been a real blessing to everyone.
~Anna
My house is never “quiet”. We have a free time after lunch where they can play games, do crafts, read, etc. for about an hour. I usually knit or read while DH watches a bit of TV (he comes home for lunch).
My kiddos are just turning 5 (boy) and about to turn 6 (girl). Neither of them sleeps much at quiet time any more unless they are under the weather or having a growth spurt. However, I have noticed that they both seems to slowly unravel if we skip quiet time too often, so I am back to making this a priority for our days.
Both kids are on their own bed in their own room for quiet time. My daughter likes to listen to audiobooks, currently Little House on the Prarie. My son prefers music, currently Rain for Roots that was recommended on this forum (thanks whoever posted it!) that he got for Christmas. They are free to play quietly with their toys on the bed, but lights stay off and they must be “quiet”, not running around, etc. *I* am generally on my bed too having my daily devotions and Bible time first, then working on keeping up the household paper work, preparing the Sunday school lessons for church, reading for pleasure, etc.
Quiet time lasts about 90 minutes.
Ok I will try and make sense of our quiet time. It is daily from 1-230 (or when ever we finish lunch clean up till 230). 2 young girls sit on their blankets in the living room at my feet and play quietly (toys that make NO noise, books etc).
The boys (15, 14, 12, 10, 7) all go to their room or asigned room. One person (who evers day is in the kitchen “tomorrow”) is in the upstairs living room attached to the kitchen. They are in charge of making and food that needs to be made in advance for their kitchen day, or any snacks or it might be the time they check the receipe out (if never made before) and get out meat that might need to be defrosted. If they are not doing kitchen prep they also have quiet time – listening to their mp3 player, doing school or any quiet activity.
I do office work, read or if my oldest can sit with the girls I might sneek away and go take a hot long bath in a quiet house, I may even do good shaving job and then hop into my shower to wash my self and my hair and then get out and lotion up.. can you see me dreaming!! LOL
I take my youngest (4) up to my bed and read a book or two to her. …Then we take a nap. 🙂 Sometimes I actually sleep, sometimes I pretend until she’s asleep. My older girls (6,8,9) are downstairs doing something quiet – school work or a chore. Or they are allowed to go outside and play. This usually happens around 12 noon. (we snack earlier and eat dinner later and supper later still). The peace lasts as long as the 4yo is sleeping – usually around 90 minutes. Sometimes longer.
Our quiet time begins when lunch and chores are finished, usually between 1:00-1:30. The children go to their own rooms and must lay down and read or play quietly. If I can hear them while playing, then they’re too loud and must read instead. My son usually reads, but has been building Lego characters and sets for his stop motion animation videos. My daughter reads or plays with stuffed animals.
I am in a bit of a health crisis right now, so resting everyday is extremely important for me. I don’t rest well in my own bed during the day (weird, right?), but I can get a little nap on the couch. The children are clock-watchers when it comes to their afternoon snack, so they start making their way out of their rooms around 2:45-3:00 for a snack.
We’re all missing rest time today because I am getting my hair cut and colored. Yay! Hard for me to not have that time, but the trade-off today is worth it.
We tried quiet time in the middle of the day, but it just didn’t work for our family. Personally, I am a morning person with my best, most energy right away. Then it burns off slowly as long as I keep rolling. If I sit and rest, it is so hard to get back moving again that it just isn’t worth it. We put our kids to bed early, (7-7:30pm, oldest is 6yo.) so that is “quiet time”. The older boys (6yo, 4yo) have clip lights and they are allowed to stay up and read as late as they like as long as they are silent. Then it is my time to do computer work, read, or just hang out with my husband. I used to think we “had” to have quiet time during the day because that’s what all the other “good” homeschool families do, but I’m getting over that. 😉
~Nicole
I have 5 kids (6, 5, 4, 4 and 2). 2 yo naps 1-4, 3 middle girls nap 1:30-4, and 6 yo DS has quiet time from 2-4. We are still experimenting with what it looks like. We tried allowing him to color, we tried audio books, and he was taking advantage of it (he is in the playroom with toys that he can’t play with during quiet time) so we are back to just reading. Once 5 yo figures out how to be quiet and doesn’t nap anymore, she will stay up til 2 with DS and me (we do our history reading from 1:30-2) and then do quiet time after that. Right now she sure doesn’t know how to be quiet!
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