5 minutes peace..

Are you desperate for 5 minutes of peace? For some alone time or a few moments when the kids are not fighting? Do you struggle to find time for art? If you haven’t already, try giving “Rotation Stations” a go. We use this fairly regularly as a way to give the kids some time on their own, which definitely reduces the opportunities for fighting! Plus you can include activities – even chores – you didn’t get around to doing earlier.

Here’s what you do:

• Choose a number of activities (at least as many as the number of kids you have participating)
• Write up a schedule so they know who is on which activity 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc
• Set them going and go enjoy a cup of tea!

A few tips..

• For the most relaxing experience, choose activities that don’t require your help
• If you need some chores done, make one of the activities a chore (at least it has a time frame, and the other 2 or 3 fun activities make up for it!)
• If you want some one-on-one time with each kid, designate one of the activities as something with you e.g. baking or a game
• To get buy-in from the kids, make sure at least 1 activity is something they really like
• You decide when they switch – either set a specific time like 20 minutes, or just call out when it’s time!

The activities we did on Friday last week were:

• Chalk drawing outside
• 1 episode of something from RightNow Media (“Superbook” or “What’s in the Bible” are good options)
• Artventure (painting and drawing with guidance)
• chore of my choosing (it was cleaning the bathroom or dusting)

Some other activity options could be: jumping on the trampoline, riding a bike or scooter, craft, baking or cooking, SumDog, playing with Lego, reading…

Because I change up the activities each time and it usually involves something a bit special (we don’t have much screen time ordinarily), the kids are always enthusiastic about it! I highly recommend giving it a go.