I recently read the following article in the Deseret News, Kids have lost the simple art of play. I was happy to read it and have thought about this almost daily as I take care of my kids and try to fit in all there is to do in one day.
Like I have mentioned so many times before on here...our life can feel very much like a circus. My kids seem to need at least 10 hours of sleep each day. Spencer is usually good with 10 and a half hours but Grant really could use 11 plus hours. He just needs a lot of sleep. We don't always get that much but I try and make that a priority. So if we go to bed at 8 that puts us at 6:30 or 7 for getting up in the morning. We are rushed with that little time trying to get beds made, showers taken, breakfast had, lunches made and scriptures read. My boys are consistently getting to school without playground time in the morning.
Once home from school about 2:45 we have homework everyday in addition to the 30 minutes of required reading for Grant and the 15 for Spencer. Grant walks Bella for 20 minutes and takes some time to help her learn to be good in the house too. Once all that is done we have to practice piano for about 15 minutes a day. On Tuesdays we have piano and scouts, Wednesday Grant has choir and group piano class and on Thursday Spencer has basketball. These are all activities we have included after thoughtful and prayerful consideration. They are all good things to do that the boys love.
Once all the after school stuff is done there is sometimes time before dinner to have down time...but it is almost never playing time, or active time. And I have to be creative on their dads week because I usually just try and rush to get all the homework etc done and then I am left feeling badly because they had no time to go outside and play...sick of that word yet? :) I feel like kids recharge when they can creatively play and be active. Its dark at 5 and certainly not safe for kids to just run around outside alone. That leaves one option that I can see. I need to be with them if they are going to have some outside time to just play and be active. The obvious solution to me is to get our backyard in a condition where kids can play. With grass, trampoline, swing set etc. We have tried to get a company over to do that for us and for whatever reason they have stood us up twice. So despite our best efforts this idea is not coming together for us. We don't really have time or the know how to fix sprinkler systems grade our back yard and put in grass. Though I have been told repeatedly that it's not that hard.
Sooooo. I have been left to just determine that I am going to have to just make it a priority to cut out an hour or so of my time each day to take the boys somewhere, arrange park dates and swim dates so these guys can play. So often if we just meet up at our house it ends up being very sedentary play or even worse the kids want to watch TV or play video games. I have a rule at our house that we do TV and Video games on the weekend. Not because they are bad, but because I really think it is so important for my boys to have opportunities to play. They get 10 minutes usually to play at school for recess. That is it. Sad.
These are the things I am trying to incorporate into our life to get more play time scheduled.
1. Go to the indoor pool once a week--inviting friends to come along. (this social education is so important.) Especially for the kids who are not so inclined to be social and would rather read a book. Interpersonal skills are learned through play and I am happy to sacrifice some of my time so that my kids can develop these skills.
2. Have park play dates with as many kids/friends as can make it once a week for an hour and a half.
3. Do something active once a week as a family that is fun.
4. Find time once a week to play a board game together. (this is not active--but it is interactive) Either as a family or with friends.
5. Start the play time immediately after school when it's light out and they are needing a break anyway.
I hope by making these changes my kids will be better off and learn to develop the skills that come from play. Plus, I hope they will be happier too.
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