Blogging Through the Alphabet: Q is for Quiet Time Ideas

"Quiet Time" is a very important part of my homeschool day, especially since my little ones don't nap any more. Quiet Time is not just for little kids, though! Even my 7th and 5th graders benefit from the time spent resting their brains and their bodies.

Everyone does Quiet Time differently. Some have their children lay in bed, reading books or napping. Some allow video games or computer time. Some make them play quietly in their rooms.

Our Quiet Time varies each day. Sometimes I ask the kids to play quietly in their rooms, reading a book, working puzzles, or playing with Hot Wheels. Other day, I allow them to play quietly in the living room. And some days, we have structured Quiet Time, where I choose a quiet activity that we can all do together {and it's purely optional for the older ones}.  Structured Quiet Time happens around once or twice a week at our house. The kids will gather with me in a central location, and I will pull out the activity for the hour. We have to stay quiet!

Some of the Quiet Time activities that we like to do are:

Play-Dough!

 

Who doesn't like play-dough? There is nothing like opening a fresh can and squeezing it between your fingers! {Or is it just me??} My kids can play with Play-Dough for a long time, especially when provided with plastic knives and cookie cutters {and of course, play dough molds!}. Play-Dough is a supervised activity in my house, though! Otherwise, I am scrubbing play-dough out of carpet.

 

Stamping!

 

Again, another activity that must be supervised in my home! Stamping with ink is so fun, and we can make cards and letters for friends and family. We have a huge collection of stamps, with seasonal stamps and animal stamps and letter stamps and just-for fun stamps.

 

Painting with Watercolors!

 

My kids love when I pull out these little yellow trays filled with color! As long as you give them a steady supply of paper, they will quietly entertain themselves for a while. I usually stock up when Walmart has the back-to-school sales, and Crayola is the best brand to buy.

 

Stringing Beads!

 

Making bracelets and necklaces is so much fun. My little ones are happy with a pipe cleaner and some pony beads, but my older ones prefer beads and jewelry string. {And my 13 year old prefers real jewelry materials. Ahem.} This is also great fine-motor practice. You could also pack some in a ziplock bag and bring along with you to church to keep your young ones quiet and still {at least for a bit}.

 

 

Hidden Picture Books!

 

This is a definite way to keep my kids quiet, at least for a few minutes. We love searching for hidden pictures and have several really neat books and workbooks dedicated just for this.

 

 

Make-a-Face Sticker Pads!

 

These are a lot of fun, and my kids will complete a whole book in a days time! They have so many kinds of these books - monster face, princess faces, animal faces.

 

 

Little Dover Books!

 

These little books are wonderful for kids - so portable and easy! They are around $1.50 each with so many topics, themes, and activities - coloring, mazes, word search, dot-to-dot, stickers, and more. My kids are getting some in their Easter baskets.

 

 

Origami!

 

We learned how to fold a few animals with some simple origami instructions a few weeks ago in our Five in a Row week. Older kids could do this without help, but the younger kids may need a lot more help. It is so relaxing to fold these little creations, and so rewarding when you see how cute they are! A quick Google search will turn up many different simple folds.

 

 

Simple Craft Supplies!

 

Allow you child access to paper, scissors, glue, beads and buttons, feathers, markers and crayons, and stickers - and see what they create! The possibilities are endless - bookmarks, magnets, crowns... As long as you don't mind a mess, this should keep your kids entertained and quiet for a long time!

 

 

These are a few of the structured Quiet Time activities we incorporate at our house. What would you add to the list?

 

Linking up with Blogging Through the Alphabet!