In praise of structured time

We generally have unstructured days in my house. We have a loose rhythm that goes something like: breakfast
playdates, errands, or free play
lunch
free play
nap/quiet time
free play
dinner
free play
bedtime routine

But towards the middle/end of summer Jojo started misbehaving more and it occurred to us that he was bored and would thrive a little more off some structure.

Today, they were having fun playing a super annoying game called "me-me" which is where one of them is the me-me and crawls around saying, "me-me," and the other one is the mommy. And I LOVE when they play together. But I made them stop and get some shoes on, which is often a herculean task, so we could start some activity time.

We went outside to collect leaves. Jojo started grabbing fistfuls, but after I told him what to look for, he was more careful. We were only outside for a couple minutes and then we brought out leaves to the table. We got out their journals and crayons and I taught them how to do leaf rubbings. We talked about the different parts of the leaves as well as the different trees they came from. Then we glued googly eyes on all the leaves to make leaf men.

When I sit down and do something as simple as leaf rubbings with my kiddos, it communicates to them that time together is important to me.

They also learn about working together, taking turns, and following instructions. Which are totally important lessons to take with them when we're done and they're off to free play.