Quality Time > Quantity Time
Quality Time with Kids…
As homeschool moms, it’s safe to say that we spend tons of time with our children each and every day. However, quantity doesn’t equal quality. Quality time with kids is essential, you guys!
I love my kids to the moon and back, but there are days they simply exhaust me. Then, before I know it… I find myself tucking them in or sending them to bed without enjoying a single little moment with each of them individually. I find myself full of regret wishing it was different and hoping tomorrow I will prioritize better!
It shouldn’t ever be this way.
Struggling with priorities? Check out how I’ve gotten a handle on mine with a simple priorities tracker printable!
How to Spend Quality Time
With Each Child While Homeschooling…
Check out these top ways I fit in personal quality time with each of my children throughout our homeschool week!
Personal Readers
This is so easy! Reading tends to be a huge part of my children’s homeschool day anyway, so this one was a total no brainier for me. Seriously though. Independent reading. Curriculum required reading. Read aloud books. It’s pretty much endless!
With that said, only my youngest child still requires assistance reading. This simply means – I have to make the extra effort to read with my older boys individually as well!
Last year my middle son had curriculum required shared reading that we did together after lunch while my other two children were busy with other things. This was one of my absolute favorite times. Reading a book together, just us, opened up the door for deep conversation and bonding. Now it’s my passion to find small bits of time to read (or be read to) by each of my children multiple times a week.
Simple Tips for
Your Reading Time…
If you feel like finding quality time to read with each of your children every single day is too much, simply shoot for once or twice a week! You can easily make this a priority by picking out titles together with your child, something you both are interested in!
Not sure where to fit this quality time into your day? Try planning around naps or other activities that siblings can be busy with. I tend to utilize our Quiet Time & Homeschool Looping Schedule for this!
Individual Recesses
Are you a planner like me? If so, this option might just be your favorite of all! By simply utilizing a homeschool block schedule you can easily plan out individual recess or play times for your younger children! I tend to send my older kids out to ride bikes while staying back home with my youngest. This allows me to have 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted mommy and me time with my daughter. It’s so good, you guys!
Not sure how to create your own block schedule? You can find ours here —> Mom’s Master Schedule
Special Nights
This!!! You guys, this is my absolute favorite way to sneak in some one-on-one time with each of my children! We started this around a year ago and my kids absolutely flip for it. Each child gets 1 special night each month.
In our home we choose to utilize the day of the month they were born on.
For example, my oldest was born on the 8th of July. This means that on the 8th day of every month he gets to stay up late and do anything of his choosing with Mom and Dad. There is typically a special snack involved as well.
Movies and board games tend to be popular picks around our home, but you can do anything you want during this time. While we tend to stay home for these events, you can totally turn it into something a little more elaborate by taking them out to a favorite place or restaurant!
Now, if you have multiple children born on the same day of the month… you might have to get a little more creative than we did! Luckily, we didn’t have this issue 🙂
Classes & Co-ops
While I don’t do this often, I have done before! My younger 2 children attend a science class outside of the home, leaving me the ability to spend some quality time with my oldest! I have also utilized summer day camps for my youngest, while spending time with an older child for the day! So simple, you guys!
Simply enroll all but one child in a day camp or event, leaving the day wide open for some special one-on-one bonding time! Day camps are actually a wonderful opportunity for this because you can do this over and over again until you’ve spent special quality time with each of child individually!
Shopping Trips
Okay, this might actually be the easiest idea on the list and I seriously do it all the time. My husband works from home 2 days a week, leaving me with the ability to run errands with only one child. Um, HUGE WIN!
If you have that very same ability, I highly suggest you utilize it whenever you can. So amazing!
You can get super creative and fun with this by picking a specific buddy for each store you frequent or you can simply keep track of who went last and who’s turn is next. I however, tend to be super random in my choosing process. Sometimes behavior is a deciding factor and other times someone needing to try on new shoes makes the decision for me. Super simple, you guys!
Book Activities
Yes! I totally call this couch time, ha ha!
In all seriousness though, this tends to happen during our Sunday down time. We like to chill and keep things super simple on Sunday afternoons if we can. One kid will be reading, another working on a puzzle with daddy and I’m sitting with child number 3 working through crosswords or word searches. This happens a lot in our home.
Coloring is another favorite! Simply pick a page you can work on with each child over the next few weeks! So much fun!
Outings & Events
I’m not a huge crowds person… So this definitely doesn’t make the top of my list. However, this can be a really fun way to spend quality time with kids! Plus, if you’re like me… you have kids with ages all over the board! My oldest is 15 and my youngest 6. That’s a huge difference.
So when things like concerts come around and older kids want to attend, finding a sitter so you can enjoy that one-on-one time with your eldest might just be in order.
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