Chill Out Tent
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As we continue to adjust to our new normal of having two kids in school, we have started trying to institute a daily “Chill Out Time.” Whitney, my kindergartener, comes home from school WIRED. This girls energy is off-the-charts. We usually have playground time and then a scooter ride home which you might think would burn off some of that energy but it’s almost like that does the opposite - all of that activity ramps her up up UP until we crash. I was chatting with some of her preschool classmates moms about it and one suggested instituting a regular quiet time. The idea is to help my five year old take the space she needs in order to regulate her body and energy levels. Whit’s an extrovert like her mama so she needs a firm boundary on a quiet time space like her room or our den, otherwise she will come find the rest of us and keep chatting and bouncing away.
Today we had our first sunny afternoon in a while so I thought, why not take this chill out time outside? While the girls were playing downstairs, I went into the backyard and laid out a waterproof mat (because the ground is still a bit wet), then our old play tent that the girls haven’t used in over a year. I added some blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, books, water bottles and snack. Then I called the girls out to see!
The girls LOVED it. They excitedly ran into the tent and got cozy. The books I put in the tent were mostly audiobooks that we picked up at the library so the kids can press a button and the book reads aloud to them (helpful when the tent is a little tight for all three of us to fit in, plus the dog who will inevitably follow mom). Gemma, my two year old, stayed in the tent for about 20 minutes and then wandered out and asked to ride scooters. Whitney, on the other hand, stayed in the tent reading for an hour and fifteen minutes! She finally wandered inside right before dinner time looking happy and calm and ready to take on the rest of the day with us.
We will definitely be doing chill out time outside in the tent regularly as the Fall weather chills, making the tent feel extra cozy. Try it out and let me know what you think!
