Quiet Boxes for Rest Time

As a stay at home mom of 4 little ones, I look forward to and long for a few minutes of quiet time each day. The days I could get all four kids down for a nap I felt like a champion. The problem was my girls at age 7 and 5 were quickly outgrowing nap time. Nap time was becoming a frustration for both them and me. They didn't want to go lay down so I was letting them take their iPads to nap time or skip nap all together. I wasn't happy with either of those options and I was in search of a new idea.

While on Pinterest a few days ago looking for some activities we could do for the week during our homeschooling times, I ran across a few different pins about quiet boxes. I stopped and thought about these for a minute and I knew this was something I wanted to implement into our lives... for during nap time, now rest time. The posts I saw looked like more work for me so I altered the ideas a bit. Instead of 5 or 7 different boxes for each day of the week, I threw together 1 box for the whole week.

What are quiet boxes? Simply, a box that holds different quiet activities for your kids to do when you are seeking some quiet.

I didn't want to have to store 7 different tubs and I didn't want to have to switch out the items everyday. I put in around 10 different quiet activities for the girls to choose from and put the lid on it. My plan is to switch them out each week with different options.

Here are a few of my suggestions to put into your quiet box:

(Choose a few and rotate them)

• Crayons, Paper, Coloring books, and Hidden Pictures from Highlights

• Foam stickers and Construction Paper

• Flash Cards and Card Games

• Puzzles

• Workbooks and Pencils

• Yarn, Tape, Clothes Pins, and Pipe Cleaners

• Pattern Blocks

• MagnaTiles

• Books

• Magazines

• Look in the Target Dollar Aisle or at a dollar store

I'm noticing my girls' favorite activities in the box are a box of crayons, construction paper, and foam stickers. Everyday they are coming out with different creations for Daddy or for Me. The first day they were in their room 15 minutes longer than I told them to be and they said, "Sorry, it took us longer we were busy making this." 

I store the box at the top of their closet and pull it out only during rest time. The girls quietly play for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I haven't only regained my quiet time, but the girls are learning, growing, playing, working together, and creating, instead of staring at a screen for hours or fighting me about having to lay down and be quiet.

So what do my kids think of rest time now? I'm not even joking when I say this: I told them yesterday after lunch that it was time for rest time. They both squealed, "Yay!" and ran to their room and I didn't see them again for 2 hours! Seriously guys! I stood there for a minute with my jaw on the floor. Then I went and grabbed some coffee and listened to the silence in bliss.

Quiet boxes are a win in our house! Let me know if you try it or what you do for your kids' rest time!