Blanket Time

I have been educating myself about raising kids from various sources, blogs, books, websites and friends. Everyone has a different opinion on what is right and what is WRONG. I think you really need to sort through all the different messages received and figure out what best suits you and your style of parenting. But I do think it's important to educate yourself, especially as a stay at home mom, I have a few different jobs, one is keeping the house clean and organized, another is chef, and the most important is taking care of Tesla. So I read cookbooks, I read organizing books, why not read about parenting? I've ordered by the name of The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos, I am really looking forward to reading it. I ordered it from the library because it's quite pricey but if it's really good, we'll go ahead and purchase it. It's for teachers but should have at least one interesting point in it.

One of the blogs that I've been reading The Lazy Organizer mentioned that she had read that Michelle Duggar from the famed 20 Kids and Counting! TV show on TLC does Blanket Training.  Basically you just put a blanket on the floor set the kid down with a toy and have them play there for a certain amount of time, that way you can get a couple of other things done while they are in a "safe" place, and the kid is occupied. Well I really like this idea because I think it really focuses theirs and your attention to an activity. When Tesla is playing her attention is often all over the place. She'll play with one toy then the next then the next but never really sits and plays with one for a long period of time. 

The way that I'm going to use the time for now is to focus both of our attentions on an activity. Either sing a song, learning a new skill or playing with a toy. By doing it with both of us it also means that I stop everything else and sit on the floor with her and just play. Now don't get me wrong I play with her throughout the day all the time, but often I'll get up and put something away, or start dinner or something else distracting. But as long as the blanket is out, we'll be playing. 

She loves the singing and clapping that we do. Often times she walks away and leaves alone, but I get up and say "Blanket Time!" in a cheerful voice and sit her back down. It's all a matter of habits. Eventually I'm hoping she'll understand and pull the blanket out herself. I know lower my expectations.