Mama's Den: Using Books In Daily Rhythm

A wonderful guest post by my member Jennifer Wooldridge (@mamasden)

Are you settling into your new rhythm?

Change can be really hard and they say it actually takes up to 7 weeks before we adapt. Think about times you may have been on a new health drive, whether a diet or starting at the gym the first few weeks are always the hardest.

We all have a daily routine which we are used to but now have to create a new balance in our lives, a rhythm at home over the coming weeks and this will help establish a new normal, a new sense of balance in our lives. I know we have all been feeling anxious of late but we need to start reflecting on the change and creating a new calm in our family lives.

Let’s take this time to recharge our batteries and to think about what we have taken for granted and the fast paced lifestyle we are used to. We have all had to stop and think and change our ways, whether willingly or for the greater good. But for lots of our children they have lost their routine and daily rhythm aswell. For many children time is rather abstract and they thrive on the routine their school day brings and ‘living by the bell’. I know my own children have lost all sense of time the past week or so. So I’m looking for the positives in our new normal and creating our new family rhythm and routine and looking at it as a mindful moment in time where belongings mean very little and family means everything.

As a family we love to read and books are also a big part of the way that we play and learn within my childcare setting. I enjoy setting up ‘bookish play’ activities and engaging the children in imaginative play with fun and learning at the forefront of the activity.  As part of our family time we read before bed and enjoy it as a calming moment where we can also talk about our days and reflect on our good times together.

Books can be brought to life in many ways for a child and creating a story time in your day will be both beneficial for the child and yourself as sitting down, cosying up on the sofa and reading together calms the mind and the soul. This is something we tend to neglect in our fast paced jobs and on the go lifestyles but now is the moment you can and must make time.

We are in modern times and books are readily available at just a click of a button with many apps offering subscription services and whilst schools are out many children’s books are freely available. Why not start a new series with your children?

My children are age 4-9 and we have had many favourite series over the years from Julia Donaldson classics such as The Gruffalo through Beatrix Potter and now J. K. Rowling, children love the magical fantasy in stories and the escapism is just what is needed at the moment. You could read to them in funny ‘character’ voices, create elaborate play scenes using your toys, or even get friends or family to record a story so that loved ones can be close by whilst being miles away.

Talking of escapism what are you doing to become more mindful and even spiritual whilst being present for your children? I enjoy reading a mindful moment or quote per day from books such as ‘How to be a wildflower’ by Katie Daisy or ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy. I use them to reflect on my own day and it is part of my own daily rhythm.

We are in testing times and we need to consider all of our individual wants and needs at the moment. Remember to be flexible and to use the resources you have to your advantage. Books make us laugh, some make us cry but above all a good book captures our imagination and can give us time to sit together and remember the important things in life.

I will be adding lots of play ideas and our favourite stories to my blog mamas-den.com and to my Instagram page @mamasden over the coming weeks. I hope to see some of you over there soon.

Stay Safe

Jen x