MOMMA’S TIMEOUT!!!-Listening Centers

Dear Mommy,

How are you today? Well I truly hope you are having an amazing day! Whether you are having a good or bad day please always know you are not alone.

This article is for all Mommies…working mommies, stay-at-home mommies, and home-schooling mommies. We are all working towards the same goal…happy, healthy children.  To make sure we create a positive environment for our children, we have to stay positive, happy, and healthy as well. This can be difficult because no matter if you are a mom who works or a stays at home …we all work at being MOM!

I am a homeschool mom of three little ones, my kiddos are 10, 6, and 3 years of age. I love my littles so much but there are moments during the day that I need some MOMMY TIME!

MOMMY TIMEOUTS consist of but are not limited to….exercise time, coffee time, bathroom time, take a shower time, making daily meals time, and sometimes “get it together” mommy time! We all have our different reasons we may need a MOMMY TIMEOUT and many of us feel guilty and selfish for taking them. I know I did for a long time.

I had a friend once tell me that it is important to take care of myself in order to take care of others. She shared this analogy that I love so much and I want to share with you all…You are like a well, filled with water. Everyone is going to take from the well. So it is important that you fill your well often, so you can keep giving. When you stop filling your well it will eventually dry up and you will have nothing more to give. Moral of the story….self care is super important!!!

Okay so at this point I know some of you are thinking….”Oh yeah, lady I cant even use the restroom without being interrupted! Time to self care….RIGHT!!! Then there may be others that have it figured out for your home and family’s lifestyle…that is awesome and I would love to pick your brain for more ideas.

So MOMMY’S TIMEOUT is basically a category in my blog where I will share ideas that I have used during our school day when I have to cook, clean, do a load of laundry, use the restroom, take a shower, or just get it together. Somedays I would give anything to enjoy a HOT cup of coffee because it was a restless night, or a very…very…very long morning, or just because I deserve a HOT cup of coffee! I don’t ask for much really, just a hot cup of coffee!

I used to feel guilty for taking a MOMMY’S TIMEOUT but sometimes I needed it and deserved it. So before we can embrace MOMMY TIMEOUT you really have to throw that guilt as far as you can out the window, and don’t give it a second thought.

Remember a HAPPY MOMMY=HAPPY CHILDREN!

We established Listening Center Time. I routinely use this first thing in the morning before breakfast time, it has become part of their morning routine that they look forward to and enjoy. I love it because I can get the morning started with a bit more ease, and the kids are getting education at the same time rather than watching television. While they are listening and discussing each others stories I am able to put a load of laundry in, put a load away, empty the dishwasher from dinner dishes (I don’t have to do this all the time because my hubby helps me with this, when he can), pick up my room, take a quick shower, get ready, and even make breakfast while enjoying a hot cup of coffee… with only an occasional bathroom request from my three year old. I know it sounds like heaven!

Some of you might be wondering about the educational aspect of the Listening Center, especially the mommies that track for their homeschool documentation. I use it to cover fluency and comprehension components of reading. They are listening to a fluent reader model with expression and a good rate of speed as they read. They are also having to follow along which is incorporating one to one. After we read we always do a Book Talk, with a basic retelling embedded in the discussion. At first this conversation was hard for them but now even my three year old joins in to talk about characters and setting. I kid you not when I tell you my six year old understands what a protagonist and antagonist means in a story.

We have two different Listening Centers that we use, the first one is used for educational purposes and the second is more for entertainment.

The first Listening Center is the one we use every morning, it is a small cd player that I purchased at Target for $15. Every now and then I purchase a read aloud book that includes the cd from amazon (we love amazon prime for the free shipping) or I buy them at Barnes and Noble (using the Barnes and Noble Teacher discount card). If you don’t want to invest in new books and are tech savvy you can buy blank cd’s and record yourself reading a story and burn it onto the cd. Our cd player also has a tape player so if you can find one with a tape player you can go totally old school with recording. Read a book you already own while you record your voice on tape. YAY for old school! You can also add to your Listening Center Library during holidays (great stocking stuffers) or birthdays. I found the new version of the “The Nutcracker” on read-aloud books (with cd) at Barnes and Noble just the other day. We listened to the story and discussed it before we saw the movie. We have built quite a nice little Listening Center Library in no time.

After my kids listen to a story they do a Book Talk Board. I found a very cute, basic retell on Pinterest for younger children. I took that retell and added to it, to give more substance to the discussion for my ten year old.  After modeling and practicing the Book Talk Board, they don’t just do a basic retelling of the story…they actually have very insightful conversations that are so enjoyable to observe.

Now the one very important detail about this Listening Center and Book Talk Board, is that it is very important to MODEL and practice how you want them to do it for a couple of weeks before they do it on their own. My ten year old caught on quick but I needed to make sure that my six year old really understood how to change out the cd’s and put them away properly. I had to make sure that she understood the Book Talk Board so she could eventually have real conversations about books. This took us about 2-3 weeks but they no longer need me for this morning activity. Now I can get some of my chores done and not feel the slightest bit guilty. My three year old knows to give the book to her brother or sister when she needs help. To be honest with you she even sits still for her story/book talk but usually comes and goes during her brother’s and sister’s stories. She likes to follow me around and tries to help me with my morning routine. She loves to load, unload, and push the buttons on the washer and dryer when I do laundry. She loves to help me make my bed. She also loves pushing the coffee machine button for me. I know it is not a complete MOMMY TIMEOUT but I am still able to get so much done in the morning. She is so cute and helpful, it actually becomes quality time with my daughter. There are days when she listens and enjoys all the stories, and then there are not. You never know what you will get with a free-spirited three year old, you just have to be ready to adjust to each day.

The second Listening Center we have is a Teddy Ruxpin doll, which was a Christmas gift from the grandparents. Now this one does require you to download a free app that does come with three free stories. It also sells additional stories in bundles. You can download it on your phone or tablet. I have it on my iPhone and on our family iPad. We use this whenever the kids are restless, or when we need them to be entertained, or just for recreation. We honestly do not use the Book Talk Board with this center. My three and six year old use Teddy Ruxpin a lot and love it, my ten year old not so much.

I LOVE my kids with all of my HEART but I value my MOMMY TIME! I need MOMMY TIME for my sanity and well-being.  This is a harsh reality to admit to myself but it does not mean I am a bad mom. Being a mommy is the hardest job in the world, we never get an off day. We always have to be on our game…Day and Night. Mommy when you can get a moment to FILL YOUR WELL up so you can keep being AN AMAZING MOMMY, then do it and LET GO OF THE GUILT! I know adding something useful and educational in the form of a Listening Center and Book Talk to help my children learn while I get my MOMMY TIMEOUT in, has helped me become a more productive and calm mommy in the morning. I feel happy, and we should all feel happiness in our day. I believe mommies need to work together and share what makes us happy so that we can all enjoy the time we have with our children.

Sincerely Your Friend,

Valerie