Centers for Mamas

Teacher turned mom hack here!

It was a hard transition for me in the beginning, having gone from working multiple jobs where life was so scheduled - fast forward to being home with 3 little ones and very little formal structure to the day- I floundered.

My mom game needed a pick me up. I also knew that I wanted to feel good about how I spent my days with my kids. I was sick of wondering where in the world the days went.

One of the tactics I decided to implement from my classroom days was center time. The idea is to have several activities that are spread out, that can be differentiated for age/levels and are done for a set period of time before the kids rotate.

I wanted to use activities that integrated math/reading, hands- on gross and fine motor skills, engineering components, music, arts, sensory play etc.

There are a few reasons centers are so awesome for moms with kids.
1) Kids (and moms) thrive with some structure. They will rise to the occasion and actually get excited when they have tasks ahead of them. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not running a bootcamp over here though)

2) Sometimes siblings need some independent playtime where they aren’t fighting over blocks and dolls.

3) Sometimes mom needs to fold laundry, cook a meal, send an email etc and a few mins of quiet independent play is appreciated.

4) You can make one of the center rotations reading a book with mom, letter writing practice etc so they get that special one on one time that is sometimes tough when you have multiple kids close together.

Even if there is one child in the home- centers are a great way for that child to practice problem solving, enjoy some independent time and have a little more structure to their day.

I typically set up 3-4 stations and set my timer for 10 mins each. I explain each activity so they know what to do. Once you start doing this the kids will get the hang of it and believe me they will ask for it all the time!

When incorporating a kids line into our brand I knew I wanted items for moms to create home centers. Activities that would be engaging, creative, hands on and challenging for our little ones. Here’s a sneak peak ❤️ Rise and Thrive, Mamas