Q is for Quiet Time

From the time that my children were very young, we’ve had an afternoon quiet time. When they were preschoolers, this was the typical naptime. After they outgrew their need to actually sleep in the afternoons, I still required them  to spend an hour on their beds with books. When I had several little ones, this hour was a much needed break for me!

As they grew older, they all enjoyed having the hour or more of reading time after lunch. Sometimes they would read books that had been assigned for school, such as biographies or historical fiction. Other times, they would read books of their choice. It became such a habit that it was never questioned!

At 14 years old, Emily still disappears up to her room after lunch, although I never tell her to do so. My only problem is that she can get involved in her book and not emerge for several hours. Pre-lunch school time is our most efficient period, because it is really difficult to get her in a working mindset after lunch and free time. At high school levels of work, she still has quite a bit of work to do in the afternoons; we aren’t able to finish before lunch as we did in our elementary school days.

All in all, though our quiet time habit has been a good one, providing a break for me and encouraging a love for reading in my children.