Studying Hebrew and Blanket Time

Well, I'm sitting here as I eat dinner while Aaron is at church, and watching Linnea do "Blanket Time," so I thought I would take the time to put up a little video. Aaron finds studying for his Hebrew class WAY more entertaining when Linnea joins him. Apparently, Linnea likes Hebrew, too...although I'm quite convinced it has EVERYTHING to do with the way Daddy is studying with her :).

What is "Banket Time" you may ask? Well....it is one of the two structured activities my child does on a regular basis. And this is not something I have come up with on my own, but an idea given to me by my dear friend, Erin. It is exactly what is says it is...time on a blanket. Linnea spends about 30-40 minutes playing on her special blanket, playing with whatever toys/books I have put on the blanket for her. I know, it sounds cruel, and at first Linnea thought so :), but after a few days of it, she loves it (and has loved it for quite a few months now). If I wasn't taking a class two days a week, this time would be more consistent, but she probably does it about 3-4 times a week.

Why, you may ask? Well...there are a few reasons:

1) It is an opportunity for Linnea to practice living under authority. This is NOT so that I can get self gratification in a child who obeys Me and listens to ME, but ultimately to teach my daughter that she "has been made by God and has a responsibility to obey God in ALL things." ~Tedd Tripp. So, I am merely trying to teach my daughter to live under authority from an early age.

2) It helps structure our day, and therefore brings more order to the home (which therefore serves my husband). Ginger Plowman, in her book Heaven at Home, says "A wise mom will build structure and routine into her child's day for the purpose of building his character and keeping peace in the home." Believe me, having 30-45 minutes of "Pack-n-play" time in the morning after breakfast is a huge help in bringing order to the home! I know Linnea is safe, not getting into trouble, and enjoying her toys in her pack-n-play. At the same time I am able to clean up after breakfast, begin exercising, start the laundry, pick up the house, etc. Without this head start, it is a bit harder (for me!) to start off the day in an orderly fashion. The same benefits apply to "Blanket Time" after lunch!

3)It gives Linnea an opportunity to focus. Quite frankly, my little daughter isn't all that interested in toys or books (thankfully she is just now starting to enjoy looking at books on her own initiative). She is getting more and more so these days, but I am often telling her "no, don't touch this", or "no, don't eat that", or "what have you gotten into now?". So, it is fantastic for her to have boundaries in which she is forced to play with toys or look at books, without us "having" to do it with her (by saying "having", I do not mean we don't enjoy playing with or reading to our daugher...we LOVE doing these things!). And she thoroughly enjoys it!

So.....I have actually written a whole post in a somewhat decent time, and my daughter has been on her blanket not paying any attention to me the whole time! :)

Ok....now for a few clarifications of what I am not saying. I am only sharing this because I enjoy sharing parts of our life with you. I am not saying that all moms need to or even should do this. This is what is beneficial for our home and may not at all be beneficial for yours! :) Also, I am not saying that a child's day has to be one involving the same routine day after day. Our life is not like that! We should all be willing to be flexible in our daily routine or non-routine, because who knows what the Lord will bring our way.

I definitely hold fast to the biblical principles I shared of obedience to God (which means obedience to parents.....Eph. 6:1-3) and living under authority (with God being the ultimate authority....Romans 13:1-3), but the display of these principles in your home, and the means by which they are carried out will look different from home to home.