How to Develop a Daily Rhythm
Consistency and stability are vital for the lives of young children. However, routines and schedules can become obsolete because of the craziness of daily life!
This is where a daily rhythm can be really helpful! A daily rhythm focuses on following your child, so observation is key. It provides structure, but allows you to make changes according to your child's and your needs. A daily rhythm for a working parent will look different from the rhythm of a stay at home family which will also be different from a Montessori homeschooling family. What matters is that you figure out what works best for you.
Questions to ask when coming up with your daily rhythm:
What sensitive periods are my children in currently? (Sensitive Period Posts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6)
What are my children interested in individually?
What are they ready to learn?
What activities are important for you to do as the adult? (errands, housework, work, etc...)
What types of outings do your children enjoy? (park, zoo, museum?)
Does your child attend school? Do you homeschool? Do you work?
If you don't know where to start at all I recommend taking a look at the Nicole of Kavanaugh Report's daily rhythm. It's very realistic and gives you insight into what a typical "day in the life" might look like.
One of the things I like about Nicoleβs rhythm is how she breaks up the day into 3 hour chunks. For those of you interested in creating a Montessori homeschool environment, a work time cycle should be around 3 hours to allow for deep concentration, so it makes sense to break up the rest of your day in a similar way.
For parents who work outside the home, your rhythm can focus around the morning and evenings, as well as weekends. The crossroads of your day (after school, after work, morning, dinner time, etc...) are the most important times to connect with your children, so develop a rhythm around those times where you spend quality time together.
Overall, the most important thing is to provide some structure for your child through out the day so they have a general idea of what to expect for their day. Take some time today to write a plan of what your daily rhythm looks like for you and your family!