Wake Up and Play: 5 Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids to Go With the Flow

Sticking to a consistent schedule can help children transition through their days more comfortably, decreasing struggles over getting up, going to school, doing homework, and going to bed. But the ability to go with the flow is also an important skill to teach early on. Flexibility and resilience are key contributors to a happy life, enabling kids to easily adapt to – and even embrace – changes to their routines. The Play Experts at EI are sharing five fun ways to help teach flexibility by turning your family’s day upside down!

Movie Night in the Morning

Surprise your sweeties with a morning movie! Close the blinds, pop some corn, and start your day with snuggles! This is just the kind of switch in routine that shows kids that change can be fun. Don’t have time for an entire movie? How about reading some of our favorite books here?

PJs All Day

While getting dressed signals the shift from downtime to work time, relaxing the rules for just one day can be a fun treat, and running errands together in your jammies is a great way to build your family’s bond. To be safe while you are out and about, here are some tips for encouraging your kiddos to keep their masks on.

Lunch Time Game TimeTurn lunchtime into game time with a favorite like EI’s Racoon Rumpus and reap the benefits of gameplay, including improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills, communication and vocabulary, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. And even though the holidays are behind us, check out this rundown on some of our favorite games.

Breakfast for Dinner

Who doesn’t love bacon and eggs before bed? Use this tasty time to talk through your day as chatting with your kiddos helps them learn to decipher words through context clues and demonstrates the natural flow of language. As spring approaches, keep an eye out for plastic eggs to use in this eggcellent word family project for early readers.

Nighttime Stroll

Fresh air and exercise before bed will help your whole family sleep better and walking at night provides kids an opportunity to observe and discover nature in a completely different setting. Take a look at some walk activity suggestions here.

Schedules can keep things running smoothly but looking for opportunities to shake things up every now and then is a great way to build resilience and help your family learn to go with the flow. What can YOU shake up today?