Quiet Time

Almost every afternoon the kids have at least one hour of quiet time. It is a time to play quietly and to be apart from each other. Even though we are long past the nap stage it is still important for them to have a chance to unwind and for me to have a chance to catch my breath.
For a while there we were having a bit of a challenge with the little man staying in quiet time. He would get up (what felt like) almost 100 times asking if it was time to get up yet and I would get frustrated and he would get upset and really it was just a big mess. So I changed two things... First I started using a timer. This ensures that he knows he isn't stuck in quiet time forever. It also helps that I don't have to keep saying "No its not time to get up yet!"
The second things I did was create a little reward chart. Now I realize that some parents are anti-rewards system but for us it works. We don't use it for everything but for quiet time we do. It's as simple as a piece of paper, some markers, and stickers. When he stays in quiet time with out getting up he gets a sticker. When he completes a row he gets a treat. When the whole chart is completed we go out and celebrate (yesterday we got fro-yo). Its as simple as that. This is our second go around with the chart and it is working wonders. This time around he even wanted to help make the chart so I wrote it all in pencil and he traced over it with his markers. Quiet time isn't always perfect but it goes so much smoother now. Mamas happy so everyone else is happy too!