Habits: Training the Tiny Tot to Play Solo

My 4 yo is used to having his older brothers as playmates, and I have recently realized the need for him to learn to play independently for at least a bit of time (this realization came when my other 2 sons were hunting with my hubby, and Emmett and I were home alone with him looking to me to be the entertainer... all day... every minute... from sunup to sundown.)

So, now I am training him to have a 30 minute independent playtime each day.  Do you know what has made a tremendous difference?  A tiny table.  With a tiny work surface.  And a tiny chair.

Emmett just seems to be able to take on the tiny table better than a big area.  Plus, he makes a tinier mess.  We set the timer for 30 minutes.  He can change out what he is doing whenever he wants, but he must pick up the thing he is done with first before choosing another thing.  He also gets his afternoon snack when the timer rings (after he's picked up what he played with).

He still sometimes is unsure what to do, and sometimes it seems like this is more a getting out and putting away time than a real "playing time".  But, he is coming along!  I'll be glad the next time the boys go hunting... who knows, maybe he'll be up to a morning independent playtime and an evening independent playtime by then!  (A mother can dream, right?!?)

In Christ,
Julie