Finding a Rhythm: What will benefit my kids?

Part two of my attempt to set up a routine for myself and my kids involves thinking about what kinds of things I want to include in our schedule that would benefit my kids. This is the category that I have a lot of trouble with. Have you picked up a parenting magazine lately? Checked out any parenting blogs? And, dear god, have you waded through the "kids" section of Pinterest? I need to do more crafting. I need to homeschool. I need to pick the perfect homeschool curriculum. I need to make the house more kid-friendly. I need to make an art-station for my kids. I need to fix healthier lunches. I need to fix lunches that look like small, cute animals. I need to print off preschool worksheets. I need to teach my kids another language. I need to schedule regular playdates so my kids won't be socially inept. I need to go the library once a week. I need to play with my kids every time they ask! I need to read to them at least 10 times a day! I need to do circle time every morning! I need to get rid of our tv so the kids' brains won't turn to mush!! I need to BE THE BEST MOM EVER!!!!!!!!

Whoah. Got a little out of control there.

As you can see, it's easy to try and do too much. So I'm going to try and simplify things as much as possible. My kids don't benefit from their mom being stressed out. They don't benefit from over-scheduling and over-stimulation. They DO benefit, however, from my making an effort to expose them to new things and keep their little hearts and minds growing.

So, what are the things I want to try to incorporate into our routines that might benefit my kids?

• More time outdoors. Cold is no longer an excuse to stay inside since we've been having above-normal temperatures. 
• More art time. I'm not talking about finding new crafts for the girls to do all the time. If I can manage a couple of crafty-things a month, that will be great. I'm really just talking about letting them paint, draw, and create more often instead of avoiding it so that I don't have to clean up another mess.
• Playdates and new adventures. My kids aren't in daycare and I'd like to provide them some more opportunities to interact with some other children.
• Less TV/more free play. Some days are better than others, but instead of using the TV as my "go-to" solution for cranky kids, I'd like to just let them work it out and entertain themselves.
• A short educational-thingamabob every day. Whether it's reading a new book, doing some themed-craft or printing off a new coloring page offline, I'd like to do ONE thing every day (even if it's just 10 minutes long) that teaches them something new. 

Now, fitting all this into our days and weeks is going to be the tricky part. And, like I said, it's easy to make a list of things you'd like to do with your kids that is 10,000 items long. But really, my kids don't need me to be super-mom to be smart, kind, compassionate, curious kids. They are going to spend most of the their adult life trying to mark things off of their to-do list, so just for a few more years, I'd like to make their lives as simple as possible.