Resolutions: family time!

Welcome to 2020! The new year has finally arrived! Yes! We'll start the counter and start again! It's the boom in gym memberships, the beginning of miracle diets, etc. Often, we make resolutions alone and when we lose our wanderings to go, we end up letting go because we can no longer find the motivation to continue. Personally, it happens to me every year! I really like the quote: Alone, we go faster, but together we go further. The strength of the band speaks to me a lot. This year, why not make a family resolution. A resolution that the whole family would choose and in which everyone could participate in their own way. In this article, I suggest some ideas that could be your family resolution. Getting on the schedule Before deciding on a particular resolution, it is important to take your approach seriously. To achieve your goal, you need to plan the time you will take for your resolution. It can be noted on the weekly planner. The important thing is to block a time slot from which we will not deviate. In everyday life, we are running so much all the time that it is far too easy as a parent to postpone to tomorrow. Look at your weekly planning. What is the free time when you could work on our resolution? What time range is available? Which family members will be able to participate? Family physical activities Instead of running to subscribe to the gym, why not bring the workout home? Moving with your family is so much more motivating. You could have a routine where each member chooses an exercise. Also, everyone can do the exercises of their choice, but all at the same time and all in the same place. Let's get some music and hop! Small group training session! You could also do yoga and meditation sessions with minis. When summer arrives, bike rides, family walks/runs, hiking, swimming will be great ways to continue your resolve to move more with your family. Reading, a family project On November 23, many organizations and collaborators with a focus on books and reading came together to launch the manifesto We all need stories¹. Their message is simple: let us work together to make children's literature a priority issue for our society. As a teacher, it speaks to me a lot. I think this book is important and very current. It explains why everyone needs to read and be read stories. As a mom, I read to my children every day. It can't really be a resolution. However, the manifesto offers great ideas for families. Excerpt from the manifesto: We all need stories (2019). The idea is to be a role model and make reading a pleasant time. Too often, when our minis start reading, reading becomes synonymous with evaluation, task, duty. Keep in mind that reading can be for fun. As a parent, you have to cultivate this interest for the pleasure of reading. We can decide on a time slot where all family members will each read their books, but at the same time. We can also take a moment each week to share our readings of the moment; Advising each other share our favourites. Visits to the library are also a way to reconnect with reading. When children (or even adults!) have grown tired of the books they have at home, you can rekindle the flame for reading by picking up new things! That's a nice little free outing that helps your resolution! For your little readers, setting up the reading party proposed by Les Belles Combines can also be a nice option. We keep in mind that everyone needs stories and we challenge ourselves to leave reading a greater place in our lives this year. This will be our project this year! I'll let you know! I invite you to check out the manifesto in the links at the end of the article! Evenings board games If physical activity and reading are great options, we can also decide to put the pleasure of family moments at the heart of our resolution. You might decide to do one board games night a week. Always the same night. In this way, you create a ritual and after a year it will be a habit. Each week, a different family member chooses a game. It will be a surprise for the other family members to see what game Dad, Mom or Little Sister has chosen. I hope you liked my few ideas! Have you ever tried family resolutions? Would you be willing to try this year? ¹To download the manifesto: https://www.communication-jeunesse.qc.ca/manifeste/?fbclid=IwAR2QXpK3OBawpAFupKcQfVwjNRVZw-Fl4t5dr7jOkGsjp346JYVPes2ySS8