Five Exciting Ways to Start the Day with Your Child

There are many things in life that we take for granted. One of the most common things that I always took for granted growing up was the beginning of my day. I was the type to wake up late and so were my parents, so starting the day meant lazily getting out of bed on the weekends and eventually getting dressed. There were not a whole lot of adventures going on prior to midday in our home. While it gave me precious memories of a different type, it was something that I changed when my kids came along. I lost my mother several years ago and I quickly wished that we had used that time as wisely as we had the rest of the day.

With that said, my daughters and I do something special to start our day each day of the week. Life is too short to do otherwise!

Five Exciting Ways to Start the Day with Your Child

Here are our five favorite ways to start the morning with each other:

1. Gratitude journals

This one is natural since I am a writer, but my kids have taken on a love for it as well. We all got journals and we sit down at the table to write out our thoughts each and every morning. Each day we put another adventure down and remind ourselves of how lucky we are. It builds character and keeps a good perspective on how much we need one another. Here is an easy way to start keeping a gratitude journal.

2. We work out together

What better habit can you give your children than exercise? Kids get up and get moving when they see you doing the same. Whether we go out and throw the ball around or we hop on the treadmill, we do something powerful and exciting for our health to start our day out right.

3. We take a nature walk

Heading out into the woods is one of my favorite pastimes and it is gotten honestly by my kids. They love it as much as I and we share it every chance we get. When you start your day out in the woods you feel every part of the forest coming alive. In a field, you can see all the little insects and animals beginning to stir. What could be more exciting?

4. We write out our to-do lists

Another skill I wish I had acquired younger was organization. My kids have goals set daily and they like to plan out how they will go about them. Perhaps a goal is to read two books that day or a certain number of chapters. They now will sit down and plan out how they are going to do that. This skill is one that will follow them forever and hopefully benefit them. I lived the majority of my life rather sloppy when it came to being organized so I appreciate the change of pace in my later years.

5. We pray

While everyone may not be Christian, most people believe in a higher power. We pray to Jesus Christ every single day and thank Him for the day before us. This acknowledgment of our Creator has given my kids a powerful sense of confidence and sense of self that I can only wish I had at their age. I hope that they will always look towards Christ, but at least I have given them a base to work with. Our daily morning prayers are extremely fun and exciting and they always lead to wonderful conversation.