Want to maintain a GAP-like routine at home at rest time? (Hint: The correct answer is yes! It will keep you and your children SANE!)
The GAP children are used to listening to 40 minutes from our Ruhezeit (rest time) playlist at rest time every day. It is their cue to lie down and relax. (With any luck, once you have established the routine at home, it can also be your cue to get a whole pile of work done, too!)
Here’s our quiet time Spotify playlist for you… GAP Ruhezeit.
Rest time (Ruhezeit, pronounced ROO-eh-site) comes right after lunch and story time at GAP.
For the first ten minutes the children all lie down and relax… no books, no toys… just resting with their heads on their pillows, lights off, stimuli put aside and curtains drawn. Some children like to be patted on their backs. No talking, just meditating and day-dreaming.
After ten minutes, teachers silently mime opening a book (using baby sign language, as depicted below) and those who haven’t fallen asleep then look at books or play with a soft-toy, either sitting or lying on their mattress, for the remaining 30 minutes.
Even for older children who don’t usually sleep at rest time, it is a good recharge and a chance to just relax and day-dream for a while. After their day-dreaming time, they could extend their rest time with an audio book or chapter book.
The GAP children are all pretty good at this, and it is a good skill to have in life.
Enjoy your Ruhezeit!