Creating a "Quiet Hour"

Calling all moms out there with young children! Without sounding like I am an advocate of "Me Time" (because quite frankly, I really don't like that phrase, me-time) however I do advocate what we call in our home the "Quiet Hour." Sometimes, if we're lucky, this even stretches into two hours! Everybody needs to have quiet moments to think, or to sleep in the case of really young ones. There are so many distractions in our environment. There is so much stimuli we can choose to expose ourselves to. Between, the computer and internet, CD's, videos or television, even books... when do we actually have time to just quietly think? Perhaps the skill of being quiet and thinking has to be a learned one in our day of technology and the "go-go-go" lifestyle most of us keep.

When my first daughter grew out of her one and only nap at the ripe old age of 2, I decided for my own sanity sake, I would have to keep a quiet time in our house in the afternoon. A time for me to do whatever I wanted or to just be quiet on the couch by myself. So we have done our best to keep "Quiet Hour." My two- and three-year-old still nap in the afternoon on most days, but sometimes they just play in their room quietly. Of course, my littlest baby still naps multiple times during the day. I look forward to this "Quiet Hour." And I am convinced as the children grow and spend all day with each other through homeschooling, we will benefit from quiet time alone. Time without TV, without computer, without MP3 player... just being quiet. And I pray that these times will grow into spiritual times. That the children would spend time talking with their Lord, and even more importantly, knowing how to be still to hear Him speak too.

He says, "Be still and know that I am God" -- Ps. 46:10a

I would be interested in hearing from anybody about ways you implement a quiet hour in your home. Do you set up quiet activities for your children? What kinds of activities?