Peaceful Morning Setups: 3 Simple Activities That Let You Enjoy Your Coffee (While It’s Hot)
There’s something magical about a slow, peaceful morning… especially when you have little kids. While toddler mornings will never be perfectly calm, I’ve found that setting up a few simple activities the night before can completely change the tone of our day. These easy setups encourage independent play, reduce morning chaos, and yes… sometimes even let me enjoy my coffee while it’s still hot.
1. Butcher Paper Strewing
Butcher paper setups are a great way to get your kiddo ready for some independent imaginative play! All it takes is a roll of butcher paper, some coloring, and a few imaginative play toys and you’ve got yourself a…
- Grocery Check Out
- Pizza Parlor
- City Map
- & More!
Drawing these up the night before ensures that you don’t have any aspiring artists trying to jump in (if you know what I mean 😅). Then you can just lay out a few items on top in an inviting way! For this grocery check out I made, I just put a few play kitchen foods in each section. My son started scanning them and playing all on his own! No instructions, no rules, just open-ended freedom.
If butcher paper setups seem like your thing, the blog below is full of ideas to keep your mornings simple. Plus, here’s a direct link to the butcher paper I use!
2. Extended Play Sensory Bins
Sensory bins are another great way to keep little hands busy in the wee hours of the morning. These extended play versions have the sensory seeking aspect with things like kinetic sand, while also incorporating imaginative play.
The one I did here was a dinosaur themed sensory bin (because what toddler boy isn’t obsessed with dinosaurs 😓) and I made sure it had aspects that checked the extended play boxes:
- Brown Kinetic Sand – For sensory seeking and building
- Dinosaur Bones – A challenge to find and piece the dinosaur together
- Plastic Dinosaurs – For pretend play and world building
Sensory bins are some of my favorite things to create for my toddler, as you never know where their creative minds will take them. If you’re looking for some new sensory bin setups, the blog below has a few of our favorites. (Including the dinosaur one 😋) And here’s the link to a great sensory bin table if you’re just starting out!
3. Morning Baskets
Morning baskets are something new that we started and they have been a blast to curate, and a blast for my toddler to play with!
All I did was take a medium sized basket and tried to put items together that fit a theme. Sometimes they have pieces they could build with, other times it’s pretend play, or maybe a mixture! It’s truly up to you and can be as simple as you’d like. The one I have pictured was SO easy to put together, and my toddler independently played with it for over 25 minutes! Here’s what I looked for:
- A book that brings in the theme: Little Blue Truck
- Characters for him to pretend play with: farm animal Little People
- A building/moving element: A connecting tractor trailer combo (which happened to be blue!)
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Tips for Starting:
If you are finding your mornings hectic to the point of your coffee going cold, then maybe it’s time to try one of these setups! Here are a few tips before starting:
- Prepare: Prep these setups before bed. You can gather the materials throughout the day even, but have them out and ready to be played with from the moment your little one wakes up. That way, you aren’t stressing to curate items with a sleepy toddler on your hip (and you’re probably a little sleepy too, honestly😅)
- Keep it realistic: If the thing you are setting up is going to lead to 100 questions like “how do I do this?” or “can you help me?” then it’s not appropriate for this purpose. It should be something that intrigues them while keeping them comfortable!
- Start small: I do not set these up every night. Sometimes it’s only once a week even. There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s just a way to encourage some independent play while giving you time to breathe. Don’t stress yourself out more by adding another chore every evening.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need an elaborate routine or expensive activities to create calmer mornings with your kids. Sometimes a simple butcher paper setup, sensory bin, or morning basket is enough to invite connection, creativity, and independent play right from the start of the day! Start with one simple setup and see how much smoother your mornings can feel, and hopefully enjoy your cup of coffee while it’s still hot ☕
❤️ Until next time
