Recipe for a Perfect Day

As a mother of preschool-age children, I often find myself faced with the challenge of balancing the many housekeeping tasks that await me each day with my desire to spend time with my children. The following recipe for a perfect day has helped me feel good about fulfilling my roles of nurturing children and homemaking, without neglecting one or the other.

1. Get up each morning before your children. Use these few early-morning moments to collect your thoughts and pray for guidance and help during the day ahead. Read your scriptures.

2. Do a household task with each child, individually or together. This teaches children responsibility while they learn how to work. It can also turn cleaning time into together time because you don’t have to wait until your work is done to spend time with your children. Most young children are happy to help.

3. Do a “mommy school” activity with each child. Spend a few minutes doing something constructive together. It can be as simple as coloring or playing with clay, or more instructive, such as counting grapes as you eat them or drawing the letters of the alphabet in a tray of gelatin powder. Time spent doing fun and interesting activities with children helps prepare them to learn more later.

After doing these three things each day, consider any other accomplishment a bonus. Knowing you’ve achieved some important goals results in less frustration and more patience to tackle other projects.—Marianne Olson, Garden Grove, California