What--you all started school several weeks ago? Yeah, we did too. But I'm just now feeling like I've almost got the hang of this new schedule...ish. Maybe I'm a little slow. But I'm in serious need of some new organization around here. And some way to train the natives as to our new routine.
Is my child the only one who can take 30 minutes to get undressed? And then runs around the house naked before I threaten to lock him in his room until his clothes are on...and then we rush out the door, get to school late, and little creatures keep yelling at me because THEY wanted to {wash their hands} (insert whatever I just helped them do) BY THEMSELVES and now they refuse to do ANYTHING at all.
We've been doing a lot of "you can come out of the corner when you can show me a happy face." But they won't let ME stay in the corner until my face is happy...
I'm thinking the new routine is throwing them off. And maybe me too. So, I introduce...
{dooh doo doo DOOOOOOH!}
Our new sticker chart:
Mostly it is self explanatory. We will all get our own special stickers. When we have finished something, we get to put our stickers on that space. My boys LOVE LOVE LOVE sticker charts!
Our cleaning job for the day is one that we all get to do together. Which means I have to go into it expecting it to be Reeeeeally hard. Because you know how it is when everyone wants to spray the Windex at the same time...while I'm cleaning the toilet... (the mirror comes LAST guys!) But it is really important to me that we all learn to work together. So I am going into this promising myself that 1) I will try really really hard to not yell during our daily cleaning job. Because who wants to clean with a psycho yelling mother? 2) I will go at their pace. Really relaxed, play a little here and there, and gently redirect back to the task at hand. 3) When they are done, they are done. Fine, see you later (thank you Lord!) And if they aren't done, I'm not going to kick them out.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Cross your fingers, pray, do whatever you can for me.
I'm hoping that since it's only ONE thing a day and FOUR days a week, I might be able to prevail. Friday will be a catch up day, or a day that we have time to do something extra fun (library, park, aquarium, zoo...) because we got all our jobs done. Saturday will be a "do everything else"/"tackle big projects" day (we painted our living room last Saturday...HOOORAY!), but I'm hoping that if I can get some of these things done during the week, Saturday won't be so exhausting or overwhelming. And we will have time to do some of the decorating things I want to do. Like paint more :D Poor husband. He hates painting.
Laundry is the same kind of deal--I am hoping if I can wash, dry, and put away one load a day, I can eat that big stinky laundry elephant one bite at a time. Maybe the stickers will motivate me too...and if they don't, my children won't let me rest until I finish so they can put a sticker on for me! Cue me, saying, "okay, then come help me put your clothes away you darling, darling children."
And the dinner row is for me to write in what I'm planning on making so I can plan ahead, defrost meat, buy ingredients, etc.
See where I'm going? This way we are all on the same page and working toward the same goal. THEY think the goal is filling up the sticker chart, but WE all know that we are actually working toward peace, harmony, and cleanliness.
Want one?
This one has the same routine as
mine, with the details empty so you can write in your own jobs/laundry/dinner,
etc. Click on the image to make it big, then right click and save it.
This one has the left column
blank too so you can write whatever you want in there. Click on the image
to make it big, then right click and save it.
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