The last thing you want to do while your kids are on a break from school is lose your patience with them!
Our family has been there. Everyone wakes up with a different agenda in mind resulting in arguments, frustration, loss of patience, and sometimes tears.
As adults, we still have responsibilities and sometimes work from home to manage. Our day to day doesn’t stop!
The kids are ready to rock and roll! They want to play with friends, go to all the places, and see all the things.
From our past experiences and from what I know about child development, I started to brainstorm a better way for our family to start the day. It involved us creating a schedule together! There were a few things that made this appealing for all.
-We had a visual to work with and reference throughout the day.
-Everyone had a say as to what went onto our daily schedule. It forced the kids to stop and think through things, they may not normally think of. Did we have prior commitments? Was it going to rain that day?
-It taught the boys how to prioritize and me how to manage my time better. I was much more intentional with the free time slots when it came to what I did.
This worked so well for us that I hopped on the computer, created an actual labeled and organized schedule, and slipped it into a dry erase pocket.
So how do you go about creating this schedule?
Step 1: Decide when you will work through the schedule together. Will it be the night before? Will it be in the morning?
Step 2: Start in the “Priorities/Responsibilities” column. Start making a list of what NEEDS to get done that day.
Step 3: The wants! Let each kid put 1-2 things they would like to do that day.
Step 4: Parents, create a schedule in the AM and PM columns with only the priorities! This should allow some empty space in the schedule. When I needed a work hour, I would simply write “Free time” and that gave the kids time to choose what they wanted to do for a bit.
Step 5: Bring the kids back to the schedule. Let them fill in the empty space with their wants. Not all of the wants will fit in the schedule or work with the schedule. In that case, you put in the column marked “Another Day”. This way the child doesn’t feel like their idea/want was forgotten.
For your free downloadable daily schedule, click here!
0 Comments