The kids have been home for summer break for over a week
now. I am so grateful for alarm-clock
free days. I love sleeping in late and
get to now a few times a week. My kids like
the freedom to have fun at home, but they thrive on a schedule. We’ve had a few lazy days where no set plans
have been made. Those days are fun, and
with how busy our lives get during the school year, we need a lazy day every
now and then. But, when we have too much
idle time too many days in a row like we’ve had now, things can get a little
messy.
Since messes are no fun to clean
up, I decided that it’s time for us to straighten up our act. We, meaning I, need things to flow smoother
around here. So we, meaning the kids, are going back to a
schedule. Yay!
The kids may not be cheering, but they’ll have plenty of fun
sprinkled in their day. But, first things first.
The kids do help out around the house, but they tend to do that only when
asked. I’m the one who does the big
chores like vacuuming, sweeping, and tidying up. I don’t mind doing the bulk of the work, but since we’re
all living in this house together, everyone should be pitching in more
consistently. In thinking how to get
back on track, I did some summer chore brainstorming.
I could print a daily chore list.
But not every day is the same.
I could bark orders.
But that’s no fun.
I could threaten to take the fun away if the kids don’t help
out.
But I don’t follow through on taking toys, computer time, or
their lovies away. And the kids have
figured that out.
I brainstormed a little bit more. I thought about a chore list and a check list. Those have lasted a few days when we’ve used
them in the past, but I need something else.
So, I thought about what motivates the kids. I thought about consequences for not
following a list and for not following through with directions. I thought about what happens when things get
messy and how we really need some order in the house.
I need something simple that outlines first this, then that.
I need something that can be tacked to the wall as a quick
reference.
I need something that will work no matter how full or
relaxed our day is.
I need something easily navigable for my youngest child on up
to my oldest child.
I know what I need. I
need a flowchart!
My kids love to play.
But playtime comes after
taking care of ourselves. The longer
they’ve gone without their morning routine, the more I’ve had to remind them to
eat first, to clean their room, and to be ready for the day on days we have to
run out. They know that once they’re
done with the morning routine, they can play.
Then they can play all day. They’ve
been able to do that when we have nothing planned. They love that. And I love that they can play all day too.
That takes care of the morning routine. Our afternoon routine will see a little bit
of formal learning. But not until after
lunch.
When we do the formal lessons, where I have the Pick an activity box, I’ll have an Afternoon lessons box printed that we
can tape to the chart instead.
Now, it won’t all be Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, but we
will go over a few concepts taught last school year that need to stay fresh in
their minds. I also hope to do some
vision therapy homework and some skill building activities that will hit on
some OT goals my kids used to have when they were in therapy.
The kids have already protested that they
don’t want to do schoolwork, but some of our afternoons will include Spelling/Writing,
Reading, Map Study, and Math Practice.
Since my children all learn differently, I have some ideas of how to
review skills that I’d like them to retain.
We’ll use the white board, flash cards, puzzles, salt trays, and all
manner of out-of-the-box ideas that I can think of to keep the kids
motivated.
Those flowcharts were designed for the daily schedule. As far as bigger household chores like cleaning the bathroom, changing linens, and other tasks that need to be done once a week, I'll individualize a flowchart for each of the children. I'm working on divvying up those tasks today and will have something that we can tack to the wall on Saturday when we turn to together to clean the house. Just like the daily charts, once the tasks are complete, the kids will have the freedom to choose something that they want to do.
We have almost two full months left of summer break. I’m sure it will go by very quickly as most
breaks do. We’ll have loads of fun at
the pool and with friends, but we’ll also take time to be more organized. Being organized is good. Time will tell if these flowcharts are good,
too.
Hopefully they will be and help the
kids learn to go with the flow.
xo, Cat