Since we left for San Antonio right after school let out those first few days were pretty easy. I had a long list of what needed to be done so we could leave and that kept the boys pretty busy. It was after we got back that the fun started.
I spent the first two days back from San Antonio telling the kids to leave me be so I could get some stuff done. The normal unpacking, laundry, catching up on house chores, etc. I did try to take some time for them. They are not allowed in the front yard without me, so I would go out there and let them ride bikes and whatever else they wanted to do. As those days went by, I could see what was working and what wasn’t.
So, my first NEED was a Summer Schedule. My kids are stuck on routines. I think it is how we survived when I was working and when they were babies, so now they are used to it. John and I wanted to keep Noah and Caleb reading and other things that will keep them from regressing during the summer. I also wanted them to have “their” play time so I could get things done that I needed. Of course I knew I had to make sure I put in time to hang out with them. I planned out what I thought was a good schedule on a sheet of paper. Then Monday morning I sat down and talked to them about it. I asked for their input on the schedule, telling them what things we needed to have during the day. Funny, how their schedule seemed to match the one I came up with!
It was pretty basic.
7:00- Wake Up, Eat Breakfast, Watch TV
8:00- Clean Up, Brush Teeth, Get Ready for the day
9:00; 10:00, 11:00 Activity Time
12:00- Lunch
1:00- Nap/ Quiet Time
2:00- Snack
3:00- Activity
4:00- Clean Up
5:00- Dinner
6:00- 8:00 Clean Up, Family Time, Etc.
8:00- Bedtime no later than 9:00
The next few days I noticed they were always looking for that sheet of paper so they could see what was next. I even heard them one morning during the breakfast and watch TV time say that was enough TV! Score one for Mom!! Since the schedule seemed to be working I wanted to make it more permanent and where I could change it as needed. I also noticed my stress level is a lot lower. They give me the time I need and in return I give them the time they need with me. So, technically we all win.
We had some left over dry erase board so I asked John to cut it for me. Then I used sticky notes for the time. Good old Microsoft Word provided a template for making and printing out strips of “to do’s”. Some of them I printed more than one copy so I would have multiple if needed during a day. Then I used tape to tape them to the board. I’m planning on getting some sticky tack like I had when I was teaching to help make them easier to remove and add.
The “activity time” was replaced with the strips like “Play without Mom” or “Mom Playtime”. I also will put the “Lil Boys School” and “Big Boys School” in the same hour block; because the attention span does not last that long. We tend to have “school” in the afternoon and “play without mom” in the mornings. This way I can get my stuff done or sometimes get things ready for afternoon activities I want to do with the boys. The “Afternoon Chores” time has really helped keep the house somewhat clean and give them something to do while I try and get dinner ready. “Daddy is on his way home” is good motivation for the boys to pick up whatever they decided to play with that day. Our evenings are less structured once John comes home. We never know what he will want to do, so “Evening Family Stuff” is always a play it by ear thing.
The board looks like this. It is right across from the chore chart and my dry erase board. At first I wasn’t sure how this would work so I kept it simple. John was ready to frame it for me, but I told him we would see how it worked first.
I took the picture when we were getting ready for our second trip of the summer. I try and write the day of the week on there. I get asked that a lot! Then if I don’t have a strip of what we are doing that day, I just write it. I also put on there if I have a special snack, if they get some Wii time, what’s for dinner, and anything else that will reduce the amount of questions I get a day!
The next step was to revamp the Chore Chart. This is the old one we used.
It had lost some of it’s charm, since the boys were starting to “forget” their chores. I also wanted to make it match what I had on the schedule. I again used Word to change it up and give it a new look. I also decided to try and keep count of what the boys were doing. So, I made a point tally as well. It helps motivate a competitive family.
The chore chart seems to be working. I told them to put their initial when they complete a chore. Then at the end of the day I tally up their points and put it on the Summer Fun Points. Only problem is sometimes they don’t put their initial and it’s a chore having to figure out who did what! The points haven’t really been used for anything just yet, but we have had a lot planned. I’ll do more with them later in the summer. I also give them points for the books they read, times they write in their journal, math practices, and any extra chores they do.
The last little thing I did came from a lot of different blogs I found on Pinterest. That dreaded “What can I do?” was still popping up so I used the bucket lists idea to try and help. I think I went through just about every site that had an idea like this to get a list together of things to do. I also added some of my own. I couldn’t make them all fun, so I added things like wiping down kitchen cabinets. I did download the template from Tip Junkie, I think it actually is posted from another site, but Tip Junkie is the link I used. I then sat down and typed in my lists and saved each one. I have seven pages of ideas. I could probably make more, but we will see if we need to add more.
I wanted to divide the cards into categories, so that way I could monitor which type of cards the kids would get. So I made three categories- What to do?, Fun to Make! and You Earned It!. The “What To Do” has things that the kids can do mostly without me. That way when they have their “playtime without mommy” and want to draw a card; I don’t feel guilty when I say no, not that one. Then the “Fun to Make” is stuff that they will need me to do, like make cookies. Lastly, is the “You Earned It” which hopefully will allow us to use the points they are earning to do things like a movie, sno cones, zoo trip, or simple stuff like stay up late for a flashlight hide n seek game.
I had the buckets (from Target for $1.00) sitting on what can sometimes be our “junk” counter. Anything that doesn’t have a home seems to get set there. I didn’t like the buckets being there and then it hit me, put them near the schedule. Well, it didn’t really work for them to be next to the schedule, so I hung them next to my board above the kids’ chore chart. It’s still close so when we are getting the schedule together for the next day we can pick out some “What to do” cards for their playtime.
So far all these changes have been working. We’ve only had about two weeks before our second trip. Noah is the one asks “what can I do?” the most and is most in to these buckets. One day he picked “wipe down kitchen cabinets” and didn’t look to happy about it. So, I gave him a choice he could wipe down the kitchen cabinets or just go outside and play something. After a few times of repeating this deal and him thinking very deeply about it, he went outside to play and I got to finish what I needed to do.
Oh Summer, the chance to see if you can stay one step ahead of your kids!