I’m Making a List and Checking It Twice

Anyone that knows me, knows I love me some lists! I make “To Do” lists every day. I have lists on my phone, on post-its, and I also make lists for my kiddos.

The first year of kindergarten was challenging for us. We had just moved to a new state.  On top of that, the transition of going to school 5 full days a week was overwhelming for us all.  I found every morning that I repeated OVER and OVER things like “Did you brush your teeth?” “Next you need to get dressed.” , find your shoes, etc.

Finally I realized that I needed some sort of check list to help my kiddos take responsibility for getting ready and also to help them establish a routine.  So I came up with these.

This is the girls’ morning tasks. They already know to do the basics like brushing their teeth and hair, but this list ensures a tidy room before school.

This list in on their adjoining bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker.

This list is their “After School Checklist”.

Right below this checklist, I have clipboards with each girls’ weekly reports/calendar that they receive from their homeroom teachers.  Here’s what that area looks like.  It’s on the side of the refrigerator by the back door.

And……here is their “Chore Chart”.  I bought the blue card holder at a teacher supply store, but I saw something similar at Wal-Mart in the school supply section.  I made very “do-able” tasks for the girls and came up with cute titles like “Dishwashing Diva”, “Shoe Patrol”, and “Toy Manager”.  Add some pictures from clip art, print, and laminate.

Each girl has one column of tasks for the week. Some jobs need to be done daily, while others like “gardener” (water plants) need only be done once or twice during the week. I try to divvy up the jobs and make them equal in time and difficulty.

I got this idea from looking at how teachers assign responsibilities to each student in their class.

I think it’s a great idea for children to share in household responsibilities.  We don’t pay for doing what is necessary to be a part of our household. It’s a personal choice for us. It’s totally up to each family what works for them.

We give a weekly allowance and do pay extra if a child is wanting to complete extra tasks to save for special something.

Here’s what this area looks like. It’s behind the back door where the family calendar is.

 

Here’s the area next to our breakfast table. We always do homework there and it’s much easier to have all our supplies nearby. 

I bought this little stand at Target and it holds each girl’s “working basket”. Each basket has crayons, pencils, markers, and glue. They can take the basket to the table and then replace it when finished.

The middle shelf has flash cards and other learning tools. The bottom shelves hold each girl’s library books. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had late library books because we couldn’t find them. Perfect solution—put it back on the shelf when you’re finished reading.

I promise I’m not a militant mom. haha This is just a system that I have adapted from other ideas and it works well for us. It helps getting ready for school easier and keeps everyone organized and less stressed.

You might also enjoy this blog post about Dressing the Bear- a great way to be prepared for those “what to wear” fights in the morning.

Do you moms have ideas or a system that works for you? I’m always looking for ways to make our lives simpler!