Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Morning

Last year, or maybe the year before who can remember, I made door hangers for the girls' chores. They had a morning routine and a bedtime routine. I can't find a picture of ours anywhere, but I got the idea from here and they pretty much looked like that.

They were awesome. Little Bit's were pictorial and Sweetheart's was a list. They could carry them with them to the bathroom and back to their bedroom. But, they weren't working anymore.

  • First of all, they had the routine down and didn't look at them anymore.
  • Secondly, Sweetheart has added a few things to her morning routine (washing face, deodorant, etc.) and needed a new list as she couldn't remember to do everything every day.
  • Thirdly, they need to NOT be in the same room at the same time. When they are both making their beds, it turns into playing really quickly.
So we ran around last week taking pictures of every single part of the girls' morning routine. I printed the pictures on cheap photo paper and cut them out. Then I glued them down a LONG strip of construction paper. They are hanging in the hall right outside their bedroom. You can't see them from the living room. I'm too lazy to take a picture and upload it, etc. but here are some of the shots:




I have Sweetheart starting in the bathroom and Little Bit beginning in the bedroom. It works well so far. I hope I'm teaching Sweetheart a logical order to things (you get dressed BEFORE you fix your hair) that she can continue to use in her life.

And no, I don't make Little Bit clean the whole room. She can read "the" but can't read "your" so that's why I worded it that way. She knows just to clean her stuff!

However, now that they are actually doing all the things they NEED to do in the mornings, it is taking longer. Oh well. It's important.

So there you go Carrie.

My next step, after they are well established on this new routine, will be to help Sweetheart think about how she could shorten her morning work by planning ahead the night before. (pick up room quickly before bed, have clothes picked out, etc.) She likes having time to play before school so maybe that will help.

6 comments:

  1. I am starting to get the boys into their own routine. My middle son has special needs and needs to have a routine.

    I have to wonder though, since your girls are a little older, especially with the oldest, doesn't this picture thing with them put up in a prominent place embarrass them? It would have embarrassed me when I was 11, and thus would have defeated the purpose and caused my parents to "provoke me to wrath". I would have taken a list ok, but definitely not the picture thing, haha. What makes pictures work better for someone who can read than an actual list they have to read? I'm honestly wondering not being mean or anything.

    Pictures are probably going to work best for my disabled son.

    I guess I also don't want to spell out every single detail of their routine at exactly what time and order it needs to happen as they may figure out something that works better for them. I have no clue yet how I'm going to do this with three kids.

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  2. Well, I WAS just going to do the pictures for my 6 year old, but the 11 year old COMPLAINED why didn't she get to do the fun thing? She wanted pictures! So, we all did it. They are just sticky-tacked on the hallway wall and can easily be taken down if we have company.

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  3. Bwahahaha that's awesome. Weird, but awesome. Shows different people all have different personalities though. :p

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  4. Wow - these comments are so interesting! I can't imagine how helping your children in their daily routine could be provoking them to wrath! I think, due to homeschooling, Sweetheart has a stronger attachment to her parents and less concern about pleasing her peers; therefore, no reason to be embarassed. It's so encouraging to see what a great job you are doing with your girls. They clearly have a respectful attitude and desire to please their parents and the Lord. That is awesome!

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  5. fabulous idea Brenda! My dd 9, would ham up such an opportunity, lol. Now my boys on the other hand, not-so-much~ visual learner, or not, tee hee.
    @ Katy-Anne - You make me giggle; I would guess you are not a type A personality? Fabulous ideas can come from you =) I see your potential 'schedule' as creative, yet simple, and that will work for you.
    ~Sheri

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I don't get to talk to a lot of actual grown-ups during the day, so your comments make me really happy! :)