Morning Routines

Do you or your husband usually walk out the door in the morning and come back in because you/he forgot his wallet/lunch/etc?  How about the kids, do they usually run to the bus stop carrying their jackets and with untied shoes?  Get out the door on time and organized with a few simple tips:

1.  Prepare lunches the night before.  I know it only takes 5 minutes to make a quick sandwich and throw in some snacks, but that's 5 minutes less for the morning routine!  Place lunches in their respective bags in the fridge so they are completely ready in the morning. To go along with this idea, make sure backpacks are packed too.  I set reminders on my cell phone to remember library day, etc so we don't forget to pack those extras too.

2.  Pick out clothes the night before.  Give your child 2 or 3 choices to pick from, and they will still feel like they are making a choice - and you have now eliminated the daily argument about what they are wearing to school.  If you have room in the closet,  get one of those weekly clothes organizers that hang.  Place their 7 outfits inside and tell them they can pick any cubby of clothes they want each day. 

3.  Always place backpacks, wallets, purses, keys, cell phones, etc. in the same place.  That's right - no more crazed search on the way out the door.  You may want to try a nice shelf with hooks near the door.  Keys, coats and purses go on the hooks - wallets and cell phones on the shelf.

4.  Have a morning routine.  We get up an hour before the kids need to leave.  First, they get dressed complete with socks and tied shoes.  Then, it's breakfast time followed by teeth brushing.  We then make doubly sure backpacks and coats are packed (see #1 and 3), and read our scriptures.  None of these things take  more than a few minutes, but because we have allowed extra time, we are generally not rushing out the door.

Anyone have ideas to add?  Comment below!

Eternity is NOW

Found this quote on LDS.org this morning.  I love it!

“How well are we feeding, nurturing, training, and exercising the spirits of our children? . . . Remember, eternity is now, not a vague, distant future. We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life.”
—Elder M. Russell Ballard

Chores

I have so many friends who wonder how I get my kids to do chores at ages 5 and 7.  It's easy - well some of the time.  The key is to start as early as possible!

As soon as your toddler learns to walk, they can start to help clean up.  Have them pick things up off the floor and bring it to you or show them where the items belong.  Teach your kids to pick up their messes when they are finished playing, or have a set clean up time during the day.  Gradually, make the chores more difficult, or complicated.  Transition your toddler from cleaning up with assistance, to picking up small groups alone.  I used to tell my daughter to just pick up the dirty clothes and tell me when she was finished.  Then, we would move onto the next group (baby dolls, ponies, trash, etc) until the whole room was finished.  By the time they are 2 or 3, the child should be able to pick up most of their room on their own. 

Make clean up fun.  Little kids love to help.  Give them a rag and have them wipe the table or kitchen sink.  Let them put away the clean dishes that they can reach.  Gradually work them up by adding a little at a time.  Eventually, they will be doing those dishes and wiping off that table all by themselves!

Be prepared to modify your cleaning routines to fit them.  For the older kids, instead of carrying around a big bucket and rag mop, get a spray bottle filled with your favorite cleaner (we use Pine Sol), and teach the kids to spray the floor and mop with a pre-dampened mop.  My kids have a really hard time with a broom.  We have purchased a Shark vaccuum/steam mop.  This way, they can vaccuum the hard floors and mop them.  I go through with the broom every couple of days to make sure we get anything they missed.

Provide incentives.  We have used multiple systems over the years, from pom-pom jars to sticker charts to smart phone apps.  Whatever motivates your kids is worth it.  Whatever you decide works for your family is great (even a Friday night movie night, or something simple).

Anyone have other suggestions?

Kid Friendly Music Players

Do your kids love to steal your iPod or cell phone to listen to music?  Mine do!  That's why I love this Fisher Price Kid-Tough Music Player.  It's perfect for preschoolers and beyond - very rugged and durable.  It comes in either blue or pink, and you can download music from your personal library!  It's compatible with numerous libraries (we have both iTunes and Zune), so it's super versatile.  Plus, it has a built in microphone for the kids to sing along.  Our 4 year old received this for Christmas, but I was just recently able to put all of her favorites on it, so she can sing and dance in her room anytime she wants.  Retail price is around $50.

Bedtime Book of the Week

 Spencers adventures series- DON'T BAKE THAT SNAKE! By Gary Hogg. For those of you who still like to read books to your kids as they get older this is the book for you. It is an early reader chapter book with some pictures. All 73 pages will leave you rolling with laughter.

Both Hubby and I took turns reading this to our four kids and we couldn't stop at just one chapter! The kids begged for more. My 8 year old had the privilege of meeting the author at school during a book signing.  This is only one of the books from the series. We intend to buy more.
What a great way to spend the evening with your kids. We highly recomend!