While we were driving to MN for 6 hours, a couple friends and I were able to talk about everyday routines, activities, ideas, etc we all do with our children each day...I think these conversations were just as helpful as the conference ones! One friend who has older children and just seems to have it a little more together than me shared how effective a schedule was for her family and in what ways. I have been told by about 20 people/books that a schedule in your everyday life as a homemaker is effective, but I have yet to really stick to one I liked. We have a lot of appointments like school drop-off, pick-up, speech, and misc appts that we have a few times a week so I always think it would be hard to keep the same one each day. So I shared with them an idea I have been wanting to try for while, which is what I am sharing with you all...
I read somewhere (maybe Family Fun) about putting a schedule on the fridge instead of a printed schedule or a dry erase board. Their idea was to make magnets with the different times of the day and then different magnets with things you do (lunch, nap, play, etc). I took that idea a step further and am going to make it more of a child calendar. We are going to buy a bunch of magnets and each child is going to have a certain colored magnet set. I am going to make the time magnets with a clock face on them so Joshua can learn/practice telling time now. Then I am going to make a bunch of magnets with ideas for them to do. For example, Caleb will have a magnet that says "Practice Speech w/ mommy" and Joshua will have a "school time" magnet. In the morning, I will put some of the necessary items on the correct time for each child like lunch, nap, dinner, chores, breakfast, school/speech, and any appointments we have. Then I am going to let each child put a couple of the other ideas on their that they want to do that day - like play dough, play trains, watch movie, etc. That way they are picking a couple things to do while I am doing the things I need to do. The best news is that if our day strays away from the fridge, we can go up and move some things around. I think Caleb and Joshua will love this idea and will help them know what to do next in this "boring house!" We'll take pictures of the final product and let you know how it works in case you want to give it a try to.
I read somewhere (maybe Family Fun) about putting a schedule on the fridge instead of a printed schedule or a dry erase board. Their idea was to make magnets with the different times of the day and then different magnets with things you do (lunch, nap, play, etc). I took that idea a step further and am going to make it more of a child calendar. We are going to buy a bunch of magnets and each child is going to have a certain colored magnet set. I am going to make the time magnets with a clock face on them so Joshua can learn/practice telling time now. Then I am going to make a bunch of magnets with ideas for them to do. For example, Caleb will have a magnet that says "Practice Speech w/ mommy" and Joshua will have a "school time" magnet. In the morning, I will put some of the necessary items on the correct time for each child like lunch, nap, dinner, chores, breakfast, school/speech, and any appointments we have. Then I am going to let each child put a couple of the other ideas on their that they want to do that day - like play dough, play trains, watch movie, etc. That way they are picking a couple things to do while I am doing the things I need to do. The best news is that if our day strays away from the fridge, we can go up and move some things around. I think Caleb and Joshua will love this idea and will help them know what to do next in this "boring house!" We'll take pictures of the final product and let you know how it works in case you want to give it a try to.
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But I did make one up for the kids a couple of years ago. I got the idea from Super Nanny and wrote it out on a big poster. I wrote the time in digital and also drew a clock with the time so Leevi could learn to tell time both ways. I wrote what we were doing at different times of the day and drew pictures that went with it, so even Raquel could know what was going on (she couldn't read). I even wrote their names with red (Leevi) and purple (Raquel) markers for their individual activities, so they could find easily what they were supposed to be doing. We didn't always stick to it, but it's nice to have to keep us on track. At first the kids were anxious to stick to the schedule and would remind me what we should be doing. Sometimes I regretted writing it out, since I didn't always want to do it!
We don't have this schedule anymore (I guess I should make a new one), but I do have one for myself for chores to do each day. I know some people do all their household cleaning in one day (or two) and just be done. But I like to space mine out and do just one or two chores a day. I have it posted on my fridge to help remind me what I should be getting done.
I also printed out a page where I had a long list of different activities the kids could do inside and outside. This way if they ever said they were bored or had nothing to do, they could look at the list and find something that sounded fun!
Gosh, such a long comment, sorry! I do like your idea though that you can move things around, so it's not totally set. Because with kids, taking naps, school, different activities, etc., things change all the time! I really love getting ideas from different moms on how to run the household. I can always use help of some kind!