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that I hope will be helpful to you!
that I hope will be helpful to you!
Today's tips will focus on establishing a daily routine. Routines seem to work best for many people. The trouble is that living to a strict routine can also become a problem when a bump in the road comes along. I carried out a daily routine in my classroom but assemblies, field trips, and special events came up and children had to adjust to those activities. This is a GOOD thing because everyone needs to be flexible at times. I feel it is important to strive for a daily routine but also to create some flexibility in it as well. This will teach your child to "go with the flow" yet they will also have an idea of a predictable pattern.
The best advice I can give to a daily routine is do what works best for you and your family!! As a teacher I taught with three other teachers. We each had a completely different system and daily routine yet we were like-minded with helping children to learn! Each teacher did what worked best for them and their students and they weren't afraid to make changes if needed.
The same goes for us as parents. What may work for my family could be completely different then what would work for yours. Below I will share with you my ideal morning. Notice I do not have any times listed because for us, having very young children, the order of events is more essential then sticking to a timed schedule. Also notice the stared (*) activities, these are our daily MUST-DOs. I like having a STRICT MUST-DO schedule for myself then those activities become habits in our home and are expected daily. YES occasionally the MUST-DO list may not get accomplished or be "out of order" but I like having this goal for myself and children!!
Morning:
- WAKE-UP!
- Eat
- Play, read a story, watch a show (just have some wake-up time)
- *Complete our Bible Curriculum or Daily Devotional
- Clean up breakfast, pick up, and/or start laundry
- *Proceed Upstairs (I find when ALL go upstairs TOGETHER it is a GREAT way for us to ALL get ready and not end up in our PJs all day!)
- Get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, etc.
- Children make their beds and clean up their rooms
- Mama makes her bed and puts laundry away
- Go back downstairs
- Prepare for home school
- *Complete our home school time (more about this routine coming soon!!)
- Play (outdoors if possible)
- Lunch
- *Nap or Quiet Time (We have a DAILY quiet time. My children still sleep during this time although as nap time fades I will still make a quiet time part of our daily routine. This will be a time that they will need to stay in their room and quietly read or do a quiet activity such as a puzzle or coloring. A visual timer may be a great way to reinforce this idea if you are just beginning this with your family.)
Great series.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem every family has at least one strong-willed child. (And I must confess that I was one!)
Thank you for joining the series!! And your honesty! Lol!!
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