Routines

One rule of parenting that I have long heard the benefits but found particularly difficult is maintaining a routine.  It wasn't until about five years after my oldest son was born before we finally started having a bedtime.  My husband is rather spontaneous, as well as a night owl, and would start a movie or a game at 8:00 at night, and I would just go with it.  I, on the other hand, am not a night owl.  If I have to deal with rambunctious children past 9:00, mean mom comes out of the closet.

For some reason, it took a long time for me to realize that setting a bedtime would give me the freedom to have a more calm and restful evening before I crawled into bed.  Even having one hour of peace and quiet makes it worth the hassle of getting the kids to bed early.

However, having a nighttime routine, as well as a morning routine for that matter, has been a challenge.  I find myself saying over and over again, "Did you brush your teeth?  Did you say your prayers?  Did you put your pajamas on?  Put your pajamas on!"

I finally came up with a solution to this problem that solves this problem so that I only have one question to ask..... "Did you finish your chart?"

Oh the simplicity!  Why didn't I think of this sooner!  My kids love having their own chart to look at to tell them what they should be doing.  They don't have to do it in a particular order.  They just have to get all the items accomplished, and then they can put the card into it's "finished" slot.  Let me show you what I did.

I made this one first for my oldest son, Wade.  All the pictures are on a magnet, so they can be easily removed and put into the envelope.  Morning routine is on top.  Bedtime routine in the middle.  Weekly chores on the bottom.  The cards say what the kid is supposed to do and also has a picture to help them remember (especially if he can't read).

This is the chart for my 4 year old son, Owen.  I decided to put the poster board in landscape format this time, and I think that turned out a little better because there's more room between the morning and bedtime routines.  Also, I did the border for Owen's cards in green because that is his favorite color.  I also let both boys pick out the son and moon that I printed out for the envelope.

This is what the poster looks like after all the morning routine is put into the envelope.  You can see the magnets to which the cards attach.  I used sticker like magnets that I found at Wal-Mart.  I was able to cut them into rectangles, and I think that worked out perfectly.

These charts have been made a great difference in everyones' attitude when it comes to getting ready in the morning and getting ready for bed, and anything that puts my family in good spirits, especially when it comes to chores, is going to be staying around for a long time!

If you have any other ideas for how to handle routines and chores, let me know in the comments!