The first few weeks of summer break had our routine off to a rough start. What we needed first was a week with nothing but relaxation and fun, which we did well! After all one of my primary goals as a Mom is to become less serious and more fun, so that week I was winning. However by week two our routine was in havoc mode and so were we. I came down with a severe case of Bronchitis and next thing I know we had gone from fun to survival, from survival to me being a pretty grumpy Mama.
Our mornings have been consistently lagging and things are in the house are in disarray. It is taking us far too long in the morning to wake up, get breakfast eaten, chores done and moving for the day. Not only is it making me crazy and frustrated, but even my littles are frustrated because they don’t know what to expect in the morning. It’s like fun is just beyond our grasp. I want to go do fun things but when we aren’t rolling out of clean bedrooms until 11am it’s going to be a long summer. And this Mama doesn’t have time for that.
“Adventure is out there!” Up
I guess it’s time for a change.
Bribing my littles with screen time would be useless because my littles are already pretty technology free. If they heard the phrase “screen time” they would think you are talking about window screens on our house! So at first I had no idea how to get them motivated to wake up and get things done.
This is when I had my lightbulb moment! Summertime is when they are most excited to go outside and play! So instead of making a “before you have screen time” chart, I made a “before you go outside” chart! Yeah you know you’re a homeschooler when….you bribe your kids with outside play time?
I already know I’m weird, but so are my kids.
We’re a good match.
So here’s to a fresh start!
A new week!
And here is our chart!
Yes & it’s “Pick Up Animals” because we don’t actually have REAL animals, only stuffed ones. We aren’t super commited homeschoolers here, just kidding, but seriously. I tease because humor should be added as much as possible to any article about organization.
Simple is key here. It is important that my kids maintain good habits and routines throughout Summer break. Keeping it simple allows them to keep up on it without a nagging mama. I want them to take ownership so it can get done peacefully, without all the drama that is usually involved with getting 4 young littles ready for the day!
Fingers crossed that it works!
Soaring Arrows 