| |
back to school basics
Summer is over and morning chaos will soon resume. You can manage it allefficiently with just a little preparation. Consider the following for each child:
Alarm clock -- get an old-fashioned "face" alarm clock. It will
help teach and/or reinforce your child’s ability to tell time. Large Calendar -- Let your child choose his/her favorite subject for
the calendar pictures. Hang it on the inside of the room or
closet door. Sparkle stickers -- Let your child choose the stickers. Then make up a "ready for school" list and post it next to the calendar.Include on the list things that are important in your family. Here are someideas:
Choose clothes to wear to school tomorrow and lay out on foot of
the bed or chair. These should include underware,
socks, shoes, barrette as well as pants/dress/top. Check backpack to be sure homework is there as well as
Put lunch money or lunch ticket in backpack (if applicable).
Make lunch and have it ready in refrigerator.
Tidy room and brush teeth before going to bed.
Get up when alarm goes off.
Get dressed.
Make bed.
Brush teeth after breakfast. Teach your children how to set the alarm clock and how to turn it on and off.Let them know that you expect them to get up when the alarm goes off and getready for school without problems. For each day that this happens and the checklistis completed they will get a sticker on the calendar. At the end of theweek they will earn a special privilege if they have earned 5 stickers.Involve the children in coming up with what can be included in those specialprivileges. It may be different for each child and every family.An extra hour of TV time, a sleep-over or an outing to the local ice cream parlor.
Be sure to be liberal with verbal praise and hugs for jobs well done in additionto handing out the stickers. A special plate at dinnertime or favorite meal is a great wayto recognize good work and make anyone feel special.During dinner, talk about how well Johnny is doing with his checklist and how it is so helpful to you and appreciated by you. Bite your tongue if you feel theurge to criticize anyone during dinnertime. Make it a time for praise. Itis seldom necessary to point out deficiencies; the lack of praise does the job for you.
Give these ideas a try and I’m sure you’ll see fabulous results. Change around the"to-do list" and "privileges" to be age appropriate and you can use these ideas fromnursery school through college (Ha!). Have fun in the mornings this year instead of chaos!
|
|
