When I find myself off the tracks with a routine, I have to get myself back on before I can begin to get the kids back to where they should be as far as habits, etc. Setting up my own schedule for a week, or so without including school is most helpful for me. I have to get up way before everyone else to get the home management situation under control. The most important thing I work on with the kids during this week is their bedtime/rise time. It has to be mandatory! Getting a bedtime and risetime routine established is quite helpful. Then, I add in chores/habits very slowly (when they are young…when we’re just off track, I refer to the chart I have….why I stop using it from time to time, I don’t know!)
I’d have a naptime (quiet time) every day, too. Our rule for the kids at that age was they must stay on their bed with 1 or 2 books for one hour. I made sure they had a drink and went to the potty first to avoid those two questions.
Picking up and putting away the things they are playing with should be a priority after each activity. Nothing drives me battier than the clutter of stuff laying out all over the place. I’m not room service. I’m just the manager on duty.
There are several helpful resources for ting up routines and habits. I’m sure LDTR4C is excellent when used. I’ve seen it and like the layout, but if you buy it and don’t follow through with it, it’s just $ down the drain and compounded frustration.
Starting where you are with what you have will be the most beneficial. Do everything with them over the next month or longer. Play with them, then help them put everything away where it belongs. This is establishing the habit you want them to aquire. Help them help you set the table in order to be able to assign that job to them in the near future. Help them wipe down the sink after washing their hands, or the tub after a bath. That way, over time, they will do this on their own.
If you can WATCH the LDTR dvd, you might find more encouragement on specific habits that CM suggests. I hosted the LDTR workshop for our homeschool support group back in the fall. It was a hit! I think most of them would agree that you’d get something out of it every time you watch it, but the most important take away is YOUR OWN HABIT development. Our kids and our home never get off track if I’m staying on top of our routine and making sure that slip ups are remedied quickly. When everything is out of whack, you can bet I’ve let things go and didn’t bother to make sure that everything else picked up my slack. Are they capable of running the house without me now? Yes. But, if I “don’t feel like doing my job” for any length of time, it carries over to everyone else and habits fly out the window.
Just an honest admission. It doesn’t take long to get back onto a written down routine. If you need to figure out how to do that, I can recommend A Mother’s Rule of Life, by Holly Pierlot. Others find Managers of Their Homes/Chores/Schools, by the Terry Maxwell. I like Pierlot’s book better for whatever reason…it just finally got through my thick skull. Nobody can do my job, but me kind of thing.
I’m hoping this is coming out as helpful and not a reprimand. I’ve been in your shoes more times than I’m willing to admit. It’s quite cyclical for me in fact. But, I do have a basic routine written down. So, I go back to it when I need to and follow it religiously until things are running smoothly again. My routine (“rule”) includes my daily chores, the kids daily chores, our monthly menu, my exercise/supplements reminders, and extra activities reminders. IF IF IF we follow it strictly, nothing is out of place, all chores and fine tuned details are taken care of, and school work is completed on time. Sounds like a dream. It’s reality when I follow it. So, I encourage you to find ways to tackle your chores, your kids chores, and lastly school. Quite honestly, school cannot function without the rest in operational order….at least at our house.
It’s worth the work, even if it takes several weeks, or months, or a year.
Blessings,
Becca<><
