Routines Archives - I Can Teach My Child!

Sleeping Solutions for Summertime

May 16, 2012 by Jenae — 14 Comments

It’s nearly summer…which means the sun is shining early and late. Although this is wonderful for plants and trees…it is often not great for getting your kids to go to bed (and stay there). What kid wants to go to bed while the sun is still up, anyway?

The fact is, most young children need 11-12 hours of sleep each night. This means that your child will probably be both going to bed and waking up while the sun is brightly shining.

Here are a few suggestions for ensuring that your child gets enough sleep in the summer.

1) Stick to a consistent routine. If you usually give your child a bath at 7:30 and put them in bed at 8, keep up with the same routine in the summer. With the exception of special occasions and holidays, your child needs the consistency to ensure he/she gets a proper amount of sleep each night.

2) Use blackout curtains. Find some way to keep the sunlight out of your child’s room at night and in the mornings. We purchased blackout curtains when our oldest was about 18 months old and decided that he wanted to go to bed (and wake up) with the sun. Many stores also sell blackout liners that you can attach to the back of your existing curtains.

3) Teach your child not to get out of bed until the clock shows a certain time. If you have a child who is naturally an early riser despite your best efforts to block out the sun, you might consider putting a clock in his/her room. Tell your child that she can only get up when there is a 7 on the first number of the clock (or whatever time you want her to get up). If your child is too young to recognize numbers, you might consider trying a nightlight with a wake-up indicator. This will help regulate her natural sleep cycle and ensure that she isn’t waking you up at 5:30 every morning. :)

What suggestions do you have for ensuring your child gets enough sleep in the summer?

Please note: The links in this post are my affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy.

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Filed Under: Changes and Transitions, Helpful Hints for Parents, Parenting, Routines, Sleep, What Works for Us

What To Do When Naptime Ceases…

October 18, 2011 by Jenae — 51 Comments

I don’t know about you, but my sanity break (and my blogging time) comes about 2:00 every afternoon…when my children nap. Both boys have thankfully been regular nappers their entire lives.

Until now, that is…

Big Brother will be four in January and he has dropped his nap. He’s down to napping once every 4 or 5 days now. I know I should be thankful that he’s kept it this long…and I am. But I’m also mourning the loss of some time to get things done. So I’ve implemented “room time” with Big Brother. He must stay in his room for an hour and a half each afternoon.

As much as I would love to admit that I’m doing this because it’s good for him to have some “down time” (which, of course, it is)…I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m mostly doing it for myself. I need a little bit of time to get things done…to have a few moments of peace and quiet to get my wits about me before part 2 of the day begins.

Hence, the idea for quiet boxes…

I first saw the idea for these over on Money Saving Mom. And I quickly raided the treasure trove of independent activities (most of them geared towards first graders) currently residing in my basement. We also made an impromptu stop at Dollar General for some plastic tubs and the dominoes…the only two things that I had to purchase to create these tubs.

The boys have very few toys in their rooms. I tend to think that rooms are for sleeping and if you have lots of “stuff” to play with, very little sleeping goes on! So, I’m keeping these tubs in a closet close to Big Brother’s room and will take one out each day at naptime.

I decided to do five tubs, one for each weekday. At the recommendation from a friend, Big Brother will get to choose his favorite on Saturday and Sunday.

I wanted to include something in each box that would fit each of the following categoies:

Something to help him LEARN
Something to LISTEN to
Something that he would LOVE

Want to know what’s inside each box??? I thought you’d never ask!

Monday:

-Crayola Color Wonder Drawing Paper and Markers
-Boggle Jr.
-Dino Clip Cards/Counters from Confessions of a Homeschooler
-Do Your ABC’s, Little Brown Bear Book & Audio CD (purchased from my Scholastic Book Orders while I was teaching)

Tuesday:

-Dominoes
-Matching & Sequencing Flip Book
-Unifix Cubes
-Buzz said the Bee book and audio CD

Wednesday:

-Geoboard
-Heart Breaker Number Game
-My First Picture Dictionary Write-on Book
-Adventures in Odyssey: At Home and Abroad Tapes (these are the actual tapes that I had when I was little)
-This is the House that Jack Built book and Audio CD

Thursday:

“Opposites” Matching Game
Dinosaur Lacing & Tracing
Tile Math (Marcy Cook Math…Big Brother LOVES this)
24-Piece Dinosaur Puzzle (puzzles are NOT Big Brother’s thing…so I’m sure this will be more frustrating than anything)
-I Like Myself book and Audio CD

Friday:

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Pattern Block Kit
Clothespin Capital and Lowercase Matching Activity
A Clipboard, crayons, and some tracing cards
Adventures in Odyssey Tapes (not pictured)
Melissa and Doug Basic Skills Board (not pictured)

Although not pictured in the boxes, the Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition (with the audio CD’s) is also readily available in his room at all times.

The key to making this work is to include things that the child doesn’t already play with everyday. As I said earlier, I did not go out and purchase a bunch of things…I used what I had. Some of the “toys” that Big Brother had received in the past (like the magnetic pattern block kit, for example) had been put away because he wasn’t quite old enough to use them properly. So this seemed new to him!

I tried to introduce each of the “new” activities to Big Brother in the morning prior to naptime so he felt comfortable with using them independently. This is important, especially if it will be challenging to a child on his/her own.

I’ll probably change out some of the activities every month or so, just so that it stays fun and exciting. I’ve also talked with a friend about trading boxes once a month to give our kids something completely new!

Another trick that seems to work wonders with keeping him in his room is telling him every time he comes out of his room, I’ll take something from his box away. Seriously…why didn’t I think of this sooner???

Have you ever used quiet boxes? If so, what activities do you include???

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Filed Under: 3-5 years, Helpful Hints for Parents, Parenting, Quiet Time Activities, Routines, School Age

Our New Routine

January 17, 2011 by Jenae — 20 Comments

I’ve confessed to you before that I am not the most organized person at this stage in life. Some days it feels like I’m spinning my wheels to no avail.

So…prior to the new year I decided I needed to make a change! I used this form (daily docket) to create a routine for the day. On the days that I have stuck to it, it has been revolutionary! I actually have an allotted time to empty the dishwasher each day. Hooray! I’m sure it will need to be tweaked as we go along, but for now this new routine has been very helpful.

I’m sharing this with you not so much for your benefit as to keep me accountable! If I tell you I’m doing this, well by golly, I better keep it up!

Daily Routine

Before Breakfast:
Get dressed*
Get boy’s dressed
Check e-mail
Make beds

While Boys Eat Breakfast:
Empty the dishwasher

After Breakfast:
“Center” activities with boys: puzzles, blocks, etc.**
Start prep work for dinner while boys play independently
Individual playtime with Little Brother before his nap
Individual activity time with Big Brother (while LB sleeps)
Personal Bible Study
Outing (some days)

After Lunch:
Pick up toys
Put boys down for naps
Daily cleaning (see below)
Blog time
Finish Bible Study

Before Dinner:
Finish dinner prep
Clean up toys

After Dinner:
Run dishwasher (whether it is full or not)***
Wipe down countertops and appliances
Exercise (30 Day Shred which I am officially starting today)
Quality time with Prince Charming
Shower

*I am NOT a morning person. I envy people who get up early and work out, do their Bible study, etc. I have tried, but I guess I don’t have enough self-discipline. When I was teaching, I got up at 7:30 and had to be at work by 8:00…good thing we only lived 5 minutes away! I just CAN’T seem to get motivated in the mornings. I would LOVE to get myself up and dressed (at least) BEFORE the boys wake up, but some days it is harder than others. That’s my goal though!

**I have put all of the puzzles and blocks out of the reach of the boys. The reason for this is because they don’t really play with them, they just dump them out! So…I have an allotted time where I can play with them using these fun toys.

***You might think it is wasteful to run the dishwasher even when it’s not empty. It is. However, unloading the dishwasher is one of my most loathed tasks. If I have an allotted time to empty it (during the boys’ breakfast), this makes it much less of hassle than trying to unload it in the middle of something else. This has been the single greatest implementation so far! And it is almost ALWAYS full by the end of the evening.

Daily Cleaning

When we moved into this house in April, I was overwhelmed. And then Prince Charming was burned and I was even more overwhelmed. So I paid a dear friend who has known me since I was born to clean our house once a month. I’m kind of ashamed to admit that because it makes me feel inept as a wife/mother/housekeeper who can’t keep it all together. But the $85 I spent once a month was worth it for a short while.

My sweet friend just had double knee replacement surgery and will be out for a while. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to get myself together and figure out the best way to clean.

The nice thing about this schedule is that I have given myself a small task each day that shouldn’t take more than 30-45 minutes. And if for some reason something comes up and I can’t complete the task that day, I know I’ll get to it the next week.

Monday:
Vacuum main floor and mop

Tuesday:
Wash boys’ laundry and bedding
Vacuum upstairs

Wednesday:
Clean the 2 upstairs bathrooms

Thursday:
Clean downstairs half-bath
Vacuum basement

Friday:
Laundry
Dust

Saturday:
Menu plan and grocery shop

Sunday:
Reorganize office and paperwork

I then use the cleaning list here (bottom of page) for the cleaning items that should be done once a month or a few times a year (washing windows, vacuuming under beds, etc).

Big Brother’s Chores

We are still using the FisherKids Responsibility Station that I reviewed a few months ago. It has been wonderful! Big Brother’s daily chores are to (1) pick up his toys before naptime and bedtime and (2) help make his bed each weekday morning. He receives a quarter each day for completing these tasks and can put it in one of 3 coin bags: Save It, Spend It, or Give It.

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It’s going to be an absolutely crazy spring! Prince Charming and I have signed up for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and I am participating in 2 bible studies–Bible Study Fellowship and Beth Moore’s Esther Study at our church. I’m hoping this new routine will help me balance it all!

And because I’m trying to prioritize and make room for everything, I just thought I would let you know that you can expect about 3 new posts each week in addition to “Show-and-Share Saturday” and “A Lesson Learned” on Sunday. Since I started this blog back in July, I have averaged 1.3 posts each day! I honestly can’t keep up that pace and still keep my priorities in line.