Making Our Life Simpler Using Structure and Consistency

Hello, sweet friends.  Thanks for reading today.  As I'm thinking about the back-to-school routine, I wanted to offer three ways that I make my life simpler during this hectic time of the year.  Feel free to adjust them to whatever makes sense for you.  Be blessed!

• Checklists:  I have an almost 9 year old who thinks he's going on 21.  He doesn't like me to tell him what to do because he promises he's responsible enough to remember what he needs to do.  The truth is that he's 8.  He's forgetful, as most 8 year olds are, and I would find myself so frustrated with him for not doing everything he needed to do before we left for school in the morning.  Finally, out of desperation, I decided to make him a checklist.  He now has a morning checklist and an evening checklist.  Truth be told, we really worry mostly about the morning one because there's a lot to do before leaving for school.  The morning checklist includes things like:
• Shower
• Make your bed
• Brush your teeth
• Pray
• Eat breakfast
• Open the shades

The evening checklist includes things like:

• Pack your lunch
• Brush your teeth
• Pray
• Close the shades

The checklist makes everyone's lives easier throughout the day.  I don't have to yell at him about anything that needs to be done before school and he feels more independent because no one is "reminding" him of what he needs to do.

• White Board: I have a medium-size white board that I keep in the kitchen.  It says "Week of..." and I write in the date of the week and it has each day of the week listed below it. Under each day, I write whatever appointments we may have that day.  I include doctor appointments, school functions, even hair cut appointments.  I also include if my husband is working late or traveling.  Each person in our family has their own dry-erase marker color so they know what their week looks like and everyone knows what to expect for the week.  The other important thing I include each day is what we're having for dinner.  This makes my life easier so every day, I'm not scrambling trying to figure out what to cook.  The structure helps everyone!

• Bedtime Routine:  As much as possible, we stick to a very structured bedtime routine.  It typically includes dinner, showers, some free time, prayer, and being tucked in with lots of hugs and kisses.  The consistency helps to make sure that everyone knows what to expect, including us as parents.  I can't tell you how great it is to get to our family prayer time.  Not only to hear what's on our hearts but also to know that the end of the day is in sight! :)  It also ensures that our children are getting enough sleep.  Our almost 9 year old needs about 10 hours of sleep at night.  That means bedtime is at 8pm (he gets up about 6am, if not earlier every day - even on weekends!!).  Although it seems very mean (to him) to put him to bed at 8pm every night, including weekends, we enjoy him so much more when he's well-rested!  Not to mention, Mom and Dad need alone time every night to talk and catch up.

So these are 3 things that we do to make our life a little easier.  I know that not everyone is able to have a pretty stable routine at home.  But what I have found is that kids need structure...and so do parents!  So whenever possible, instill structure in your day.  It will help ease the stress in your life, as well as your children's' lives.

Have a wonderful school year!