I've always been a checklist person. Recently I don't have as much time to write things down. I used to write to-do's down - even after I did them - just so I could check things off... Yeah, I'm one of those people. ;) But now I just have a blank page I turn into a weekly meal plan along with jotting a few things down to remember along the way.
But when Ryan mentioned he would like something written down for when he's in charge of getting Hadassah to bed, I knew Pinterest probably had the answer. :) It's too easy sometimes to overlook a step in the process, and now that Hadassah is completely out of pull ups for night time (yay!), forgetting the "go potty" step could have wet consequences. ;) Ryan really liked having a checklist, but Hadassah liked it even more!
Anytime she goes potty during the day or washes her hands, she wants to pull down the flap. But I make her wait 'til bedtime, to keep it special and exciting, as so far it's worked!
This free printable was exactly what I was looking for. Instead of using velcro dots, I used sticky-back magnets. Dassah was immediately intrigued the first morning she saw them on the fridge, and ran to do them as fast as she could. I actually had to make her stop, since I was still eating breakfast and couldn't help her with things requiring help. ;)
She moves the magnet to the side of the fridge when it's done. It's nice though, because sometimes she gets in a move-them-all mood even though they're not done. It's not like something she would check off, as I can simply move them back. ;)
She definitely can't do everything yet, and I discovered after a few days she doesn't really care/understand about money yet, so the "paid" section will wait for another year or two. And she doesn't always even help with everything, but it serves as a visual for me to see what we have left to do in our morning chore time. I aim to get dishes done (and usually have her help, otherwise she gets into mischief it seems) before going outside, and sweeping, a quick bathroom clean and a load of laundry started just before/as Ellie goes down for her morning nap and we start Dassah's preschool time. It doesn't always happen, but having a routine and a visual for her helps! I try to have her help clean up toys and her room before naps, which helps me too. I don't know what it is about a clean floor that helps my brain relax so much!
This has been good for her. Somewhere along the way with Ellie being born I stopped having Hadassah help me as much. She went from saying "Mama, I want to help you!" every time she saw me in the kitchen to saying "no" whenever I asked her if she wanted to help me. This is helping me be more intentional about teaching her as she is way more capable these days, and giving her a sense of accomplishment and a helpful spirit. We've had plenty of obedience issues along the way too, but those too are important training opportunities.
For our D week in preschool, our skill was "dressing yourself." In order to help Dassah know where to find clothes - and because Ryan was almost never able to find things he needed when he was helping Dassah - I downloaded, printed, and colored (with some help from Dassah!) these labels. Kind of fitting that they're from a Dad blog, because Ryan was super enthused when he saw them. In fact, he said, "Can I have some for myself?" ;)
Dassah is doing really well dressing herself these days. She likes picking out underwear the best (what can I say, they make kids underwear have so many cute patterns!) and sometimes picks out interesting combinations of other things, but I love her initiative. She can do bottoms if she tries at it, but still needs help with tops as her arms get stuck. But while the "I can do it myself!" cry does make things slower at time, I am excited at the steps she's taking toward more independence and it definitely helps me when she can do something herself.
My first baby is getting so grown up...
But when Ryan mentioned he would like something written down for when he's in charge of getting Hadassah to bed, I knew Pinterest probably had the answer. :) It's too easy sometimes to overlook a step in the process, and now that Hadassah is completely out of pull ups for night time (yay!), forgetting the "go potty" step could have wet consequences. ;) Ryan really liked having a checklist, but Hadassah liked it even more!
It used to be that she would drag out bedtime and always come up with things to do instead of what we were doing. Now she rushes around to do what she's on so she can pull down another flap. I know the newness will eventually die off, but it's been almost 2 weeks and she's still excited and the toys are even picked up (which makes my mom brain so happy!) so we're all enjoying it. I did add some sticky velcro dots to the top and flaps to make them stay up better, since they were starting to get hard to tuck inside. But overall this was easy to print and a lot of fun for us. You can get your copy here.
Dassah's also at the age where she can do a lot of things herself. Instead of making a lot of changes at once (and likely failing without making sure to practice them) I've tried to focus on one skill per week with our "preschool." C was for chores, though I only finally got her chore magnets printed and made by the END of that week. But better late than never, right?
She moves the magnet to the side of the fridge when it's done. It's nice though, because sometimes she gets in a move-them-all mood even though they're not done. It's not like something she would check off, as I can simply move them back. ;)
She definitely can't do everything yet, and I discovered after a few days she doesn't really care/understand about money yet, so the "paid" section will wait for another year or two. And she doesn't always even help with everything, but it serves as a visual for me to see what we have left to do in our morning chore time. I aim to get dishes done (and usually have her help, otherwise she gets into mischief it seems) before going outside, and sweeping, a quick bathroom clean and a load of laundry started just before/as Ellie goes down for her morning nap and we start Dassah's preschool time. It doesn't always happen, but having a routine and a visual for her helps! I try to have her help clean up toys and her room before naps, which helps me too. I don't know what it is about a clean floor that helps my brain relax so much!
This has been good for her. Somewhere along the way with Ellie being born I stopped having Hadassah help me as much. She went from saying "Mama, I want to help you!" every time she saw me in the kitchen to saying "no" whenever I asked her if she wanted to help me. This is helping me be more intentional about teaching her as she is way more capable these days, and giving her a sense of accomplishment and a helpful spirit. We've had plenty of obedience issues along the way too, but those too are important training opportunities.
A while back I read an article about a "loop system" to tackle chores that don't often get done. Basically, instead of assigning a day to each chore (and then getting behind or one never getting done when you don't have time that day), you do a cycle. When you have time, you do the next one in the cycle. I never got around to making a document for it though. But these magnets are now on the fridge for me. These four (plus cleaning out the fridge - I should make a magnet for that!) are my top "don't like" list of chores, and I must admit, hardly ever get done. But moving one to the bottom after I complete it and knowing I don't have to face it for a while again should give me motivation to do it, right? :) I days I know I really want/need to do one of these, I move it to Dassah's row, so she can help give me motivation for it.
Dassah is doing really well dressing herself these days. She likes picking out underwear the best (what can I say, they make kids underwear have so many cute patterns!) and sometimes picks out interesting combinations of other things, but I love her initiative. She can do bottoms if she tries at it, but still needs help with tops as her arms get stuck. But while the "I can do it myself!" cry does make things slower at time, I am excited at the steps she's taking toward more independence and it definitely helps me when she can do something herself.
My first baby is getting so grown up...
Anna, I love your posts so much. I always feel like I'm right there with you. You are a great mom! They do grow up fast. Almost 19 years ago I held a baby in my arms. Now he's six feet tall.
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