Summer Schedule and Goals Booklet

I always get lots of fun ideas from my friend, Corinne Andrus. We often share ideas that will help us in our efforts to be better mothers. Last May, Corinne didn't have any huge medical issues or hospitalizations in her family (as opposed to this year) and we both happened to be feeling motivated to start summer programs with our kids. So, we started brainstorming on how to create summer memories that would help us and each of our family members reach our/their potentials. We wanted to help our kids work towards meaningful goals and to make choices that reflect correct principles and priorities. Anyways, after some time on the phone and sharing files back and forth, Corinne came up with a fun program that worked for her family and I came up with one for our family. I created booklets for each family member.

I usually come up with some sort of goal program each summer, because I can't stand it when my kids are sitting around doing absolutely nothing when there is so much they could be doing. But last summer, we had some younger house guests stay for several weeks and I wanted to make sure that we were all on the same "page" as far as summer activities goes, which is why I created the elaborate booklet.

One of my favorite summer traditions of all time is our "Quiet Reading Time". It's a perfect way to get all the kids out of bed by a decent hour, to set the tone for the day as we first read scriptures, then kneel in family prayer and then spend some down time just reading inspirational books. This "quiet reading time" gave us the perfect setting to in which to use our summer goal booklet. We pulled them out each morning as we gathered together for family prayer and scripture reading. At that point, we would review the goals we had each set and would plan out our day accordingly. I tried to allow the kids to really personalize their goals while reminding them of what was important. Although the schedule looks rigid, they have plenty of choices on how they want to spent their time. I just expect them to be productive. The goal is to look back on the summer and be happy with how you spent your time and especially to be happy with the person you are on your way to becoming.

I haven't made a booklet for this summer (2014). Time just got away from me. Corinne didn't either...well, she has a much better excuse than me: Remember When Summer Plans Were Simple. But as I came across one of our booklets from last year, I was reminded of all the work that went into our summer planning and all the joy that came from implementing our program. So, I thought I'd just share it. A lot of thought and prayer went into it. Maybe it will inspire some other mom to create a wonderful summer for her children. And if you do use and edit this file, I'd love to see your changes and improvements. It's always fun and inspiring to see what another mom might come up with, so share your ideas.  I'll include the booklet in it's entirety for download HERE. It's a Microsoft Publisher file. So, I think you'd have to have Publisher on your computer to be able to view it.  I'm already excited to do a similar booklet for next summer...or maybe I could make something like this for the upcoming school year?  Mostly, I'm just always trying to find new ways to help remind myself and the kids of what is truly important and to help us continue to make choices and goals that reflect our desire to find true joy in this beautiful journey that we call life.

Morning and Evening Routine Charts (for the babies)

About a year ago, I realized that we needed to set some expectations for morning and evening routines for our three youngest. They were 4, 4 & 5 at the time and I wanted them to do their routines without help from me. At first I tried to use my big job chart, but then I realized that they needed their own chart in their room.
Since I wanted tabs that could be turned over and used every day, I came up with the following chart.

To make it, I simply used some Dollar Tree Document frames ($1 each). (You could also use 8x10 frames, you'd just have to cut down your paper.) Then I created and printed the back ground of the chart on colored card stock. Here's the file I used (it's a Publisher file, so you'd have to have Microsoft Publisher on your computer. I don't think you can preview or open the file without it):
Morning and Evening Routines
Yes, I realize that this is in German. Since we speak only German to our little people, the job chart is in German. So, for those who don't know German, the morning jobs are: Prayer, Get Dressed, Brush Teeth, Make Bed and Clean Room. The evening jobs are: Put on PJs, Brush Teeth, Clean Room, Read Scriptures (I read to them), and Prayer.
So, now for the CLEVER part: In order to make hooks, I took the little round head brass paper fasteners and stuck them through the paper from the back, so that the pointy part stuck out the front side (I made a little slit with the tip of a sharp knife to help them push through the paper). Once I stuck all the fasteners through the paper, I secured them on the back with clear packing tape. Then, on the front of the paper, I bent the ends upwards to make little hooks! (I KNOW, IT'S SO CLEVER, I CAN HARDLY STAND IT). Anyways, after that, I made little job tabs with pictures. On the back of each tab, I drew a smiley face. Then I laminated the tabs and punched holes in the top. Lastly, I took the glass out of the frame and put my chart into the frame, securing it on the back with tape and hung it in the kids room.

Immediately, our morning and evening routines were transformed. Now, when they come out of their room in the morning, I ask them if they've turned over all their jobs. If not, they run right back in their room and do it. At night, I can send them upstairs ahead of me and tell them to do their jobs and if they get them all turned over before I come up, then they get an extra story. They love having a routine. They love knowing what's expected. It helps the whole family, since often an older sibling or my husband is putting the kids to bed. The chart has really helped our mornings and evenings run so smoothly.

Love my charts!!!

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Recently some friends asked to see some of my job lists. I had posted a photo of my funny son's comment which he wrote on his job list for the week. I had unintentionally left a blank spot and he filled it in with his awesomeness.

Anyways, I absolutely LOVE a good job chart. Detailed job charts make me happy, because once it's written out and assigned, then I can forget about it. Of course, a good job chart is all in the details. How detailed you make it depends on the kids being assigned the job. The other thing I love about detailed lists, is that I don't usually enter the assigned cleaning area and have to say "You call this job done?" Because, as long as every thing is checked, then their job is done.

So, I have so many different lists. Here are a few (and really, this is only a fraction of the lists on my computer).

Here's a sample weekend list:

Daily plus Saturday List
Another Random Chore List

Here's one that includes the little kids. You might notice that the little ones' jobs are written in German, but the big kids' jobs are in English (that's just how things roll in our home). I usually cut the list up and give each kid his own portion.

Another job list

Some mornings, I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to get done. So I just start writing everything down at the top of a page. Then I take some of those things and start divvying out chores to the kids. Once I do that, then I start feeling less overwhelmed. Often, I'll let the kids pick which ones they want.
Fill in the Blank

I did want to mention how I often divide chores. Actually "doing" your chores is not an option, but you do have an option as to which chores you do. So, I often whistle and announce quite loudly (so that everyone can hear) that I'm about to hand out chores. The first person to arrive gets to pick first. This ensures that the kids usually hurry as fast as they can so that they can get the first pick.

Here are my some of my favorite lists. These are the Company Clean lists. I pull them out when we're expecting company. We were expecting company this past Sunday, so on the previous Sunday (during our family council meeting), I printed out the lists and let the kids choose which ones they wanted to do. I LOVE these, because they have actual check boxes in front of each item (I don't think the check boxes show up in the Google Docs). They're also fairly detailed. I hang them up in the assigned area, where I can see them. I usually give them a few days to complete them (this is usually in addition to their daily kitchen jobs...I'll do another post on Kitchen Jobs...because that's a whole other topic). Anyways, I like to see them making progress. I remind them during the week to check off a few things each day. As I walk through the house, I can see who has been checking off their boxes.

Company Clean Family Room
Company Clean Kitchen
Company Clean Living and Dining
Company Clean Laundry and Mudroom
Company Clean Outside Jobs
Company Clean Upstairs and Kids' Bath

Sometimes, instead of lists, we call them tickets. We used to do "job tickets" all the time. The deal was that we had some reward at the end of the day and that in order to take part in that reward, you had to turn in your job ticket. I don't have very many of these on the computer, since I usually just wrote them on 3x5 cards. But here's one example that I found:
Job Tickets

I also had another kind of ticket. These were "pay jobs" that the kids bid on at the beginning of the summer. I would give it to the kid who bid for the least amount of money and who promised to do it by a certain date. Here's a list of our job auction items from a few years back:

Pay Jobs