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| It's a ROUTINE,...not a schedule that keeps us sane! |
I still believe strongly in keeping a "routine" to help keep our sanity at home... Otherwise I find that nothing gets done - nada! You will notice that there are some tasks here that my kids do alone - because over the summer and thru the years I taught them to take care of on their own:
--get dressed, underwear, shirts, pants. The clothes for the day is laid out the night before (together with mom for my youngest son, but the older one can do it on his own now) in their rooms so we know what to wear.
--use the bathroom, brush and rinse their teeth, Comb their hair with a wet comb (to take down those little sticking up-out hairs).
-- put on socks and shoes, get on their sweater if needed.
-- in the car they can open their door and put on their seatbelts/ car straps and mom asks: "seatbelt check?" and they reply "check" -- I of course lock in the baby and check the 3 year old belts before we leave. My 7 year old can clearly tell me if he needs a minute more.
I am trying to keep us on a nice schedule with back to school. We started this one week prior to school starting so we could adjust our "summer" internal body clock.
A little reflection from my "Toddler Schedule Post" - You learn as you go
My older son is now 7, and I have come to realize some mistakes I've made in raising him.
When I wrote the blog below on a schedule for toddlers, I was very proud of the fact that I limited his TV tube time. He actually didn't watch any TV or kids videos until he was almost 3. This was before iPhone an IPad too. And now I realize that was a big mistake.
Our youngest son did get some TV before age 2, mostly watching along side his brothers TV/tube time. So the youngest had early exposure to television.
Nowadays when my kids do get to watch TV for Friday movie night or cartoons on Saturday morning, the older one is completely plugged in (or zoned out). While the 3 year old can tune in and out to come get a drink from the kitchen and even gets bored with the shows.
If I had to do it all again, I'd follow our new routine. After we drop off the older one at school, my younger kids get 1 (one) hour of TV in the morning (which is public television cartoons like sesame street) without those commercials that are so awesome for kids who react with "I want that!" This way the kids get to relax and enjoy some TV time before we move on with our daily activities. There is still almost no TV during the school week for the older one, except one 1/2 hour program (our play on the iPad) after homework and responsibilities are complete.
Kids new that time to unwind, or wake up. And just like adults need to zone out sometimes, so do kids.
We get up at 7:00 am. (we may need to move this up 15 minutes)
The baby gets to sleep in. The boys get dressed, mom too. The three year old sometimes stays in his PJs depending on if we are going grocery shopping (Tuesdays) right after drop off. Use the bathroom, brush teeth, check short hair is not sticking out, up, sideways and head downstairs.
Breakfast at 7:15
We eat breakfast. Usually we start with a cup (ceramic! see why here) with 50/50 juice & water or milk. We eat either: toast with jam and sliced fruit. Or cereal and kefir yogurt to drink. Sometimes eggs with some veggie in them and topped with cheese. You get the idea, its quick but freshly made. Meanwhile I make and pack the lunch, sometimes a quesadilla taken in slices in the thermos so the stay warm. The stainless steel interior thermos is warmed by putting boiling water inside or running hot tap water in it, then wiped off.
I have a stack of homemade lunch notes that I pick from for the lunch bag. Im gonna send these until my kid is sick of me! Lunch note goes in.
By 7:30-ish am we get ready to leave for school.
Boys get there shoes on and my second grader grabs his lunch bag & backpack (from the hook) and double checks he has his forms/ homework/ etc for the day.
Mom heads back upstairs to wake The baby. I get her in a new diaper, leave on the PJs and we are ready to leave.
Out the door by 7:40 am.
Drive My older son to school and come back.
8:30 am
Get the rest of breakfast or juice for my little boy and nurse/feed the baby and get my coffee and juice (fresh juiced veggies and fruits). Watch a little cartoons with the 3 year old and baby girl nurses to a nap.
10:00 am
Baby girl nurses to nap. Read a book or do an activity with 3 year old.
Baby wakes up at 11:00 or so.
Go for a Walk, or hit the park with babies bottle and lunch. Baby girl is getting some solids with us.
12: noon
Put both kids down for a nap in mommies bed. I nurse the baby and read books to the other. I have a long thin pillow that goes next to the boy so he doesn't roll over on baby. If I'm exhausted I'll nap with them.
1:30-2:00 pm or so.
Wake up time. Sometimes they'll wake up on their own or I wake them up bu uncovering them. The hangs in temperature is a more natural way to wake up & I feel I have less cranky kids that way. Everyone has a quick snack and we head out to Pik up my older son from school.
2:30 pm Pick up from school.
We are home by 3:15-3:30 so I prepare the Snack for them, change to play clothes, play a little and then homework time.
Meanwhile moms in the kitchen making dinner preparations. My younger son has his preschool activity books to do his "homework" too. Ill feed the baby at the table with the boys. Can you say multitasking. When baby gets a little older i know ill do lunch/dinner preparations during the noon nap time.
5:00 pm
Hit the yard, park or any outside time!! When baby girl was really young id have to Usually sit and Nurse her or have to hold her the rest of the night. Luckily its a good time for the boys to run and play. I still nurse her or give her some solids while the boys play.
Dinner time 6:00-6:30.
We might squeeze in a cartoon before dinner, wash hands and eat at the table.
7:30 pm
if it's bath night/or wash face hands teeth and off to bed. The boys often join us in bed for some books and we let them fall asleep in our bed. Baby also nurses to sleep. Luckily while the playlist runs mommy - who's attached to baby - gets to be on pinterest, facebooks, etc... A little my tube time.
Ill move the boys back to their beds and head back downstairs.
Moms bedtime & the next feeding:
By 10:00 pm
Baby will sometimes take 2 ounces in a bottle other times she'll just nurse.
Baby still wake up and nurse one or two times then she will wake up at 4:am and take another two ounces in the bottle. Almost sleeping thru to the morning.
And then we start the day all over again.
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