Decorating Projects!

My "nesting" phase seems to be manifesting itself in decorating projects this time around. Of course, that is largely prompted by the fact that we have majorly changed the room arrangements in our house over the past couple of months.

Talia and Leila are now sharing the bedroom in the basement. When I started looking for ideas for a sweet, girly room I was enthralled with this. We are not really wanting to paint at this point, so I went about recreating the color scheme with fabrics instead. Here is the first installment:

I made the duvet cover from some clearance sheets I got at Wal-Mart. I got 3 sets of full-sized sheets for a total of about $10! I made all the throw pillows from tutorials I found on Pinterest and modified another throw pillow tutorial to create the shams. I love the way they turned out!

My next projects for this room are tall, skinny bookshelves on either side of the bed (any ideas for cheap??), something to frame the head of the bed (still trying to decide what I want to do), and some button wall art.

Meanwhile, I am also working on the nursery. Believe it or not, we have never owned girl crib bedding (for a normal-sized crib). When both of the other girls were born we were in our teeny, tiny house and the kids were sharing one teeny, tiny bedroom so we bought a mini crib (the size church nurseries usually have) and I made bedding for that. Since we can use our normal sized crib again and this baby will have her own room (praise the Lord!!!), I was excited to be able to finally decorate a girly nursery.

Early on when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do I got stuck on the idea of having a bird-themed nursery. Later I decided on a pink, yellow and taupe color-scheme. This is what I have done so far:

 
I made the crib bumper and crib skirt using Benjamin's store-bought crib bedding as a pattern and sort of making it up as I went along. I still need to add ties to the bumper and some big, pink bows at the tops of the box pleats on the bumper (can't really see from this picture).

My next projects for this room are: faux canvas wall art (SO excited about this!! cute and cheap!) and recovering the rocking chair with an awesome white & yellow damask print.

What else would you do in these rooms? All you decorating-savvy friends out there, I welcome your input!

Potty Training "in a Day" (or 4)

Be forewarned: this post will most likely only be interesting to moms of toddlers who are looking for a potty training method. Unless you are in this category I would skip it if I were you. :)

Since Seth posted that we subscribe to the "potty training in a day" method on facebook a couple of weeks ago I have had a few people ask about how we do this. I decided this is a good time for me to write this post since any pride I had in the fact that our first two children were potty trained in 1-2 days is demolished. :) Leila took 4 WHOLE...LONG days. But! She is completely potty trained now, and for what it's worth, here's how it happens at our house....

(Disclaimer: As with many subjects within the realm of parenting, I think this is one good way to do it. There are also other good ways to potty train that work better for other families. Just so you know.)

Overview
This will be a long post, so here are the basics in a nutshell:

• This method requires my total and complete attention for 1-4 days.
• It is important to make sure the child is "ready" for potty training. None of my kids have really shown the classic signs that we are usually taught to associate with readiness (asking for a diaper change, going off to "do business" privately) but I do look for ability to understand and receive instruction, interest in other transitions that we deem "big boy/big girl" milestones (crib to bed, for example) and age. Our kids have tended to be ready closer to age 3 than to age 2.
• Once we take off the last diaper, we do not wear anymore diapers (or pull-ups, except for nap & night).
• Since this process is not a behavior-based process, but rather the learning of new skills, we use rewards to reinforce the desired skills. We have used both sticker charts and food "treats."
• "Staying dry & clean" earns one reward.
• "Using the potty to stay dry & clean" earns double rewards.
• We set a timer and sit on the potty every 10 minutes throughout the day (extended to 15 or 20 later in the day, depending on how we are doing). This is not optional for the child. When the timer rings it is simply time to sit.
• After the first success we call Daddy to share the news. This is always a big moment. :)
• When an accident occurs we practice the entire process 10 times in a row to reinforce the new desired habit. (Please note: This is intended to reinforce habit & muscle memory, not to punish the child.)
• When we graduate from the every-10-minutes phase we sit on the potty at (loosely) scheduled times: before meals, after meals, before nap, before bed, etc.
• At an appropriate time in the process the entire family participates in a "Yay!" party.

Preparation
The first thing you must know about potty training in a day (or four) is that it takes complete commitment to this one, and only this one task. I completely clear my schedule. No school, no chores, no errands, no phone calls. I am prepared to work with the child almost exclusively for at least one whole day (but I plan on 2-4 days). I don't plan on sneaking in a load of laundry or dishes or even making dinner.

Before we started this time I sat my older two children down and explained to them that they were going to need to play by themselves a lot that day, that I wasn't going to be able to help them as much, and that they were going to need to be very patient when they needed me. I played up their maturity and independence and explained that when they were Leila's age I spent an entire day with them, teaching them how to use the potty. (During this conversation I also explained that Leila was going to be getting some special drinks & treats to help her learn how to use the potty. I told them I would give them their own treats later on in the day, but the potty treats were just for Leila. I also let them in on the "secret" that when Leila learned how to use the potty we would have a "Yay Leila!" party and we would ALL get to taste the special treats that Leila had been getting.) I have read that it is best to send the older kids to grandma's house for the day, or weekend to avoid all this. I don't have that option, living 2,000 miles away from both sets of grandparents, but if I could I would definitely do that!

There are several things I gather before the Big Day:

• Plenty of clean underwear/panties. We have about 12 pairs.
• Plenty of clean pants. I like sweatpants, jeans (esp. lined with jersey knit), anything absorbent. I put these all in a big stack in a central place, along with the underwear/panties.
• "Fun" drinks, different from what my kids normally drink. We used lemondade this time.
• Treats. Something with lots of small pieces like M&Ms, smarties, fruit snacks, Skittles....
• A timer.
• A doll (We do not use an expensive "potty doll.")
• An absorbent pad. I use chux pads from the hospital, but you could also use a folded up towel.
• Pull ups (for nap & night).

The Big Day
I always start potty training after breakfast so as soon as we get up in the morning I make a big deal about changing the LAST diaper! We start really talking up the underwear/panties that we are going to put on after breakfast.

After breakfast I make sure I have everything assembled in one place that I will need for the day. I actually wear an apron with pockets so I have the treats, my phone, and the timer handy. I prepare a sippy cup with a special drink, gather my stack of dry clothing, and get a stash of books, games, and other things to keep us occupied in one area.

Once I am prepared the big moment has arrived. We put on the underwear/panties! Then I say for the first time what will become my mantra for the next few days: We are going to learn how to keep our panties dry and clean. I explain that when you feel like you need to go pee pee you need to stop your pee pee until you sit on the potty, then you make your pee pee go in the potty.

To illustrate I take the child to the potty, along with the role-play doll and our sippy cup. I give the child a drink from the sippy cup and encourage her to give her doll a pretend drink. We play with the doll for a few moments and then I ask the child to check to see if her doll is dry. I show her how to check with two fingers and, of course, the doll is dry! We break out the treats! The child gets to give her doll ONE treat (which, after the doll pretend-eats, I let the child eat). This is one M&M, one smartie, etc. I explain that we get one treat for having dry and clean panties ! Then we take another drink and play for a few more moments. This time we pretend that the doll needs to go potty. We go through all the steps: pulling down the doll's panties, sitting on the potty, making a "ssss" sound (I pour water in the potty from a little cup) and then looking to see that the doll went potty! Time for more treats! This time the doll gets TWO treats and I explain that we get two treats for using the potty to stay dry and clean. This is usually the end of the usefulness of the role-play for us, but it gets the point across of what we are trying to do.

Then I start the cycle I will repeat throughout the day:

• Remind and encourage the child to drink frequently.
• Set the timer for 10 minutes at a time.
• We play together and I ask frequently (every 1-2 minutes at first), "do you need to go potty?" (While we play I have the child sit on the absorbent pad.)
• Sometimes we have our first accident before the timer rings (see "First Accident" below), but if we make it the whole 10 minutes without an accident I announce that it's time to check to see if we are dry. We both check for dryness and if dry, I give the child one treat.
• I have the child sit on the potty. I don't ask, I tell them, "OK, it's time to sit." We sit on the potty for no less than 4 minutes at a time to give us a greater chance of having an "accidental success." I usually read books until they get bored. Between books I reinforce the language: "Now you are sitting on the potty. Can you make your pee pee go in the potty?" 
• If nothing happens after a little while we pull up the panties and re-set the timer for 10 minutes.

This is the basic process most of the day.

First Accident
We have always had our first accident before our first success, so I'll talk about that first.

Once it becomes obvious that the first accident is occuring or has occurred (I can usually tell by the surprised look on their faces) I jump into action. I remind the child "stop your pee pee until we get to the potty" and get them to the potty as soon as possible. The first time there is usually nothing left to actually go in the potty, but we sit anyway and talk through the process again: "when you feel like you need to go pee pee you need to stop your pee pee until you sit on the potty, then you make your pee pee go in the potty. We want to keep our panties dry and clean." To reinforce the language I am using I sometimes gently press the wet panties against the child's upper thigh to illustrate "wet" and then, as we change into dry panties we talk about how "dry" feels.

It is important, especially with the first accident, to maintain a fun, encouraging tone and to reassure the child that he/she hasn't done anything wrong! Learning to be a big boy/girl takes practice. I try to focus on how proud I am that they are trying and how exciting it will be to figure it out!

After the clothes are changed it is back to the beginning of the cycle. I re-set the timer and start the 10-minute process again, alway pushing the drinks! (Note: In the overview I talked about practicing 10 times when an accident occurs. I have tried this process after the first accident and found it frustrating. Therefore, I now like to wait until we have had a successful trip to the potty once or twice before I introduce this element. One thing at a time. :) )

First Success
I mentioned above how important it is to handle the first accident appropriately. Surprisingly, it has been my experience that it is equally important to handle the first success with sensitivity. Two of my children have been somewhat startled by the new sensation and needed reassurance that they really did the right thing. Leila actually cried after she went in the potty for the first time!

Of course the first order of business is to reward the success with a double treat! Next, we call Daddy with the news. (I do this while still sitting on the potty in case something else happens to come out while we are on the phone. :) ) Then I introduce the habits that go along with using the potty: pull up the panties & pants, flush the potty, wash hands, etc., all the while encouraging and celebrating this big step towards being a big kid!

When we are done with all this I start the 10-minute cycle again.

"Number Two"
We have handled bowel training differently with each child, depending on his or her personal schedule. For us, being potty trained and being "bowel trained" have been two separate events, with the later occuring about a week after the former. I don't have an easy answer for how we have accomplished it, other than if the child has a particular time when I know she does her business I make that a scheduled time to sit on the potty for awhile. I have even set the potty in front of the TV and put on a short DVD to keep her sitting there for a good long time. Other than that, I do my best to catch them at the very beginning of the act so I can help them start to form the new habit. Leila is still about 50/50 on getting her #2's in the right place. I do have a few tricks that worked with the first two, but I'll spare you the details. If you are interested email me. :)

Accidents
Once we are into the process and have had a couple of successful trips to the potty I start introducing the muscle memory/habit reinforcement process. When an accident occurs we do everything we did for the first accident and once everything is cleaned up we practice the process 10 times in a row. I first tell the child that we are going to practice staying dry & clean 10 times, then we do it.

Here's what that looks like:

• We go back to exactly where the child was and what she was doing when the accident happened.
• I say, "When you feel like you need to go pee pee you need to stop playing (eating, or whatever) and go to the potty. You say, 'I need to go potty!' and you stop your pee pee. Keep it inside your body. Go fast, fast, fast to the potty!" (All the while I am physically maneuvering the child, helping her jump up, walk quickly to the potty - or even carrying her - etc.)
• When we get to the potty I help her pull down her pants/panties, to show how we need to do it fast and sit.
• I say, "Now you can let your pee pee go in the potty. See? You stayed dry & clean! (I rub the dry panties on her leg.)"
• We get off the potty, pull up the pants/panties and I announce cheerfully, "Great job! That's ONE."
• We repeat the entire process, counting each time and keeping the tone light & fun. Sometimes I have experienced meltdowns after several repetitions. If I can distract and keep going I do, but if it becomes a major issue I let it go. With Leila I actually didn't introduce the practicing element until day 3 because I thought it would cause more problems than it solved. Once she was more comfortable with the process we introduced this element and that is really when we turned the corner and began to see the lightbulb coming on!

Celebrating
A fun thing to do once everything is "clicking" and the child is definitely getting it is to have a family party. Whenever we are celebrating a success in our family we tend to call it a "Yay! Party." In the case of Leila being potty trained we had a "Yay Leila! Party." This was a time for us to celebrate Leila's success and also a time for everyone to get to share some of the treats Leila had been receiving as part of the potty training process. For example, we all drank lemondade and had M&M's for dessert.

Nap and Nighttime
With experience my personal philosophy has become that nap & nighttime dryness will come in time. I really don't do anything extraordinary to push it. For Benj it came almost immediately. He wasn't napping anymore by the time he was potty trained so that wasn't an issue. He wore pull-ups at night for about 3-4 months but was almost always dry so after awhile I quit. I can't remember that he has ever wet the bed. Talia had a dry pull-up consistently after naptime after a couple of weeks. She took a long time to become night trained (8-9 months?) I just let her wear pull-ups until she was consistently dry in the morning. (I personally think that uninterrupted sleep is worth buying pull-ups for awhile.) It eventually happened and she almost never wets the bed now.

A word about naps for the first few days: The first day the child definitely needs a break! I put a pull-up on and don't worry at all about instructing her not to pee in it. With Leila, since the process took a few days, I did skip a nap one day because I felt like we were really losing momentum each day at naptime. It seemed like she would "save it up" to empty in her pull-up and then by the time we got enough liquid back in her to cause her to need to go again it would be that hectic time of day when Daddy is getting home, dinner prep is underway, etc. and lots of accidents would occur. The one day I did keep her up from her nap I had her sit next to me (on her absorbent pad) on the couch and look at books. It did help to be able to keep the momentum going on this one day and it was not necessary to skip another nap.

Conclusion
If you are still reading you must be definitely interested in this method, in which case I will encourage you: the benefits are worth the high time investment! I have really enjoyed that the short process helps us keep a positive focus. Although there can definitely be frustrations or discouragement, eventually perseverance pays off and both of you can look back and say, "Look what we did!"

About time...

Well, I decided that it's about time to put an end to this unintentional silence. I hate the first post after a long lull. It's extremely daunting to try to sum up a period that kept one so crazy-busy that she couldn't even put together a blog post. So I've decided just to write what comes to mind and move on with my life. (Sound familiar? That's because I wrote essentially the same thing here the last time I was trying to get things re-started. Apparently that's how I roll. :))

Well, here goes...

Most obviously (especially to those who have seen me recently), I am now 23 weeks along with Little Rodriquez #4. This has been my most difficult pregnancy, by far. I was horrendously sick from about week 8 until somewhere between Thanksgiving & Christmas and so was pretty useless for awhile there. Poor Seth had a hard load to bear between all his normal duties and mine. Now that I'm past the sick phase, however, things are humming right along with no complications. We found out 3 days before Christmas that we will once again be breaking out the headbands & hairbows for a Baby GIRL, which was quite a surprise as we unanimously thought it was a boy. Poor Benj had his heart set on a brother. He cried when we told him. :( He got over it that same day, though, and is excited to have another little sister to protect. The other night when we were giving hugs & kisses before bed he hugged and kissed my belly and said, "I love you, baby sister. It's going to be a happy day when you come out to see us!" That happy day will be sometime in early-ish May.

In October I somehow mustered up the oomph to make Benj a birthday cake (he turned 6 which, for some reason, really threw me for a loop) and participate in his chosen birthday activity, a family trip to Dinosaur World.

We celebrated Halloween with a "first" -- we actually carved our pumpkins this year! (A luxury that Ph.D. life couldn't really afford.) Leila surprised me by having a definite opinion about what kind of pumpkin face she wanted. We designed our faces here and when we put the mouth on her first creation she said emphatically, "No! Scary!" Benj decided to be a fisherman complete with an enormous cardboard fish on the end of his new birthday fishing pole. Talia & Leila both dressed up as Raggedy Ann in dresses made for me by my mom when I was their ages. :)

We enjoyed a visit with my mom in early November. She came to help me get my house & life back in order since I was starting to feel better at that point. She was a trooper, helping me with all my laundry, dishes, and various projects like our massive seasonal clothes swap-out.

We had a quiet family Thanksgiving, which turned out to be a super relaxing day! We had invited several different families and groups of people to join us, but it seemed everyone already had plans this year. I really didn't want to have a sad, whimpy Thanksgiving so I decided to go ahead with a full feast. This was the first year I have ever made everything myself! It was a lot of work, but so worth it! As an extra perk, Benjamin was able to eat everything this year since I made it. I'm not sure he appreciated the significance, but it made my Mama heart happy anyway. :) Thanksgiving morning we each shared 3 ideas of things we would like to do during the day and put them on slips of paper inside a little bag. We took turns throughout the day drawing activities from the bag and doing them. We played with Legos, started a puzzle, played with the Lite Brite, sang Thanksgiving songs, did a Thanksgiving craft, and lots of other fun activities throughout the day.

Our Christmas season was fun but very, very full. A little too full, truth be told. :) At the risk of sounding grinchish, I was honestly glad when it was all over this year. That's not usually like me, but by December 26th I was ready to move on! We enjoyed a fun after-Christmas visit from Seth's parents. We had a relaxing few days with them, taking a few little field trips here and there, but mostly just visiting and enjoying each other's company. (No December pictures downloaded yet.)

We are now over halfway through our school year, which is going very well. Benjamin is making great progress in reading, handwriting, and math. Talia is enjoying her own preschool work as well. She joins in with Benjamin for reading with Mama, weekly science experiments, and other fun  activities such as language arts games. Leila has taken a renewed interest in her tot school activities (we took a break for awhile since she seemed happier just playing nearby) and has now mastered the art of buttoning/unbuttoning, stringing Cheerios, and matching shapes. She is working on recognizing her colors by name and one-to-one counting. We are hoping to finish our school year just a couple of days before the baby is born!

With the new year came a new burst of second trimester energy for me. I have been attacking my project list with a vengence!

Just after the new year began we moved the kids' bedrooms around. The girls are now sharing a room (and a queen sized bed) in the basement. The transition has gone surprisingly well. Leila has embraced her new "big girl" status with an air of responsibility. She is staying in bed well and the girls don't seem to be keeping each other awake at night like I feared. Benj, who has shared a room with Talia for as long as he can remember, was a bit lonely after the transition. Partly to help him feel like he was gaining something by having a boy bedroom all to himself and partly because the location seemed more logical, we moved him to Leila's old bedroom. He got several new "big boy" items for Christmas so it is nice timing for him to have his own space. Just after we finished moving the rooms around Leila came wandering over to me one day asking "Mama, where's my spot?" Not sure what she meant, I coaxed her to explain more. She elaborated: "Benjamin took my spot!" Poor babe. I reminded her that she had a new big girl room downstairs. She seemed happy with that and hasn't mentioned it since.

Our latest project has been potty training Leila. It's a lot of transition for one little girl, but there's only so much time before this baby is born. The potty training is another story for another time. Meanwhile, I feel purged and ready to start blogging again. :)

Thanks for reading & TTFN,

Lunchbox Roundup

Here's the thing: lunch is forever a mystery to me. I never know what to make. I mean, I know about the basics. We do pb&j (well, for Benj it's sb&j or h...but I digress). So anyway, I'm not opposed to the obvious but, well, you know, there's only so many sandwiches you can eat. And also one of my goals this year was to improve the general healthfulness of our diet, which sort of disqualifies endless rounds of the aforementioned sandwich.

So I'd like to ask the readers, if you would kindly participate, What is your favorite lunchtime menu?

Oh, and since I would like this to be actually helpful to me I'm going to ask for ideas that fit into these guidelines:

• Easy. Think "making a sandwich"--that's about how much time it should take. The exception would be if you have a suggestion that can be made in large quantities ahead of time and frozen. But even then I just don't do complicated/time-consuming. (I'm guessing I'm not the only one....)
• Homemade with simple, natural ingredients or simple pre-prepared foods. By "homemade" I mean only that it's not a pre-made meal or a box mix-type of thing. Unfortunately I just can't do things like heat up a can of soup because of Benjamin's allergy restrictions. Feel free, however, to suggest a fabulous, easy, homemade soup because even if your recipe has things in it that we can't eat I can probably modify it. :) An example of simple pre-prepared foods might be yogurt.
• Healthy. You know, balanced, not excessively fat-laden.... Nothing ultra-fancy just...sensible. The whole foods/organic/you-shouldn't-eat-x,y,z-main-food-groups school of thought is completely lost on me...just so you know. :)

I can't wait to see what we come up with!

New School Room!

I have been dying to do a post about our new school room, but I was waiting to get the last couple of things in place. Seth finished hanging the chalkboard on Saturday so our new space is now complete! I love how it turned out!

This is not "the" chalkboard mentioned above. This is our little chalkboard at the bottom of the stairs that lets the kids know what is happening that day. They always get really excited to see what I have written on it for the day. Before school started we had a countdown going on this board. :)

This is THE chalkboard. Seth made it for me! Isn't it awesome? I made the alphabet above the chalkboard on my computer and laminated it with my new laminator. (I love my laminator!) I made the curtain to match the rug under the chalkboard 6 years ago for Benjamin's nursery. I pulled it out and tweaked it a little to add some color to the room.

To the right of the chalkboard are my new Handwriting Without Tears posters. I printed the letter/number formation charts from their website and laminated them. (See? I told you I love my laminator. :) ) The HWT program depends heavily on using uniform language to talk about the formation of letters but last year I often forgot exactly what to say. Now I have a handy reference for myself, as well as a place to send the kids to "look it up" when they can't remember how to form a letter. I'm really excited about this. I think it will help a lot!

This is the teacher's desk :) We got this desk for free from a homeschool loop I recently joined. Seth got to (re) claim my old desk for his new office space. He had generously given me the only desk we had and was using plywood propped up on 2 cardboard boxes for a desk. He is happy because he gets a real desk and I'm happy because I gained 4 additional drawers for all my various school/office/craft supplies.

This is Leila's table. This is the table the older kids shared as a "school table" last year. Leila is thrilled to have it all to herself this year. She is so proud of her desk. :)

These are Leila's "Tot Tubs." I got the idea from this blog. (The blog author calls them "Tot Trays." I liked the trays but I couldn't find an affordable option to do it this way. I got these baskets at Dollar Tree.) Leila chooses from these activities for a short portion of our morning when I am working with the big kids. I rotate activities weekly.

I thought the kids would like a little place to sit and read. So far they've only used it as a step stool to help them flip over the back of the couch. Oh well. :) I made the pillows from a second curtain that used to hang in Benjamin's nursery.

This is Talia's desk. We bought desks and chairs for really cheap from a school that was remodeling. The blue board is something new I am trying this year. It summarizes the school day/week for each kid. (I got the basic idea for this board from the same blog I talked about above.)

Talia's board: Cubbies Verse, "Living it Out," and Memorization Review. Each week I will change out the pages (I taped plastic sheet protectors to the board using double-sided poster tape.) The "Living it Out" page is another new addition this year. I am trying to help my kids begin to understand how to apply Scripture to their lives so this page will list practical questions/answers or ideas on how to live out their memory verse for the week. The Memorization Review page shows things she is working on memorizing (like days of the week, months of the year, our address & phone number, etc.) When she starts learning how to write her letters I will also put the letter formation diagram for each letter she is working on that week under her name on the board. (I made these by cutting up the same letter formation charts I have posted by the chalkboard and laminating the individual pieces.)

This is "school central." The bulletin board has Benjamin's Make-A-Calendar (the first month is September so we won't start filling in the details until next week), our school memory verse (we will memorize a verse for each letter of the alphabet this year), today's weather/season, cards for some of our learning songs (Days of the Week, etc.), another poster I made for our handwriting program, and our "...of the Day" board (just for fun we have a letter/exercise, animal, color, shape, and character trait each day). I put velcro dots on each of the cards for the weather/season and "...of the day" items so we can easily change them out each day (yet another idea from my new favorite blog.)

The letter trays on the desktop are for lined writing paper, plain white drawing paper, scratch paper, and construction paper. The colored buckets on either side of the trays are for the extra "...of the day" cards. In the desk are all our kid-accessible craft supplies, math and handwriting manipulatives, science supplies, etc.

This is Benjamin's desk. His board displays his weekly Sparks verse, "Living it Out" poster, and his lists of spelling and vocabulary words. The little numbered squares are my attempt to help both of the big kids start to learn about their daily school schedule (they are a little too young to follow a written schedule or list) and at the same time save me from constantly hearing, "what should I do now, Mommy?" I based this system on workboxes, but I didn't really want to dedicate the space I would need for two sets of workboxes so I came up with my own twist.

Each kid has a "file box" (milk crate storage boxes we have used for toy storage in the past). I laminated 12 pieces of cardstock for each. Each "file card" has a number, matching the number squares you see on their work boards. I refill their workboxes each evening for the following morning. Behind each file card I place all the materials they will need to complete a single assignment (books, paper, worksheets, manipulatives, DVDs, etc.), excluding supplies like pencils, crayons or markers that they have readily available in their desks. If the task is an activity they will do with my help or a teaching time I velcro a "Work with Mom" square to the upper right-hand corner of the file card. I attach the corresponding number squares to their weekly board (velcro dots again!), along with squares I created for lunch, play outside, clean up, free play, etc. to create a visual daily schedule for them. When they have finished with a task they remove the number square from their boards and put it in the box on their desktop. This way they know exactly how much they have accomplished and how much they have left to do. So far they seem to really like this system. It has a few flaws (for example: it doesn't flow very smoothly when we have a joint activity like a read-aloud book since the book goes in one workbox and the other has an empty spot), but for the most part I like it.

And that, in a big long blog post (as opposed to a nutshell) is our school room this year! I hope you enjoyed the tour. :)

Age-Appropriate Chore Lists

Quite awhile ago I was influenced by a wise older mother to consider the benefits of training my children in specific duties so that by the time they entered their teen years they could successfully accomplish the basics of running a household. This seemed like a lofty goal to me, but also one worth pursuing. How to accomplish, or even begin to attempt this feat, however, was a bit more difficult. In true Kiersten-fashion I decided that I couldn't even begin to work toward this goal until I had a plan all mapped out. (Sigh. This "all or nothing" streak in me definitely has it's downsides.) I set about researching. I located and sorted through dozens of chore lists suggested for certain age groups. I cut and pasted, rearranged and consolidated, considered and planned over a period of several days until I had what seemed to be a good plan all mapped out in a handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet.

Benefits of Chore Training
I have been using these spreadsheets for about 2 years now and it has proven to be an extremely valuable tool for our family. Not only have they given me focus and direction for my training, but they have given the kids a sense of accomplishment as they have worked on and mastered new skills. Here are just a few of the benefits of chore training we have experienced first-hand:

• Promotes less burn-out for Mama  Any mama of young children knows that caring for every need of even one child is super exhausting! In my infant/toddler days a fellow mom (one with slightly older children) encouraged me that as the children got older each would begin to be more of a "plus" in the family, adding back into the life of the family while progressively "taking away" less and less. (This is not to minimize the blessing of young children, only a comment on their general effect on the logistics of the family in the first months of life.) Having a plan for assigning age-appropriate duties has helped us in the process of the "take-away" to "plus" transition, making for much less burn-out for Mama! Teaching my children to sweep the kitchen floor is certainly not the most efficient way to get the floor swept for those months of training, but over time they are gradually able to take over the task until it is no longer my job but theirs!
• Teaches our children to be others-focused  We all want our children to think of others, but how do we get there? Of course we talk about it and hopefully we model it, but another component is to expect it. One way we have begun to expect our children to think of others is by giving them jobs at home. As they do their jobs I try to emphasize that just as Mama cooks dinner for the whole family and washes the family's clothes, their jobs are a needed service for the good of our family. I believe my children's time is not wholly their own, merely to be spent on their own pleasures, but that I must teach them to spend themselves in service to others and in working hard for the glory of God.
• Helps me to overcome perfectionism  One of my biggest struggles has been and continues to be perfectionism. If left to myself I could definitely be one of those moms who would just do everything myself to make sure it gets done "right." Having a methodical system for teaching chores to my children has held me accountable to not fall into this trap.
• Reminds me to focus on the important, not merely the urgent  If you asked me what I want to accomplish in the few short years I have to shepherd my children I would likely give you a list of virtues, skills, and attitudes I believe to be crucial to a God-pleasing life. But ask me how I spend my days and some days you might not see any connection! We all seem to lament the tyranny of the urgent in our lives. We can tend to spend our days putting out little "fires" and wonder, as we fall into bed, "what did I really accomplish today?" By making a plan I was able to take that plan and build time in to my day to carry it out. Now many days my children are being trained in what I believe are important life lessons of skill and character little by little. And, as a bonus, as we work together over time there have become progressively less "fires" to put out!

The Lists
There is certainly nothing original about my chore lists; they are simply the result of compiling many ideas from various sources. But since it has been so helpful to me to have these more comprehensive list compiled, I would like to share them with my readers. On a logistical note: because I put lots of hard work into this project, please do not copy or post these lists on another blog or website without my permission. You are welcome to link directly to this post. These lists are for personal use only; please do not distribute. If you would like to use this resource in another context please contact me at: mamakiert@gmail.com. Thanks!

 9-12 months

18+ months

2+ years

3+ years

4+ years

5+ years

6-7+ years

8-10+ years*

11-12+ years*

13+ years*

*Please keep in mind my children are 7 and under. Tasks listed on these lists are based on recommendations from various other lists only.

Each list is arranged in the following sections: Personal, Household and "As a Learner." In the first two sections new age-appropriate tasks are listed as well as the tasks already learned from preceding lists. When a task is carried over from a previous list that task is placed in italics. In this way each list becomes a comprehensive record of skills from which you can draw your children's daily and weekly responsibilities at the given age. (I do NOT require my children to do everything on the list at any given time. The list is only a list of skills they are able to accomplish.) There are two exceptions to this format: 1. When a task becomes too easy it is dropped off the following list (i.e. "Do simple errands" from the 18 mo.+ list is dropped off of subsequent lists.) 2. When a task is learned progressively the next, harder step will replace the earlier task (i.e. "Sort laundry [hand things to child to put in appropriate piles]" from the 3+ list is replaced with "Sort laundry [clean and dirty] with supervision" on the 4+ list.)

The third section lists tasks the child can be learning to do at the given age. This concept is based on an apprenticeship model. For an apprentice to master the skill the following process is followed:

1. The master craftsman demonstrates the skill while the apprentice watches.
2. The master craftsman works hand-in-hand with the apprentice, guiding him through each step of the process.
3. The master craftsman watches while the apprentice demonstrates the skill, guiding and correcting immediately, as necessary.
4. The apprentice completes the task alone; the master craftsman examines the final product.
5. The apprentice is fully trained and able to complete the skill on his own.

The first three steps are what I have in mind for tasks listed in the "As a Learner" section. I have built into my schedule a 15-minute period each morning for teaching and training my children in these tasks. Sometimes we don't need this time if we are not working on a new skill, but it is helpful to have that time mentally set-aside for the times we do need a little training time in the mornings. Typically a task listed in the "As a Learner" section of one list is moved to the "Personal" or "Household" section on the following list.

How I Use the Lists
I have printed out a copy of each list for each of my three children (up to the current age of each), which I keep in a binder. When I started I checked off each skill they had already mastered, giving me a clear picture of the things we needed to work on. Even though Benjamin was nearly 4 when I began this system there were skills on the 2+ year list that he had not yet learned. I focused on teaching these skills first. I place a dot next to skills we are currently working on. When I think the skill is mastered I place a check on the list. When we move to a new list I first consider if a new level of skill may be appropriate for the new age (i.e. should I teach him how to dust more thoroughly than I previously required?) If so, I do not check it off; if not, I check off the item and use it to form the basis for a list of potential chores.

Periodically I review the lists to give me fresh ideas for assigning chores. I have two children who are able to do independent chores so I normally choose a core set of chores and then have the children alternate on a weekly basis. For example, currently our after-breakfast chores are: check/empty small trashcans and dust. One child checks and empties the bathroom-sized trashcans while the other picks one room to dust. The next week they switch jobs. After a few weeks (months?) I might choose 2 more chores for this time.

I'm still tweaking my system and I would love to hear how you approach chores in your family. What are your ideas?

First Day of School!

I think it's safe to say that I would have been a complete mess this morning had I taken Benjamin to Kindergarten to drop him off this morning. I have been emotional enough as it is! Yesterday was "promotion Sunday" at church and between seeing "K and 1st Grade" on the door and having multiple people comment on his pew-sitting in church (at our church Kindergarteners sit through church with their parents), I got teary several times. I can't believe how much my little boy has grown up!

Fortunately for me I'm not only the mama of a Kindergartener, but also the teacher--so I got to keep my big boy here at home this morning for his first day of Kindergarten. We had a great day!

Our morning actually started out a bit rocky. While Benj was beyond thrilled to be starting Kindergarten at church yesterday, this morning he had a bit more of a poker face about the whole thing. I'm not sure what was going on there, but thankfully his attitude improved after breakfast. Talia, on the other hand, was as happy as can be about her first official day of Preschool. Happy little Leila was just along for the ride. :)

Over the weekend Seth and I were sharing memories from our first day of Kindergarten with the kids. Seth specifically remembered that both of his parents took him to school. He wanted to be there for Benjamin's first day of Kindergarten too so he went into work late this morning.

After breakfast we went outside and took our "First Day of School" pictures.

We also got some of the teacher with her class. :)

At lunchtime I asked the kids what their favorite parts of school had been so far. Talia liked her new pencil box (chock full of new school supplies :) ) and our handwriting lesson, in which we played games with the Wood Pieces she will use to learn to build capital letters (to help her learn the names for each piece). Benjamin also loved Talia's games with Wood Pieces--they motivated him to finish his independent work quickly. :) Benjamin's other favorites today were learning about dinosaurs via our internet-linked Children's Encyclopedia and reading our new chapter book, The Boxcar Children.

We had a great start to our new school year! I can't wait for tomorrow. :)