Today my trusty timer has worked wonders.
Rather than just trying to follow our schedule, I set the timer each time for each activity. "Okay, you have five minutes to make your bed perfectly and get your sticker." Voila.
"Ten minutes to fold all of the laundry well." Incredibly, this works as a motivator for the kids and me! It seems that we can get SO much more done when we break it into baby steps.
"Fifteen minutes on addition and then a break before clocks and measuring." They did really well, and earned more stickers today then they have in the entire last week.
I give a little sticker each time a subject is completed neatly, without complaining, or for chores. When their whole sticker chart is full they get to choose a prize from my treasure box. So far only Isabelle has earned a prize throughout the summer.
Anyway, I'm happy about that!! Yesterday Ethan seemed to be dragging a bit, even with the "fun stuff." He stayed focused for about five minutes at a time, it seemed, but did much better with an end in sight today. My timer gives a one minute warning beep, which is super nice and really gets them in gear!!
Highly recommended...and apparently mother approved! I'm glad it works.
ReplyDeleteI accidentally hit the rate it button, oops, don't know what I did!
ReplyDeleteAllen makes fun of me and how addicted I am to using the timer. I love it.
Who's a great mom? Redy, set, go! Love the idea, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try it with the bunnies! :-)
Yeah, Ann-Marie, you let me know how that goes!
ReplyDeleteActually, I got the whole timer idea from Flylady's flybaby weekly chores. She says to set a timer for 15 minutes and get to work. Figured it would work well for kids, too!