Now that the older kids

are in school and

YOU get YOUR TODDLERS

ALL TO YOURSELF

It’s time for Toddler Bootcamp!

The word “Bootcamp” is mostly for the mom’s

because raising a toddler takes a lot of work!

If you have a toddler you know they are BUSY little people

and very curious, to say the least.

“Terrible Two’s” is phrase you hear often when

you have a todder, and the “Three’s” are often filled with

the same adventures.

They want to know how everything works,

what it feels like,

and how to do new things.

This curiousity and desire to learn is what

gets them into a little trouble sometimes.

I LOVE to be around toddlers. They actually want to be

wherever you are . . . doing whatever you are doing.

They love to work

and they still think they’re parents are COOL!

To them JOBS are like a game or a new adventure

EVERY TIME

they get to try something new, and once they have

learned a new skill . . . it’s fun to see

their self-esteem blossom!

This chore system is perfect for training.

They can see the pictures and they can even pretend to read them.

Each chore picture says, “I CAN . . . “

and then it will show the picture as well as the word for the action

followed by the words “CAN YOU?”

They get so excited when they can answer, “YES!”

Have your toddler pick some of the jobs he or she would like to do.

I use anywhere from 5-10 cards at a time

depending on the child’s age.

(Boy)

(Girl)

(I think they’re are about 40 different chore options!)

The great thing is that they fit into the child’s hands and can be

carried with them from job to job.

When my boys where younger,

I would point to the words,

“I Can”

and have my boys “read” them out loud.

They began to recognize the words

even if they couldn’t actually read at the time.

Then they would see the picture and say what it was.

They loved pretending to read the big words at the bottom!

(That was back in the old days . . . now days, they’re born reading!)

No Pressure!!!

To Make the Toddler Charts

You Will Need:

To print the PDF.

Cut into individual cards.

Laminate the cards.

Punch a hole in the top of the cards.

You will also need to purchase a “C-Ring”

to keep the pictures together.

That’s it . . . the rest of the work has been done for you!

Boy Toddler Chart Pack-2

Girl Toddler Chart Packet

Remember to work along side your toddlers.

They will love the extra attention!

It’s the perfect time to

TEACH AND ENCOURAGE!

We created this artwork “JUST FOR YOU!”

For personal use in your OWN HOME ONLY and NOT

for RESALE . . . It’s got our copyright!

If you would like to share, please refer them to THIS blog!

Thank My Peeps!

Opening Song:  Families Can be Together Forever

Opening Prayer

Scripture:  Read from the Proclamation (the portion at the top of the Family section in For the Strength of Youth pamphlet) then read the Family section in For the Strength of Youth

Discussion:   Talk about what makes a happy family.   Ask:  How can you do your part to build a happy home?  Is our home happy?  When is it happy? (when we are kind and considerate of others)  When is it unhappy?  (when we are selfish and unkind to others)    Talk about what it means to respect your parents.  Ask:  How do you show respect?  (help when you are asked, participate in family activities with a positive attitude)

Activity:

Principles to Make our Family Happy

Application:  Talk about your summer schedule.  Explain what your expectations are each day and have everyone agree to pitch in.  Explain that if everyone helps out in the morning they will have all afternoon to play and have fun.  Being part of family includes showing respect and helping out around the house.  Have them sign the T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) committing to being a member of the Family Team!

TEAM

Closing Prayer

Treat :  You can eat the treats you made during cooking time today if you used the job chart I created!   If you didn’t have cooking time make a quick treat together before Family Home Evening so you can eat it when you are finished.  My kids love to make chocolate chip cookies together!

Valerie talked about getting back into a routine after school begins.  Sometimes that can be a challenge.  I believe routines really work but it may take some time to figure out what works best for you!  Don’t be afraid to keep working on it until you find what works for your family.  We all have different kids, different activities and different priorities.  You need to find what works with you and go with it!

Morning, evening and weekly routines can really help your family know what to expect.  Evening routines become even more important during the school year.  Your evening routine now includes bath time, homework time, reading time,  family time, and possibly time for a chore or two!  Kid’s will resist less if they know what is coming next.  We all have busy lives and some consistency is important with your kids.  Decide now when homework will be completed, where they will do it and where they will keep their supplies.  Make sure they understand what is expected and when.  Sit down and discuss what will work with your schedule.  If they know that right after dinner they need to start homework, then baths, then reading time, family prayer and lights out, your job will be a lot easier! 

There are a few things that you can do before you go to bed to make your life a little easier in the morning.  To start with, do a quick clean in the evening.  Have your family get in on the action too!  Set a timer and pick up for 10 minutes each night.  If you need to, you can use the clutter bug once this time is up.  The clutter bug eats all the clutter that remains after 10 minutes and your kids will have to do chores in order to get their clutter back.  A few nights of the clutter bug coming out and your kids will be sure to make their 10 minutes of pick up count every night!   The next thing you can do is prepare for the morning by packing back packs, checking the lunch calendar so you are prepared to either make a lunch or send money, check the calendar so you know what is happening the next day.  A get ready shelf, basket or bin of some kind can also be helpful here.  Everything you need for the morning can be put on this shelf so that it is ready to go out the door when you do!  For some reason time seems to run out quickly in the morning.  A little preparation the night before can make things go a little smoother, not to mention a little happier!

Last night gave me a wake up call.  We were so active during the summer that I got out of the habit of planning my menus consistently.  It was 5:40 pm, we were at my 6 year old’s soccer game, and my husband said, “After our meeting gets done, I will only have a few minutes to eat dinner before I go to bishopric meeting.”  Soccer was from 5:30 to 6:30, we had a meeting for our other son from 6:30 to 7:30, mutual for our oldest at 7:00, then bishopric meeting.  At that point I realized I had forgotten to THINK about dinner and my mind was racing frantically trying to figure out what I could possibly fix in 10 minutes.  Ha!  Have you ever whipped up a nutritious meal in 10 minutes while at a soccer game?  Yesterday would have been a perfect day for a crock pot meal.  Now, here I am at a soccer game, stuck.  At that point I was just hoping my husband had eaten a large lunch!

 

So today is a shout out to everyone reminding you to get back in the swing of things and plan your menus ahead of time.  With so many schedules combined together, you may only have a small window of time to eat dinner together.  By looking ahead at your calendar and planning appropriately, you can have those crazy days like mine and still sit peaceful knowing dinner is already cooked at home ready to be eaten.

 

We have great tools to help you plan.  Our Weekly Menu Planner notepad and Shopping List notepad are currently on sale right now.  They will be that way until we get closer to lowering our quantities, which will be very soon.  I’ve got mine ready to use as soon as I am done blogging.  Feel free to leave any other suggestions on our blog as to what works great for you.  We love to get new ideas and share them with everyone!  Happy meal planning, everyone!

Are you exited your child or children are back in school?  Or is it a stressful time for you?  Do you find that you don’t quite have it together yet and are wondering when you will?  I wanted to give everyone a few reminders that we have talked about in the past that are very relevant to this time of year.  Remember that as your children’s schedules change, so does yours.  Routines are a vital part of having your household running smooth and stress free.  However, many people forget to adjust their routine as a new part of life happens.  Whether that’s because of school time, having a baby, a new job, a new place to live, or a combination of all of them,  you are always having to look at your routine and decided if it is still effective.  You may have to change your routine all together, or maybe you might have to just tweak it a little.  Remembering to address this can take a lot of stress out of your life and your children’s lives too.

 

My oldest son is in Jr. High now and has a hard time adjusting when it comes to time management.  With more homework loaded on, practice time with his instrument, and his chores at home, it has been a struggle this last week.  He did not realize that his play time has been significantly reduced if he leaves all of this to do after school.  By adjusting what he does in the morning, he can then produce more free time for himself later on.  This is not something that most children think about all on their own.

 

Challenge:  Take some one on one time to sit down with your child and talk about their daily routine.  Let them write down what they do everyday.  Help them to see where they can move items around to produce more free time for themselves.  Ultimately, this is what every child wants more of, yet has a hard time figuring out how to do it without their grades suffering in the process.

 

Most of all remember to have fun, at least once a day, with your child.  School time doesn’t have to be crazy and out of control.  You can do it and have fun in the process!

So how long does it really take to fold a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, or clean a toilet?  I’ll bet the answers would surprise you!  We dare you to take the challenge AS A FAMILY to find out how long each of the jobs you have take.  Post the jobs with the times on the fridge and then if someone in your family (or even you for that matter) complains and thinks it will take forever, you can walk over to the chart and ease their mind.  You can make this a part of a weekly challenge to see if the times can be beat.  Prizes can be given for the most improved times.  Use our good job jar coupons as part of the prizes!  I know it sometimes feels like it takes forever to fold the laundry so we just keep adding to the pile until . . . it does take forever!  Most of the jobs in your home will take less than 5 minutes.  It’s a lot easier to give up 5 minutes at a time than it is to give up 30 minutes.   

Time flies whether you’re having fun or not . . . I hope you choose to make your jobs a little more FUN!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUVZM_fk4Rs[/youtube]

Step 2 is definitely my favorite organizing tip out of everything we talk about!  It’s probably because I always feel like I’m in “survival mode” with my house!  This step saves me almost everyday!  It’s so much a part of my routine that when I can’t do a  daily quick clean, I feel lost.  My challenge for you this week is to try it out!  Set a timer and really see how much you can get done in a room in only 5 minutes.  Even when I’ve faced a complete diaster of a room, I’ve been surprised to see how much can get picked up and straightened in only 5 minutes.  I know you are going to love this step in organizing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUBtnNWRPUg[/youtube]

 I love Step 2 in our 10 Step book.  It is one of my favorite tips!  If you just do Step 2, you will find that you can get away with people thinking your house is clean all the time even if it’s not!   You will never have to experience heart failure when your doorbell rings ever again!  You will be prepared.

The idea is to spend 5-10 minutes a day in each room doing a quick pick up.  You may have to spend 10-15 minutes in the kitchen.  Start with the most visible areas (i.e., the entry way, living room, family room, etc.) and work your way through your house.  When starting this routine, it is helpful if you write down the order that you are going to clean your rooms in.  This will give you a direction and make it easier to stick with.  Set a timer if you have to in order to keep you on track.  When the timer beeps, it’s time to move on.  The real trick is to stay focused and not get distracted!  Carry a basket with you and put all the items that don’t belong in that room into the basket.  As you go from room to room put the items away or have your little ones become the runners and they can put things away for you.  This will save you from running all over the house putting things away and starting new projects in each room!  Don’t be tempted to clean out junk drawers or closets that have been driving you crazy.  Stick to the plan and get the house in order first. 

No matter what happens that day, you will at least feel like you accomplished something!  I suggest a quick pick up in the morning and at night to keep things in order.  It makes a big difference in the way your house looks and feels! 

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi5qEmXemAA[/youtube]