How I Handle Screen Time with the Kids

It's a constant internal battle right?  How much TV/video game/computer time is too much?  How do I get the kids to adhere to whatever rules I set without constantly monitoring or nagging?  I had  noticed during the summer that it was very easy for the kids to get sucked into the screens first thing in the morning and have a hard time redirecting themselves afterward.  I would be in the garage working and when I would take a break at 9 or 10AM I would go inside to find them both still in pjs  glued to the tablet and generally the little guy hadn't even fed himself breakfast yet.  (I know - some of your kids sleep until then so it doesn't sound like a big deal.  We are a house of early risers and generally my kids wake up on their own by 7:00)  Not good.

Well, about a month ago I ran across a brilliant idea (found here).  Instead of setting limits on screen time, this mom sets up a list of things the kids need to do BEFORE they spend any time on the computer or TV and once those things are done they are free to spend as much time as they want with the screens.  The beauty of the plan is that you customize your list and change them as needed so that a good chunk of the day is spent doing the items on the list if you so desire.  By putting things on the list that are likely to get the child involved in other activitiess (outside play, something artsy or creative, etc) chances are they will get wrapped up in those activities and be less likely to spend as much time on the screens anyway.

The night after I found the idea I brought it up for discussion at the dinner table.  The kids and the husband were on board and we took the time to discuss what we all thought should be included on the lists.  Kaitlyn was highly involved in the process (she's 10) while Tyler was less interested (he's 8) but both were enthusiastic to start in on the lists as soon as I got everything typed up and posted in their rooms.

 Kaitlyn wanted her lists on her bulletin board and we taped Tyler's inside the doors on his nightstand.

Kaitlyn was so excited she took the initiative and made herself and her brother duct tape organizers to hold the dry erase markers so they could be within easy reach of the lists ;)

 We had decided the format we wanted to use for the lists would be a checklist with spaces for an entire week.  To save myself from having to print and reprint the lists I inserted them in page protectors so the kids can use dry erase markers and the lists can just be wiped off when they are ready to start the next week.  We also did two lists - one for days when the kids have school and one for the days without school (weekends, summer, holidays).  The lists are fairly similar for each child, the only difference being the amount of time each needs to spend reading and things they need a little more help remembering - like Kaitlyn remembering her asthma meds and to apply deordorant in the morning while Tyler's has a reminder that playing with the dog DOES NOT mean wrestling in the living room ;) - and there is a slight difference in their daily chores.  I also divided the lists into sections for Morning, After School, and After Dinner.  My main focus was on getting them to be self-directed (especially with the daily routine/chores) along with giving them some balance between responsibilities, play, creativity, learning (reading), and exercise.

Kaitlyn's List: For Days Without School

Breakfast:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, putting away food, wiping down counter/table where you ate

Vitamins, Medicine

Get Dressed: includes deodorant, comb hair

Brush Teeth:  with timer, rinse sink afterward and make sure towels are hanging up nicely

Make Bed

Unload Dishwasher (if it’s your day)

Feed/Water Bambi

Active:  60 Minutes

Reading:  30 Minutes

Creative/Productive (Play):  1 ½ hour

Play with Bambi

Chore(s)

Straighten up Bedroom

Clean Up Playroom

Dinner:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, helping to clear table and put away food

Take Out Garbage

Kaitlyn's List:  For Days With School

Breakfast:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, putting away food, wiping down counter/table where you ate, help pack lunchbox

Vitamins, Medicine

Get Dressed: includes deodorant, comb hair

Brush Teeth:  with timer, rinse sink afterward and make sure towels are hanging up nicely

Make Bed

Homework, put away lunchbox

Unload Dishwasher (if it’s your day)

Active:  30 Minutes

Reading:  30 Minutes

Creative/Productive (Play):  30 Min

Play with Bambi (not wrestling!)

Straighten up Bedroom

Clean Up Playroom

Dinner:  includes putting dishes in dishwasher, helping to clear table and put away food

Take Out Garbage

I'm happy to report that this system seems to be working really well and I have high hopes that the longer we keep at it the more self-sufficient and self-modifying my children will become.
Hey, a mom can hope, right? ;) 

Is Summer Really Over?

School has started and Labor Day has passed us by.  I suppose that really does mean Summer is over for the year.  It makes me a little sad since we've had such a great summer and I hate for it to come to an end.  Plus with temps in the 90s here in NC all week, the weather sure doesn't suggest that Fall is on it's way.

But.  When I think about fall I get really excited too - pumpkins and leaves and hot chocolate and sweaters and birthdays (what? you don't have half the family's birthdays all crammed into about 3 weeks at the end of Sept/1st of Oct like we do?!).  So I'm taking one final look back at all the great times we've had - road trips, boating, pool, beach, vacation, fantastic time spent with family and friends...

Yep - we did almost everything on the list!  And we will try to make the most of the last week or two that the neighorhood pool will be open for the season.  Then fall will be here and we will love that too. 

But, oh summer!  We will miss you!

Our Summer Bucket List

The kids are so close to getting out of school.  T-minus one week from tomorrow.  I know, I know - their school gets out a lot later than most.  Wish we could do something about it.  Then again, it did give me the opportunity today to spend some time at the pool, just me and a couple of friends and no kids.  Peaceful ;)

It occurred to me yesterday that we hadn't quite finished our traditional Summer To Do/Bucket List yet, even though we had started the list a couple weeks back when we were in the car trying to keep the kids entertained.  I took a couple minutes today to modify our list from last year and got the final thumbs up from the kiddos before printing it out and putting it in a frame.  Here is our list:

It reads:

 (   ) pool time, pool time, and more pool time    
(   ) go berry picking      

(   ) go boating      

(   )  take swimming lessons    

(   )  beach   

(   )  Tyler – try to water ski      

(   )  take lunch to Daddy at work      

(   )  roast marshmallows 

(   )  homemade rootbeer   

(   )  teach Bambi things (consistently sit, stay, etc)     

(   )   S & A - movie date night    

(   )  make ice cream

      (   )  go to a rodeo   

(   )  eat outside as often as possible    

(   )  Brag Tags      

(   )  Trip to Utah!!!    

(   )  playdates/fun with friends

(   )  watch a parade    

(   )  get grass to grow in the backyard     

(   ) ride horses     

(   )   visit farmer’s market     

(   ) library

(   ) hike Timpanogos   

(   )  try out a new restaurant    

(   )  try paddle boarding  

(   )  family fitness activities  

(   ) BBQ

(   )  family pictures    

(   )  K - read some of the BOB books from next year’s list    

(    )  K & T – learn to cook one meal   

(   )  HAVE FUN!!!

Officially Summer

You know what yesterday was, right?  June 21st - the official "beginning" of summer!  We're about two weeks into the summer here, which already feels both endless and as if time passing by much too quickly.  We haven't had many lazy days yet, but I know at some point they are coming.

And see?  The little one is already getting into trouble during down time (actually I have no idea when he did this - I spotted it when I got up this morning.  It's scotch tape and didn't pull off any of the already-chipping paint, so not a big deal other than the fact that he should know better than to put anything sticky on the furniture), at least a little bit.  Usually I combat the inevitable summer "boredom" with a list of Summer To Dos, and this year is no different.  We slowly compiled the list over the last few weeks and Kaitlyn in particular, was very involved in the process.  I love that she wants to read all the books on her bookshelf (she's got a fairly large collection and is turning into quite the reader - just like me!).
I'm pretty happy with everything on the list this year and I think we've struck a good balance between lots of fun and a few things that will feel a little more like "work."  And considering that summer has barely begun and at a quick glance I think we have participated in at least four or five of the items on the list I'd say we have a pretty good start.

So - here's to the first day of summer!  What's on your list??

Our List This Summer

 It has been my system for the last couple of years to sit down with the whole family and write up a list of things we want to do during the summer.  It serves to give us a bit of direction in what could be a series of long, hot, boring days.  Some of the bigger items need to be planned or scheduled ahead of time while the smaller things can be used to add a little fun when needed.  It's also just a fun activity overall, especially this year when the kids had quite a bit of input.  We ended up with a pretty good list incuding things like roasting marshmallows and learning to swim (Tyler) to visiting the beach and taking a trip to Utah to see the family.

Once we have the list, I type it up and make it all pretty so we can display it and check off the items as we go.  And with the second week of Summer just beginning we already have a great start on the list.  We've had lots and lots of pool time since our neighborhood pool opened.  We met some friends at the zoo for a fun day with the animals.  We fired up the fire pit and roasted giant marshmallows.

And we went berry picking - so fun!  Now there's an activity that gets addicting quickly.  The kids love picking the berries, especially since we go with another family that has become our designated berry picking buddies.  And we're all kind of obsessed :)  Last week we started out bright and early only to discover that we still weren't in time to get a shot at the raspberries (crazy!  they were gone by 7:30AM) so we stocked up on blackberries and blueberries (Kaitlyn's favorite) instead.  And then the true madness kicked in and we made a trip to a second farm where we picked strawberries (the last of the season) and loaded up on a few of the veggies they had for sale (sweet corn, baby potatoes, and green beans!). 

After that is was, of course time, to eat the berries (not that Kaitlyn hadn't been popping berries the entire time :)  ) - and oh how many great things there are to do with berries!  The kids insisted we make fruit smoothies as soon as we got home.  And of course we had the berries fresh with some fruit dip for lunch and dinner.  We had made arrangements to meet up with our berry buddies back at the pool that afternoon (which was of course great fun), then after showers (thus the scraggly hair in the above photo) Kaitlyn and I did some late-evening jam making.

We finished off the last of the berries on Sunday with homemade blackberry ice cream and blueberry crumble for Father's Day.  Now we're left wondering when we can manage to wake up early enough to get a shot at those raspberries...

Speaking of yummy summer food - We spend a good 3-4 afternoons or evenings down at the pool every week and snack food is in high demand right now.  So I got inspired and decided to let the kids mix up their own trail mix with items we had on hand in the pantry.  For that round I pulled out the peanuts, pretzels, sunflower seeds, mini marshmallows, raisins and white chocolate chips.  It was a huge hit with the kids!  It's my favorite type of summer "project."  Simple, quick, inexpensive, and easy to personalize.  I'm already gathering items for the next round of trail mix making - cashews, dried berries, goldfish crackers.  What else would be good in trail mix?

Summer

With today being the official First Day of Summer, I thought it fitting that I finally get around to finishing up our list of things we want to do before school starts again. This has been weeks in the making. I had Kaitlyn help me start writing the list at least 2 weeks ago (those are her fingers pictured above). Then I saw this cute Summer To Do list over at Eighteen25 and knew I wanted to cutesy mine up a bit. Today I finally had the opportunity and motivation to put it all together - an entire month into summer vacation. :)

I've also decided that we need a little bit more direction, more structure in these long summer days. It so easy for time to get away from me and half the day is gone before I bother to make sure the kids get dressed (and forget about the sunscreen - eek!). Or half-way through the day we've done everything we could possibly think of and have no idea what to do with ourselves. So I came up with a plan, of sorts. This too was a long time coming, it has been on my mind since at least a couple weeks before school ended. But as with many things, it took a while to put it in motion, partially because I was wondering how much structure I would really want with my days.
Here's my plan, or rather, my list (my name is Alayna, and I am a list-a-holic;) ). I still kept it kinda vague, in order to allow for lots of freedom and flexibility. It is summer after all.
Every day I want to:
-get everyone dressed and ready for the day (including sunscreen!) by 9AM. If we are having a lazy day and I let them turn on the TV when they woke up, this is when it goes off.
-chore time is 9AM. Hopefully I will have started on my To Dos for the day by that point. Either way, this is when the kids need to make beds, clean up any toys they aren't currently playing with, do their "special chore" for the day, etc
-make sure the kids do a learning activity of some sort every day. Could be a craft, worksheets, etc. Also includes daily reading practice for Kaitlyn. (I printed off a stack of worksheets today and had them do a few this afternoon. Kaitlyn has labelled it "home school" time - which she enjoys.)
-make sure we spend some time outside (weather permitting - it's been really crazy)
-final clean up time is 7:30 PM. All toys need to be put away inside and outside. Bathtime. Then some down time with a cartoon before bed.
Every week I want to:
-take a trip to the library
-Book of the Week - select a book and use it as a mini theme for the week. I don't want this to be a huge thing, but I would like to do one craft, one physical activity/game, and one learning activity that goes along with each one. I'll lay out some of my plans for you later this week.
-picnic at the park (I think this is going to be scheduled every other week with the neighborhood)
-plan a fun family outing (from the To Do List :) )

So what's on YOUR Summer To Do List?