A Little Order Goes A Long Way.

A crazy week can still be an organized week.  My four year old is walking through the house trying to find his little brother in order to ask him one simple question.  "What does chore mean?" Yup! That's right we have introduced chores to our middle child who needs his energy to be channeled in order to be productive.

I found another online site that has helped me tremendously.  Although I could create my own documents to make our home more orderly, I really don't have the time to add that into the mix of things at this time.  I just needed to click and print for free.  You can also check it out at

www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com 

Along with daily chore lists, we now have a behavior chart as well.  I filled it in with the things that the kids need to work on.  For instance, sharing, using good words, using our inside voice, telling the truth, etc.  While going through our daily evaluation...that sounds so serious.  But it takes about 15 minutes of sitting down with your kids to find out where they are at.  I asked Isaac if he had been using good words... and to my knowledge he had.  But apparently he had heard something and repeated knowing that it was wrong... and in great conviction he spoke out and told me that he had said something that he didn't need to.  When I told him he couldn't have a sticker on that one for the day.  He looked down at the floor and said, "I'm sorry mom."

I think its important for us as moms to take a time out and do an evaluation and just let our kids know that we care about their character on a daily basis.  For them to see on paper where their strengths and weaknesses are, really helps them to understand what you are trying to accomplish.

For my six year old we printed off a "Reading Log" so that we can keep track of which books he has read and how many pages on which days.  We go to the library once a week and pick out at least 7 books that Aiden can read for that week.  He has to read at least one book per day.

Not only is this system working, but they understand that not fighting or whining and sharing, doing their schoolwork, and helping around the house is a part of everyday and it really helps this momma out! Bringing order to chaos helps so much.  Even if your house is torn up... you can still find great satisfaction when you can see order in your children.