I am stuck in a giant funnel and the funnel is called… GET THE KIDS TO SCHOOL ON TIME.
And I drop the four steel balls in the funnel and watch them circle the drain around and around until they naturally just go right through the hole with a smile on their face and a spring in their step.
If only…
If only it were that easy. At any given point, my little steel balls crash into each other and leap right out of the funnel into oblivion– taking our routine and my sanity right along with them.
Right now, my house kind of looks like the race cars picture except all the cars are racing away from each other.
That first week or so of school is just HARD because you’re establishing a new school routine.
Like me, you may have littles who can’t *quite* do everything themselves.
Or, you have bigs that still act like they’re little, who still need constant motivation.
I have only ONE reminder in the morning for my kids:
“CHART!”
I created a really quick and easy picture chart for them to gather all their stuff.
If they forget something, it’s because they did not look at the chart.
Because, grace is always in play… I’ll occasionally throw a verbal help out there, especially the 4-year-old who is still reaching the point of accountability.
But for the most part, if they forget something, they suffer the natural consequences.
Mama… hang with me on this one. Let them learn the “hard” lesson. The lesson is going to be much softer at home than it will be later in life. Sometimes, a lesson learned the hard way will be a lesson never forgotten.
And when you want to say “I told you so,” just give them a hug instead. Their pride has been wounded and the lesson was learned. They need mom for reassurance.
Would you like that handy little chart?
Just visit this link, sign up for my emails and a link to the download file will go straight to your inbox!
An American humorist, writer and author. When boiling down the chicken soup of life, she finds those golden, fried nuggets of truth & writes them long after the kids go to bed.
