I constantly realize how important it is to have two parents raising children, instead of just one. Of course, the raising of the children is my primary responsibility as the mother of the house, but luckily I have Brian too. Recently, he came up with a great idea that has not only benefited Wes in a great way, but it's also been a great help for me!
This is our schedule chart. Wes, like many other kids, benefits greatly from a schedule and routine. I actually really love having a plan for the day, too. Brian came up with this idea before our holiday plane trips and made a picture schedule for Wes so he knew what he was supposed to be doing and what would be coming next. It worked great! Brian thought it would be a good idea for us to implement it at home, so through some collaboration, we came up with a magnetic picture schedule. We printed pictures on magnetic 4x6 paper and got a magnetic dry-erase board and ta-da! Done and done.
Wes has really liked his schedule and often asks, "What's next on our schedule, Mom?" It has also helped me to include things like letters, numbers, singing, dancing, art time, etc. in our day because I give them a set time since they're on the schedule. Of course, some days the schedule goes to pot, and there's a lot more TV watching that happens (which had always been more the norm before), but that's the beauty of flexibility (and movable magnets)!
We also organized our toys in to various boxes (balls, cars/trucks/airplane, pretend, Little People, etc) so we can put a box on the schedule, it can be played with, and then put away. I was getting so overwhelmed with all the toys appearing upstairs after I had just taken them downstairs. This way, all the boxes are downstairs, and the kids either play in the basement or bring them up one at a time.
On today's schedule (above) from morning snack (crackers) to puzzle time, science time (grow capsules from the dollar spot at Target...love the dollar spot), lunch, nap/quiet time, Play-doh, 30 min. show, fruit and vegetable time, pretend box (still needs a magnet), letters, have a friend over, dinner time, watch a movie, bath, brush teeth, read scriptures, say prayers, and then bed (we move the magnet from nap time).
The schedule's been going well since we started it. The key is that I actually use it! Today, I didn't plan the day until after snack time, so I need to be better about doing it the night before.
Another added bonus that came about from the afternoon snack magnet and a tip from Wes' preschool teacher is fruit and vegetable time. Our afternoon snack is now always (unless I'm feeling exceptionally lazy) fruits and vegetables - both of which are incredibly challenging to get Wes to eat. As a family, we're good about eating fruits, but not really vegetables, so this is good for all of us. So now I usually cut up some fruits and/or vegetables and have some kind of dip. The above picture was strawberries, bananas, apples, and celery with chocolate and peanut butter. I didn't anticipate how big of a mess it would make, but the kids enjoyed it!
If I just have veggies, Wes will generally go hungry rather than eat them. (I don't force him to eat - or even try anything - during his snack time even though if he doesn't, he's usually starving and thus, an emotional mess come dinner time...takes after his mamma.) :)
I did make him a smoothie the other day with carrots, celery, pineapple, blueberry, apple, yogurt, and honey. Good thing the kid loves smoothies, otherwise he only would have eaten the apples (and yogurt and honey) and even then it would have been iffy. I don't want to do smoothies every day though, because then he'd never even see any vegetables.
Unfortunately, he doesn't like Ranch dressing so I need to experiment with other dips for veggies. He's funny about trying new things (like most kids his age, I suppose) and actually didn't like the fruit dip (marshmallow creme and cream cheese) I made one day, even though he loves marshmallows. I just thought of hummus...any other suggestions?
All-in-all, he's seeing more fruits and vegetables and potentially eating more. I, on the other hand, am getting a lot more since I eat all the leftovers! I'm a big fan of fruit and vegetable time!
