Check Off Morning Chart Success

I have to admit, I really do have it easy most days.  There are 3 mornings a week when I am mostly off the hook on the home front.  While my husband struggles to get the girls out the door on time and off to school before the bell rings, I am long gone and likely one hour into surgery, unable to be reached by phone, and totally in the zone.  While being a mother to two wonderful girls is the best part of my life, school day mornings can be very difficult, and I would much rather stop a bleeder at 8:30AM than beg two children to please just get out the door already.
This week, I took to the computer to draw up a morning routine plan for each girl that will help keep them on track.

This was really easy to create using Microsoft Word.  I just went into the templates and typed "checklist" into the search box.  I found the one I wanted under "checklist for child's chores", but there were lots more to choose from (including a "To Do List" that I will likely re-visit in the future).  Once I clicked to download the template, I was able to click in each of the fields to customize the chart.  By inserting clip art, I was able to make things a bit easier for my pre-reading 5 year old to understand. I tested this out one morning on a clipboard with a pencil to see if she would play along.  To my surprise, she loved it!  Getting ready became a game for her instead of a struggle.  We also were able to talk about the words on the sheet, the times listed and finding them on the clock, and cheer on her success!

Once I was settled on the task list, I stopped by the dollar store and found an 8x11 frame to place this into.  The next morning, it was waiting for her with a dry erase marker, and a note on the bottom that reads, "If I have all my boxes checked off, I had a really great week!  When I've done a great job, I get to have:".  This allows her to set a goal each week.  She felt really proud to check off all those boxes, and shows me when they are complete.

I've seen chore charts on loads of sites, but this one was easy, quick, convenient, and so far a success with us.  School starts Wednesday, so we will see if that success continues.  I hope it does!

Oh, and by the way, once Maddy got to try hers out, I had to make one up for my 8 year old too!  Maybe weekday mornings are about to become double the fun!

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