With school back in session we have been working on our “School Routine”. My first grader has been trying to learn to read a real clock, so I thought it would be fun to set his schedule to it. This is what I came up with and it took me less than 10 minutes to put together:
I broke up some of the basics and wrote each of them down on slips of card stock. Then I used small scraps of paper from cutting the slips to tape onto the clock to use kind of like arrows for each “job”. The whole morning routine takes us 45 minutes. The steps/jobs we included:
- Wake Up
- Eat Breakfast
- Get Dressed
- Socks and Shoes
- Brush Teeth
- Backpack Ready
The clock is placed in a corner of a hallway that is not used for anything else. We can see it on our way down the stairs and from the family room. Like I said, it is basic, but it so nice to ask “What is next on the clock?” instead of nagging my son to do what I tell him. It is a little more responsibility on him and he seems to enjoy it. I have even had him ask me, “Mom! Have we done everything on the clock? What does it say we need to do next?” Okay, so he likes having a little more control of his morning!
I have also added a little incentive for him, too. I am attempting to limit television and computer time after school, so if he finishes his “morning routine” before school then he gets 10 minutes of computer or television time after school. I will share more on that another day. =-)
TIPS:
Last year we practiced lunch a couple of days before school and a few times after school started to make sure my son knew how to behave in the lunch room. This year, we were able to run through our routine once or twice before school started. We started on whatever half hour we woke up on and used it to get ready for the day. I have found this is also helpful for getting ready for church, too.
Leave a Reply