Recipe for Smoother Days

Piece of Cake!

Good habits and routines make for a much smoother day at our house. But it takes a lot of work and consistency to start and keep good habits. God’s work can involve many tedious, under-appreciated tasks, but we should learn to find joy in them.

Get up, get ready!

Consistency in routine makes the day go smoother, especially if you have to do things like schedule many children around one bathroom! I have one phrase that sets my children into motion on their morning routines, “Do your four morning things!” Why four? Four things are easy to remember. (It really involves doing more than four things, as many sub-routines are included, but they don’t seem to notice.) I have taught them that if they are unable to perform one of the things because, for example, the bathroom is occupied, then they move on to another thing and come back to the incomplete one later.

All Messes Are Everyone’s Messes

Most of the messiness in our house is caused by group play, and so everyone must pitch in to pick up. This tends to work nicely and follow over into chores as well. I find that children would rather work together than alone, but getting them not to play and do the chore is the trick. Plus, the best cure for a messy child is to have them clean up after someone else’s mess. They start to realized that it’s very inconsiderate to be messy and not clean up after yourself. Making a pick up time a few minutes before meals is also a great incentive.

One thing at a time.

If you are anything like I am, you can feel overwhelmed by everything that seems like it needs to be done in one day. One way I combat this is to put each task on a sticky note and arrange them on a wall or fridge in order of importance. Remind yourself that there is always tomorrow and sometimes there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done – and be okay with that! Remember that children can help in small ways that can really make a difference – and they will learn the joy of service to others when you express your gratitude.

Think out loud.

Helping children prioritize on a general level is difficult. When is it time to play? When is it time to do chores? How do I know what I should be doing right now? I have started to ‘think out loud’ when putting together my daily schedule. Just stating that it’s time to pick up is not enough, they need to know what you are thinking to come up with the task that needs to be done. If children learn how to go through general priorities – hygiene, cleanliness, studies, chores, etc. – then they can start to figure out for themselves what they should be doing. So I would say, “First things first – is everyone done with getting ready for the day?” Then move on to, “After getting ourselves ready, we get our surroundings ready – is that done?” You get the idea.

It takes time and humans aren’t perfect

I always remind myself that children go through many phases, and keeping consistent through the phases is very important and ever so difficult. There will be things that they want to do, don’t want to do, can do and can’t do. There will be days they want to cooperate and days they don’t. On the days they are cooperative, I try to show them how much I appreciate it. The other times, I just try to get through the day as best I can with a smile. My goal is for my children to grow up to be adults that know joy in each task that is God’s work.

Wrap up the day

Bedtime is another good time for routine-building. Brushing teeth, getting on pjs, and picking up are just a few of the things we do. Something I heard the other day from a fellow parent was in regards to children that get scared at night. Ask them to talk to Jesus if they are upset. I am starting a new thing at our house – a short devotional time before turning into bed. I’ll write more about that later and let you know how it goes.