Today started TV Boot Camp at our house. This is by far the most amazing thing I've ever come up with as a parent. Originally we had decided on this after months of, "But I neeeeeeed tv!!" whine, whine, whine- and then when we shut the tv off... temper tantrums and crying. Insanity in my home!! I came up with Boot Camp, as retaliation basically, and I have never been happier.
We have changed our daily schedule and it's posted everywhere in our house. For the next 6 weeks, that's how long boot camp is, right?, this is our new schedule:
9:30 am- Breakfast
10:15- 10:30 am- Kids clean up after breakfast- this includes washing the table
10:30- 11 am- Journaling- which they love so this isn't really a punishment
11:00- 11:30 am- independent reading- they also love this
11:30- 12:30 pm- free play- self explanatory
12:30- 1:30 pm- chore time- today my oldest is vacuuming, the boy is cleaning bathrooms, and the baby is scrubbing marker off the wall that she thought belonged there
1:30 pm- lunch
2:15- 2:30- kids clean up again
2:30- 4:30- nap time- my favorite!!
4:30- 5:30pm- free play
5:30- 6:30 pm- chore time again-this one isn't so much chores as it is learning, we're going to learn what it takes to take care of all of our pets, and then we're going to go through the basics of doing laundry
6:30- dinner
7:15- 7:30- you guessed it- they're cleaning up
7:30- 8:00 pm- journaling
8:00- 8:15 pm- group reading- my oldest and I will take turns
8:15- 8:30- brushing teeth, getting on pj's, etc.
8:30- bed time
It's strict, but I think it's fair. I tried to have time for them to do things they love, and also to pay me back for having an attitude with me about the freaking tv for months and months now. If I had known that parenting could be this easy, I would have done this years ago. I knew kids needed a schedule, but it's been so awesome to see how quickly this has changed their attitudes. They're all so easy going, relaxed, and happy. After the punishment/ chore part of this is over, I'm going to revamp it to work for daily use!
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