Almost school time again!

School starts exactly one month from today!  It's time to get it in gear and spend a few less days in pj's and swim suits.  Not that we won't still do that as long as possible, we just may not be able to do it everyday!

For the past 3 years, I've had a tradition of back to school shopping with one child at a time.  This started for a few reasons.  One, shopping with five kids is total chaos.  Two, the four kids that are waiting while the other one tries things on or picks things out get grumpy quickly.  Three, it's hard to find one-on-one time with each kid and this is the perfect way to make it happen.  Four, they really look forward to having a day that is just for them!


Today we started our annual shopping trips.  Mr. Adventure went first this year.  Although his behavior is tough sometimes, in this setting, he's very easy.  He doesn't have strong preferences about what we buy, he's willing to try things on as long as we don't walk past a toy or food aisle (those items get him hyper focused on asking for them instead of doing what I'm asking of him), and he's totally happy to be finished shopping as quickly as possible.  And it was nice to just have him to focus on...he needs that from me.


I have the rest of the kids' shopping days scheduled and am totally blessed that My Hero's work schedule is so flexible!  I also have a budget that I work very hard to keep.  It is such a privilege to be able to have new (and gently used) clothes for the kids....we try hard to keep that in perspective and to use our resources wisely.  Once Upon A Child is my favorite consignment store! 


I also have a growing list of things that need to be done, or that we want to do, in these last few weeks of summer.  It sure does go by quickly....

Chore Chart

Although my kids are fairly young, all five are between the ages of 3 & 10, they're old enough to have a few chores and responsibilities.  In a family the size of ours, everyone has to do their part!  I've tried various systems in the past to remind and reward them, but I've had a hard time keeping up with it.  Once I tried listing all of their very basic tasks (brushing teeth, making bed, getting dressed, etc) and it was helpful for getting them into the routine of doing those things without being asked.  But once they got it, I realized they needed more of a 'responsibility' to feel like they actually accomplished something and that they were truly helping the family.


So, this week, we assigned tasks to everyone and started a new charting system.  Mr. Smiles has 2 chores that are more difficult and that really help me a lot!  Miss Giggles & Miss Smoopy have easier tasks, but things that still have to be done each day.  Mr. Cuddles only has to put his toys on the shelves in his room before bed each night.  And Mr. Adventure has a unique behavior-related task, since taking responsibility for his actions and remaining calm are my biggest needs from him right now. 


We worked together as a family to set the rewards based on how many days they complete their task each week.  We also decided that they would be able to receive the reward that coordinates with their number of check-marks, and be able to choose one item from the list below that level.  For example, if they complete their task 6 times this week, they get to stay up 1 hour past bedtime.  They also can choose something else on the list like  playing a computer game (which is the reward for completing their task 3 times).  We're trying to encourage them to keep working each day, even if they've already gotten to the reward that they want. 


So far, they're super excited to work toward their rewards.  It's sweet to watch them encourage each other to get their job done before the end of the day.....one more thing to celebrate about having a large family!