I can’t even believe my kids are old enough to need something like this! But they are. It’s actually really exciting to start to help kids be independent and responsible!
Responsibility is so important for kids. Especially today. Kids are being sent so many different messages and need to be able to stand up for and take care of themselves. I think that if we teach our kids how to be responsible and independent in the home, they’ll be much stronger outside the home.
So begins our journey of helping our kids reach independence.
The amazing thing is, kids love being independent. It gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment. And the crazy thing is that they are capable of so much at such a young age.
I’ve found that I’ll ask Lanae to do something that I might think is a little harder than her current skill set, but I’m just curious to see how she’ll approach the challenge. So many times she surprises me by exceeding my expectations. It’s definitely taught me to never assume that my kids can’t do something.
Anyway, our kids are to the point where they can start doing quite a bit on their own. And they are often up before we are. So I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if they had all these chores done early in the morning and they don’t wait for me to tell them?
It definitely would be nice…
So Scott and I designed this morning checklist to help the kids get into a better routine in the morning. It is super cute and we used images to help them because they aren’t reading yet.
And I know my expectations might be a little high, but hey… if we don’t give them a chance, we’ll never know.
Every morning, when they roll out of bed the first thing they should do is make the bed. I’m still working on doing this every morning. So I honestly don’t expect perfection here!
Then they head to the bathroom to do their business, brush their teeth and wash their hands.
Next, they change their clothes and get all ready for the day. For Lanae, this actually includes brushing her hair, too!
If they didn’t go to bed with a clean room, they need to pick up their toys.
Next they can organize their books and we’ve actually asked them to read quietly in their rooms until mom and dad get up. We’re fine with them playing too, just as long as they don’t come bug us. Ha ha!
The last box is for morning chores. Which right now is just emptying the dishwasher. But we’ll probably be adding on to that soon!
And that’s it. We’ve framed them and hung them up in the kids’ rooms. So we’ll see how helpful they are!
If you love this checklist, go ahead and grab it!
Morning Checklist
