Thursday, February 24, 2011

DIY reusable to-do list


Simon's starting Montessori in August (or September--whenever school starts) and I think he'll benefit from a set schedule each day. Currently, our days are full of improvisation and winging it, with me cutting in and out of his playtime to steal a few minutes here and there for my projects and housework.
But no more.
Tomorrow, we try the Daily Routine--a DIY reusable to-do list that organizes the day by chunks of time and activities. It's loosely based on our current loosely scheduled day. My hopes are that:
  1. Simon will enjoy the routine. I hear that 2-year olds are big on that sort of thing.
  2. The routine will help Simon deal with Jim's travel schedule, which picks up next month.
  3. This will make me less likely to try to steal time for cleaning, cooking, etc. while spending time with Simon when he starts to get grumpy and needs attention. (Not every day is like that, mind you, but days when I have stuff to do--baking, cleaning, working, etc.--it's hard to balance it all.)
I wrote out the timeline on a piece of binder paper and had it laminated at our local printer.
I left spaces on the right side of the chart to use a dry-erase marker to fill in specific goals for the day. For example, tomorrow it's supposed to snow here (!) so our outside activity from 9:30-noon is to find some of the white stuff (as I've heard it called) to play in. 10am, snack, which will be packed between 8:30-9:30am while Simon plays, will be hot cocoa.

Jim warned me not to get too uptight about the schedule--as is my way--so I'll try to roll with things tomorrow and see how they go.

PS: Yes, I referred to myself as "Mommy" throughout the schedule. Pitiful.
PPS: No, despite the fact that Simon and Mommy are the only ones featured in the schedule, I am not a single parent. Jim's schedule varies so much with work, training and travel that it seemed best to form the schedule and enjoy the times and places where Jim is able to fit into or vary it.

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