a NO PRESSURE daily schedule for kids PLUS an easy way to keep kids productive

let me just start by saying, we do NOT have it all together around here. there are moments of complete and utter chaos where i look around like, “how can i possibly rein this in? and then do it all over again next hour?”

sometimes i walk down the stairs and just want to cry at all the things i see messy and out and clouding my thinking.

by nature, i am a schedule person, but i started out this quarantine hesitant to do that to my kids. at first, i tried to be the go-with-the-flow mom. i saw schedules circulating online and i didn’t click. i had a good feeling trying to implement those schedules was only going to stress me out when they didn’t go well.

so we eased into this. i took a look at what our new normal day looked like – the natural progression from task to task. in the first few days i started writing down a working schedule. i caught my 6-year-old daughter peeking at the working schedule often, reassured by what she saw coming next.

that reminded me of something i already knew {but was afraid to force} – kids like structure.

this staying home is all different for them too. at school, they know what to expect. now at home, they weren’t really sure. is it like a weekend? is it like school? somewhere in between?

i know there are all kinds of schedules floating around out there. some are realistic, others are not. i decided to share ours this week in case you’ve been toying with the idea but feeling pressure to create or commit.

i like to think of our schedule as a ZERO PRESSURE SCHEDULE. it can be changed, edited, and personalized for your family and changed at any point in time. for these 3 reasons it can save your sanity:

1. it’s already done for you. all you have to do is download a copy to your computer and fill out the times and rows tomorrow as you go throughout your day. then the next day, tweak it if you need. same with day 3. don’t commit to anything until at least day 4. by then, i bet you’ll have a good working schedule to keep everyone feeling just a little more secure in the day.
2. you can stick to it when you need it, but you don’t HAVE to stick to it. after i was confident it was something that was doable for us, i stuck to ours for the first three days, to get the kids used to it. now, i can return to it when i want to, when it helps with my sanity, or when i think it will help with theirs, but i don’t have to stick to it all the time.
3. it helps the kids know what’s next, which cuts down at least on THOSE questions throughout the day. the kids don’t have to wonder if they are going to get to _____ {fill in the blank}. they know when ipad time is coming. they know when cleaning is coming {and that it’s coming everyday}. they know when lunch and dinner are coming. same with free time and outside time and movie time. the pressure is off of me all day to make those decisions. i can just say “check the schedule.”

we also started a fun LITTLE point system for this particular time at home. typically, we use a MOM BUCKS system {all about that awesome, sanity saving system here} and we’ve had the same simple chore chart that actually really works (here) for years. but for this, i wanted something just a little different and new.

for this reboot, the kids can earn points during the day for certain tasks {reading, playing outside, pitches, cartwheels, etc.} and then turn in the points for things they are constantly bugging me about. they can also lose points for arguing, asking the same question twice, butting into conversations, or acting put out when asked to do something. here are some of our rewards:

• 10 points for an extra 10 iPad minutes {and only 10 extra per day}.
• 20 points for a treat.
• 30 points for an extra tv show.
• 250 points for an ultimate sticker book
• 250 for a new water bottle
• 200 for new flip flops
• 25 each for magnetic harry potter bookmarks

some of this cost me nothing, i had some of it already, and grabbed a couple more items on amazon to keep things fun. again, easy, no pressure, and meant to save a MAMA’S sanity!

if you’re new…WELCOME! you can sign up and download this for your family here. already a subscriber? check out the LITTLE resource library and use your password to get to the “family and faith” section and grab copies for your family. {if you forget your password, just email and i will resend}.