Your Teacher's Aide

Create a 'No Yelling' Summer Routine For Kids

2020-05-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's summer again and the kids (and their teachers! Woot!) are home! This means loads of opportunities for more family-fun time and memory-making moments. Annnnd more chances for whining, fighting, cleaning up messes, getting burnt out... well, you get the picture.

So here's our summer challenge this year: use a few tricks and tips to create a fun, enjoyable summer for both our kids AND for us. Let's go!

Challenge #4: Create a smart "no yelling" daily routine

A great summer day can spiral downhill fast if mom or dad feels like all they do is yell at their kids all day (ironically, that was my day today with one of my kids. Sigh.) We might not be able to avoid all the tense moments in each day, but we can try to get rid of a few of the predicable ones by creating a smart daily routine for our kids.

Just like in the classroom, kids thrive on having a routine. Now, we're not talking about a rigid, never-changes schedule... more like a 'this works for us' schedule.

Here's how to create a smart schedule:

Step 1: Make a to-do list.

Make a list of things you want your kids to do each day that they don't like to do unless you nag or yell. For us, this list includes four categories:

the general daily clean up of all.the.stuff.
jobs that need to be done daily (empty dishwasher, wipe down the bathroom sinks)
a few random, every-once-in-a-while chores that need to be done (strip down beds, dust)
the activities that they don't always choose to do, but are good life-skills (daily reading, playing board games with siblings)

Step 2: Add "When___, then _____" moments to your day.

Identify the predictable parts of your day that your kids enjoy: mealtime, snack time, screen time, friend time, time with parents, etc.

Before each fun moment in their routine, add an item from your to-do list. For example, in our house our "When______, then _______" moments look like this:

"When you get your morning chores done, then you can watch a PBS kids show while you eat breakfast." (morning chores: in our house, each big kid has a daily job and once-in-a while job that they have to do when they first wake up. They also have to clean up their bedroom and the upstairs basket. This is what we call their 'morning chores.')

"When you clean up all the kid's stuff from the downstairs, then you can eat lunch"

"When you empty the baskets, then you can have your screen time." (We have a large basket on each level of the house... throughout the day, I toss kid stuff into the basket to keep things sort of picked up. The kids are in charge of emptying the basket before any special events can happen.)

"When you take a shower and get your pjs on, then you can have your dessert"

Step 3: Identify the rough parts of your day and target them.

There are three parts of my day that are predictably hard for me:

(1) The dinner hour, because I am trying to multi-task and my kids are melting down.

(2) Nap time when my two big guys- who don't nap- want to be loud and/or play with me during my typical 'quiet time.'

(3) Allllll the time between meals where all I hear is 'can I have a snack?' 'is it time for snack?'

Once I figured out these few times needed adjusting, I was able to brainstorm some solutions and put them into our routine. The dinner-prep hour became the 'play outside' part of our schedule (or a bonus screen-time moment if it is a rare rainy day).

To get the quiet-time I needed during naps, I made the rule that the big guys had to do their 20 minute of reading then, followed by playing a game together (cue evil mom laugh) in the guest room. It knocked off two of my to-dos (reading and games) and gave me an hour of quiet time.

I assigned specific times for snacks (10 and 3) so that they didn't have to wonder when the next treat was coming.

Are your early-risers creating stress for you? Tell them that if they can tip-toe into the playroom when they wake up without waking up mom and dad (after they clean their room, maybe) then they can watch a morning show before breakfast.

Is lunch a mess-creating, stress-causing moment? Maybe assign one kid to be in charge of making and cleaning up lunch each day. Or spread a blanket outside and have a picnic each day to minimize the mess. Or give yourself the luxury of paper plates and cups to make lunch clean-up easier.

Step 4: Write it all up and hang it where the kids can see it.

Like I said, I'm not telling you to write a minute-by-minute schedule..... but knowing what's coming next and what is expected of them helps your kids (and you!) navigate the day better.

Just to give a real-life example, here's what our schedule looks like:

---------------------------------------------

Wake up

Do morning chores / clean up the upstairs.

Watch PBS Kids show & eat breakfast.

Do a 'whole house clean up' - downstairs cleaned up and baskets emptied.

Play

10- eat a snack (if baskets are empty)

Lunch (if baskets are empty)

Quiet Time: naps / reading & game time

3- snack (if baskets are empty)

outside play time

dinner

showers / pjs

family time / dessert (if we have it)

bedtime

---------------------------------------------

Just a note: we don't always follow this to the letter. Life looks different here each day, but a good chunk of our routine usually stays the same. If we find that one part of our schedule isn't working well for us, we scrap it and change it. There are no hard and fast rules here :)

Want to continue to create a fun and stress-free summer? Check out all the Summer Challenge posts here.

FREE Online Summer Camps (K-12)

2020-05-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

So here's our summer challenge this year: use a few tricks and tips to create a fun, enjoyable summer for both our kids AND for us. Let's go!

Challenge #3: Register your kids for FREE online summer camps.

VarsityTutor.com is providing free summer camps for kids in grades K-12 this year and they look awesome! My oldest two have already done a few of their free classes and LOVED them, so we're really looking forward to their week-long summer camps.

Most are done in an interactive webinar style: the kids can see and hear the teacher and communicate by typing questions and comments in a text box. (If you are looking for an online camp that looks more like a traditional Zoom call with smaller class sizes, check out Outschool.com. It's not free, but the classes are reasonably priced and look really interesting).

Some of the camp themes on Varsity Tutors:

cooking healthy snacks
coding games
creating a Lego movie
arts & crafts
dinosaurs
fairy tales
creating Minecraft storyboards
foreign languages
theater
creative writing
book clubs
building structures

... and sooo many more.

Tip #1: Check the site each day as they add new classes to their list constantly.

Tip #2: You can easily un-enroll by clicking one button (and no credit card info is ever required, so no worries of getting charged for anything)... this makes it it a very flexible program if your plans change last minute.

Tip #3: You can have multiple kids participate in the same class from the same computer- just sign up one child. The ages are also 'suggested ages' and VT has stated that if a child is interested in a topic, they can join a class even if it's out of their age-range (which is AWESOME for our gifted or special needs students who like to work up or down a level).

Want to continue to create a fun and stress-free summer? Check out all the Summer Challenge posts here.

Summer Challenges

2020-05-26T15:44:00.005-04:00

Woot! Summer vacation is finally here! If you're like me, I have a million great plans for how I will spend my summer. It's usually a mix of relaxing things, bucket list items and productive projects from my to-do list.

Then August gets here and I'm like- wait- summer is almost over and I haven't accomplished ANYTHING!

Well, not this year. I've created a few different summer challenges for you to choose from, depending on what you want to accomplish this year. I thought I would create one post with all of them so it's easier to find for those who want to follow a challenge.

Choose a challenge below, read through the posts and start making small, but meaningful changes that will help your house and classroom run more smoothly.

Summer Challenge #1:

Set yourself up for success next year

Summer Challenge #2:

Have a Stress-Free Summer with Kids

Don't want to miss out on the next challenge and all the great tips we'll be sharing before then? Subscribe to the YTA feed or sign up in the sidebar to receive free email updates.

Best Backyard Toy for Kids

2020-05-25T19:15:00.000-04:00

So here's our summer challenge this year: use a few tricks and tips to create a fun, enjoyable summer for both our kids AND for us. Let's go!

Challenge #2: Give the backyard a boost!

My 4 kiddos have been home from school for a few months now (thanks Covid!) and with the rest of the summer still stretching before us, I am become more and more grateful for any toys that entertain my kids outside. It keeps my house clean(ish) and gives them an outlet for that never-ending energy kids seem to have.

One of my favorite backyard additions this year was a ninja slackline. We hung it between two trees back in December and it has been the toy of choice since then.

Why do I love it?

So glad you asked ;)

Reason 1: It's WAY cheaper than a swing set and you can adjust the height for any sized child, so it grows with your kids.

This is similar to the one we have...though ours came with less accessories. You can buy a complete set or the line and accessories separately.

Reason 2: You can unclip and switch out the accessories as the kids grow. We have this disc swing and it's the one that gets used the most:

(I love that multiple kids can play on it at the same time. Yay for less fighting!)

I've also been keeping my eye on this skate board swing. It looks like something my 9 year old son would love.

Reason 3: If we move, it's so much easier to take this down to take with us compared to a swing set.

Need more backyard entertainment ideas? Check out this post for 10 more toys your kids will love.

Want to continue to create a fun and stress-free summer? Check out all the Summer Challenge posts here.

{Distance Learning} End-of-Year Celebrations

2020-05-20T18:42:00.000-04:00

It's here... or almost here... or almost-almost here (depending on which state you live in). SUMMER VACATION!

With Covid-19 on the loose, this summer is sure to look a little different than past summers, but that's no reason to stop celebrating the end of another school year and the start of some well-earned weeks off.

I've put together a few fun end-of-year ideas that are also social-distancing approved.

1. Do a Zoom End-of-Year Party

Do a class award presentation (email the rewards right after the call so they can print out their own). Find fun and silly class awards like these free ones:

Printable Awards:

Digital Awards:

Play a game with the whole class. An easy one is a scavenger hunt. Just name a common item (ie- stuffed animal) and say GO! The first kid to come back with the item gets a point. Another great game to play if you have a small class is Drawful2 on Jackbox.tv.

2. Have students create a sweet memento of their year.

This sheet is specifically designed for this Covid-19 distance learning time. It gives students a chance to document their favorite parts of the school year and to brainstorm fun things they want to do with their family this summer.

3. {For your own kiddos} Bust OUT of the house for summer.

Usually we bust INTO the house to celebrate coming home from school on the last day of school. This year, we thought it might be more appropriate to bust OUT of the house. We just taped party streamers and a WELCOME TO SUMMER construction paper sign over the door.

3. Send a postcard to each student.

Kids LOOOOVE getting their own mail (as evidenced by my almost-8 year old daughter who has stalked the mailman every day this week leading up to her birthday)

Use this free (and SUPER CUTE) distance-learning postcards:

....And if you are looking for a fun way to keep kids writing this summer while creating a time capsule of their thoughts during this unique time, check out this:

The Traveling Teacher: Tips for Flying with Kids

2019-07-01T15:50:00.001-04:00

So here's our summer challenge this year: use a few tricks and tips to create a fun, enjoyable summer for both our kids AND for us. Let's go!

Challenge #2: Have no-stress flights with kids

I saw a meme the other day on Facebook that said "July is the Wednesday of summer." That is so true- we're halfway to the start of a new school year already! (nooooooo)

I don't know about you, but between traveling to see family, taking our kids on vacation and all the little one-day summer events, it seems like our summer fills up so fast and we are always on the go.

As we gear up for another trip next week, I thought it would be a good time to share some tips for flying with kids. With each kid we've added to our family (we currently have 4), we've tried some new strategies for making flying as a family slightly less chaotic.

Some worked. Some didn't.

I'll just be sharing the ones that did work with you today ;)

1. Have bigger kids carry a book bag.

You have enough to shlep through the airport, time to get a little help from your kiddos. If they are old enough, having them carry a backpack (we really like these Land End's ones) with the items they will need for the travel day.

Some things we include in each bag:

light jacket/hoodie in case the plane is cold
headphones (we LOVE these soft headband style ones)
tablet or kindle
Ziploc baggie full of snacks (though the have to ask first before eating one)
mechanical pencils and a small notebook for playing games or drawing
empty water bottle to fill after we get through security
Ziploc baggie with one change of clothes in it for any emergencies that might happen

2. Create beds or 'couches' for kids.

We looooove this inflatable footrest. Blow it up partway to rest your feet on it (great for saving parent's backs or resting short legs)

Your Teacher's Aide

Create a 'No Yelling' Summer Routine For Kids

FREE Online Summer Camps (K-12)

Summer Challenges

Best Backyard Toy for Kids

{Distance Learning} End-of-Year Celebrations

The Traveling Teacher: Tips for Flying with Kids

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