This morning my 3 yr old dd woke up and practically the first thing out of her mouth was "do we have bananas this morning ma ma?" I had to smile as I thought about how much a morning routine matters to my children. I have gotten in the habit of having bananas around because they are an easy fruit for my kids to just grab, peel, and eat in the morning to tie them over until I get breakfast going. This is great, but when I run out of bananas on occasion, my kids let me hear it!
Kids are so in need of structure, and routine. An examle of our morning routine is get up, have a banana and some milk, get dressed, have whatever breakfast is on the menu for the morning (yes, I have a morning menu too), wash hands and face, brush teeth, make bed, and those who are getting ready for school get their backpacks, coats and shoes on. At first I had to remind them of what to do next. They are, after all, still young. After a while, though, they began to go through their routine all on their own. You'd be suprised what even the youngest, toddler age child can do.
It helps that they see me practice a morning routine also. I used to just take care of them and then shower and get dressed when I got a chance, IF I got a chance. It's hard to find a minute for yourself during the day when you have 5 kids, let alone 15 minutes to shower and dress. So I just taught them "Mommy has a morning routine too. You do your routine, and I will do mine." Of course, some parts of our routines meet together, like breakfast. I think it's important to live by example for my children. It works out great for me because I used to get frustrated that I didn't have any time to take care of myself. This way, I am ready for my day and I don't have to feel neglected.
Well, I've gone on enough for now. It is Saturday and I let my kids have what we call a "lazy day" on Saturdays. (It's a part of our "weekly" routine.) We laze around in the morning and have family time together and then I cook a big "special" breakfast. (Most weeks, anyway.) Today we're having waffles!
That's my take on morning matters,
Melissa
Titus 2:7a "In everything set them an example by doing good."
1 comment:
Welcome to the blog world! I will look forward to getting to visit you at "your place" now!
Your family sounds wonderfully busy and growing. Thanks so much for fitting the company girl thing into your day...you always add so much to make it fun. Your enthusiasm is contagious!
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