This is turning out to be a very frustrating day. My two year old is really beginning to show his true colors! I tried taking them to the library today, since it was raining. That only lasted about 20 minutes because he was climbing on everything and being very loud. I always feel like a terrible mother when I can't control him, but he is a very stubborn little boy! So with him sleeping and the 5 year old watching a movie that we borrowed from the library, I am taking a few moments to get myself together before I go and tackle some cleaning.
With school almost out for the summer, I was trying to come up with some exciting new things for us to explore this summer. Being on such a tight budget, I was getting really frustrated at how expensive certain activities can be. For us to go swimming at our public pool it will cost $9 total each time. I would like to go swimming at least 3-4 times a week, if possible. For us to visit the local state park it would be $11 total each time. SO my solution is to get a membership which really is a great deal. For the pool we would have to go about 10 times to get our moneys worth, for the state park it would be about 3 or 4 times. I think these will be great things for my boys to do to keep them busy and allow them to get out some energy!
For the creative part of my "plan", the five year old and I decorated some containers and labeled them "Outside" and "Inside". I printed out all of the activities that I came up with for us to do this summer and we will place them inside. That way whenever we can't think of something to do we can draw from one of the containers. My list for "outside" activities includes things like, riding bikes, going to the park, playing in the sprinkler, chalk, Frisbee, soccer, baseball, etc. I made one for "inside" activities as well, since there is always the chance of rain. Some of those include, baking cookies, playing with playdough, painting, having a camp-out, doing a craft, making puppets, etc. I am hopeful that these activities will keep us busy and out of boredom!!
My husband and I have also been realizing the need for more responsibility for our 5 year old. So we did some reading and decided on a "Chore Chart". We went back and forth and read many different opinions on what should be a "chore" and what should be a "paid job". On one hand we feel that he needs to be helping out around the house with out the expectation of getting paid. BUT on the other hand we feel he needs to start saving his own money to buy toys or other things that he may want (hoping that he might appreciate the things he has a bit better). One opinion we read was that every one should get an allowance for just being in the family. It should be set aside in the family budget for them to get their weekly allowance, a perk for being in the family. His theory is, you as the parent, are going to spend money on that child anyway, so you should just give the money to the child. I might not have explained that the way he meant for it to be explained. He also said that if a child would like to earn extra money for special things then paid jobs can be set out for them to earn that extra money. So we came up with our own chart to follow. Some items being chores and some being paid. The paid ones also have different amounts. On the chore side we put, make bed, wipe off table after meals, load his own dishes in the dishwasher, vacuum his room, and pick up his toys. On the paid job side we put, unload silverware and plastics from dishwasher ($.50), pick up sticks in the yard ($1.00), vacuum other rooms ($.50), take out garbage (.$50), help wash cars ($1.00), and raking leaves/shovel snow ($1.00). We are hoping that this will help him learn the value of working to earn special things, instead of just having stuff handed to him. Not that he gets everything he wants, but pretty close!
My husband and I recently finished reading Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman. We have been implementing the strategies in that book and I have to say, they work!! We were dealing with lots of behavioral problems with the five year old and they seem to be getting resolved. Next we are going to begin reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I am looking forward to learning more about how I can meet my childrens spiritual needs as a parent.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."
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