The Summer Abyss and Behavior Boot-Camp

Those of you who know me well, know that I struggle (I could even say dread) summertime. Don't get me wrong, I love the sun and I do LOVE my kids. The problem is, I have trouble when I don't have a schedule. You may not be able to understand this, but it scares me. However, after 8 years of teaching I'm putting my skills to good use to help myself and my children cope with and maybe even (gasp) enjoy this time. Tonight I made schedule cards to rearrange each day so the kids (and I) know what we are doing (They were very excited about this). On the left is a sample day and on the right are other activities to add into the day. It also helps that I'm teaching swimming again this year at the club so that gives us an outing every day from 10ish to noon (and the kids get swim lessons). I'm really excited about this new plan. Having said all this, I so wish that I was like my blog-friend Allison who gets giddy every moment she gets to spend with her kids. But, thats another one of my guilt-complexes that I'm working through.

Behavior Boot-Camp: I've decided to crack down on the whining, fussing, bickering and tantrums that have been happening around here. For miss Jekyll/Hyde aka. Amelia, I printed out some pictures of things with their corresponding consequences so she can have a visual when she is having trouble with her tantrums and following directions. I forget how much pictures help kids.

On another note, Amelia was so proud of herself because she got dressed all by herself this morning. Here is what she looked like: