Step By Step... Oooh Baby(Setting Up the Kids' Daily Schedule)

So I reached a point last week that I couldn't handle the unstructured madness that had become my life.  Winter is looming.  Outside time is limited.  Everyone is busy busy and I was losing my cool more often than I was proud of.  So I resorted to what I know best:  being a teacher.  Before I made the decision to stay home, teaching was my life.  It defined a big part of who I was.  I enjoyed it (mostly) and miss it a lot.  So I thought, if I could handle 20 kids, I can handle two.  And so I got my cup of coffee and started to brainstorm.  How was I going to keep everyday fresh and fun over the winter without going broke?  School!

First thing I did was made a t-chart.  I used to tell my students that we have have tos and want tos during the day.  We have to get thru the have tos before we can do the want tos.  So on my list of have tos, I included basic things:  brush your teeth, get dressed, brush your hair, have breakfast, vacuum, nap, clean up, yada ya.  And then on the want tos, I made a list of all of the things I could think of to do with the kids that cost little or no money.  On this list I found myself with almost 60 things.  60 things!  How was Yo Gabba Gabba and Little Einsteins taking over my life when I could sit there and brainstorm at least 60 things?

I took this list and hit canstockphoto.com and google images.  I found pictures for all of these activities and tasks and put them into a table in Word.  I labeled each one and mounted them on construction paper.  I cut them out and my next step is to get them laminated and put velcro on the back of each one.  Once that is done, I can see how much room I need for a normal day and I can make the schedule board.

The pictures show what I've got so far.  My hope is that I'll be finished by Dec. 1st and put it to work!  As I go, I'll keep updating!