Changing My Kids Focus

Today is day 6 in my 31 Days to Clean.  It talked about a list to make each day of 6 items in priority order.  Every night before bed write down the top six things, in order, that you need to accomplish the next day (no more than six). Then, go systematically through the list, completing the tasks in order, crossing out each thing as you go.  At first I wasn't too excited about it till I read this STORY.  Then I read this part of the story and it made a lot of sense.


"Because we are a pleasure seeking species. If something feels good, looks good and tastes good, the average person will likely abandon what's right or they 'forget' what would get them the most or what would be the best for them and others in the long run.  All for even the most fleeting instantaneous little pleasure..."

Often I would go about my day and just try to remember what needed to be done.  Almost always I forget something important.  Making a list of 6 things that need to be done in order takes that pressure off my mind.  31 Day to Clean gave me a pretty big task to do today but because I already did a lot of decluttering, it won't take nearly as long.  :)

For Christmas my kids got a new chess board and a pretty cool one too with storage underneath.  We've been keeping it on our tall table up away from little fingers that would get into it.  I love the idea of that being the "chess station" as we always keep it set up.  Next school year we are going to have the boys take a chess class.  It's a school only for homeschooled kids and they go only once a week.  You can pick their classes so that will be one of them and another will be learning instruments.  I really want them to learn music more than sports or at least put it as a priority over it.  If they want to take up a sport though that's cool with me.  Since getting rid of video games, there has been a huuuge behavior difference in my kids.  

I love it when the kids play chess and have really been encouraging them to ride their bikes, play outside, and be creative.  Last night the kids made a play for Charles and I and we really enjoyed it!  For Christmas this year we had a theme and even my mother-in-law was in on it.  No video games.  We just wanted to buy them either costumes for playing around the house, stuff for physical activity, which is why we bought scooters and bikes, and barbie dolls and doll house for the girls.  Seeing my kids be creative and playing in all parts of the house make me happy rather than them all crowding around a game system. I know it made life easier for me but I knew it wasn't good for them.  Of course there is nothing wrong with game systems, it's just they played or thought about it all the time.  It just got too crazy.

In the next couple of months we will be buying at least 3 more laptops for our home so we don't have to share so many computers for homeschooling.  Little Ashley is only 4 but she insists on "homeschooling" on my iPad.  There are some really neat apps on there all about preschool and learning so she has lots of fun with that. Baby Caleb will even climb up next to her and sit with her.  He sings his ABC's on his own, just not really clear.  How cuuuute!