Line City - Make your own

Something else that is fun with the taped floor.

Get some cars and drive on the road...

The kids even had their own idea to get boxes from the pantry and make their own city.  The Rice Krispies Box was the hospital, etc...

It was really fun to see what they were coming up with.  Another plus to this taped floor is that the toy room stays CLEAN! score!

Try it, it really is so fun!

Line Golf - Putting Game

All you need here is your taped floor and golf clubs and balls.

 The one behind my son came with 3 balls, 3 clubs and 2 "holes" it was $5 at Walmart.

The idea here is to follow the lines and practice your putting.  This required patience, and my kids were sooooo into this.

The youngest "caddied" and drove the cart all over the lines. Cute.

Follow and Balance

Here is what you need:

Masking Tape, Dice and Rules!

Here are my rules: 1 - Hop, 3 - Tip Toe, 5 - Walk ... 2,4,6 - OUT

 Tape a totally random pattern to the carpet and then roll the dice...

 We played two different ways. The roller was the leader and everyone followed the leader.

 Then we played where everyone rolled and then did their own rule at the same time.

So one hopped and one tip toed...etc.

Then I let them decide what each roll was going to be.  Some examples were clap, one foot, crawl.

It was a fun 30 minutes of fun and something to do inside since it was snowing this morning. And yes, I am fully aware that my kids are in shorts. Haha.

Happy taping!  PS save it for another activity I will post tomorrow AND Thursday...thats right!

Schedule for Toddlers - 12

On Mondays I am going to have tips on what has worked for me with my many kids.  I have received emails about my daily schedule and so I am going to go in order every Monday.  Please comment with anything that you do or don't do or if this has helped you so we all can benefit from everyone's experiences.

7-8                Breakfast, practicing letters and morning review of the day.

8-9                Morning Task Sheet, get ready basically tidy up and morning chores.

9-10              Free Play w/Mom - No chore time slot...you will be amazed how much your kids will love this!

10-11            Quiet Activities

11-11:30        Clean Up

11:30-12        Lunch

12-12:30       TV/Show

12:30-3:00    Nap/Rest Time 

3-3:30           Snack

3:30-4:00      Read Books

4:00-5:00      Shake Sillies Out

5:00-5:30      Wash Up and Set the Table, Quick Pick Up

5:30-6:15      Dinner

6: 15 - 8pm   Daddy Check List

Grocery Shopping

I have gone into detail every Monday what works for me.  I try not to take my kids grocery shopping because its not fair for them to be thrown into a cart and shh'd while I get my stuff done.  My favorite time to grocery shop is 6am.  I wake up at 5:45 with a list and go before everyone wakes up.  I take my time and I am not being rushed.  I also am not having to walk around other people  because the store is virtually empty.  I can get everything done and be home before breakfast.  I usually shop 2x a month.  I said that before here.  If you are not a morning person like me...go once the kids are down for bed.  I have even gone during the Daddy time slot.  What is nice about doing it during the Daddy time slot is that you know he is getting the time he needs with the kids and that everything is getting done and once you get home you are free to do whatever you want once that HUGE errand 
is done and the kids are finished and in bed!
If this still doesn't work for you try taking one kid early on Saturday morning while the hubs has the others.  It is amazing how much time and money you can save just by planning ahead. The main reason I shop 2x a month is to SAVE TIME AND MONEY!

Errands/Shopping

I am a planner. I know this is so shocking to you!  If I need to run to Joann's or somewhere for something obscure like that cute bag at Target I try and do it on the day I have the least amount of kids.  If I have one kid at Tot School or Pre School...that is when I run the errand.  I try my hardest to do all of the errand doing on one day because I like my schedule.  I really truly try and stick to it as much as possible.  My schedule is what works for me.  You can alter yours how ever you'd like. That is the beauty of it.

Painting/Sewing/Mom Time

I posted about that HERE 

If you want to know more about my schedule just click on the Scheduling Toddlers Label or email me.  

I have loved all of the emails on our schedule.  I will continue Mondays for question/answer day since I still have about 10 questions to go! :)

I was also excited that someone posted my schedule on The Idea Room and that is where lots of you came from! :)  Everything Mom is featuring me too!  Yea for that!

Hope That Helps!

Valerie

Schedule for Toddlers - 11

On Mondays I am going to have tips on what has worked for me with my many kids.  I have received emails about my daily schedule and so I am going to go in order every Monday.  Please comment with anything that you do or don't do or if this has helped you so we all can benefit from everyone's experiences.

7-8                Breakfast, practicing letters and morning review of the day.

8-9                Morning Task Sheet, get ready basically tidy up and morning chores.

9-10              Free Play w/Mom - No chore time slot...you will be amazed how much your kids will love this!

10-11            Quiet Activities

11-11:30        Clean Up

11:30-12        Lunch

12-12:30       TV/Show

12:30-3:00    Nap/Rest Time 

3-3:30           Snack

3:30-4:00      Read Books

4:00-5:00      Shake Sillies Out

5:00-5:30      Wash Up and Set the Table, Quick Pick Up

5:30-6:15      Dinner

6:15ish - 8pm      Daddy Check List

I am fortunate enough to have a husband who helps.  He used to travel a lot and I would never have a break in my day.  Once he switched jobs and stopped traveling and was home at a reliable time we both decided that he would take the after dinner shift.

He told me it would be easier for him if I had a checklist for him to follow so he wouldn't have to ask me every 5 minutes what is next.  So I made a check list and the kids help him get everything done.  He usually takes this time to play cars or tea party with the kids during this time too.  

We both feel like it is important for the children to get Daddy play time and for him to help in the routine stuff too.  The kids love this time too and it usually involves a lot of laughter.

9/29/08

10/22/10

During this time I usually finish up my stuff - dishes, laundry and all that jazz uninterrupted so when the kids are finally down for the night we get 8-10 to just be together (me and hubster)

If you want a copy of the checklist please email me or leave a comment with your email address and I will sent it PRONTO! well - as close to pronto as possible! :)

hope that helps!