My 3 latest inventions

As a mom wearing many hats, I never really considered "inventor" as one of them. These ideas came from bits and pieces of thoughts over the past few months and seeing how others implemented their ideas. Not completely original, but I took steps to make them my own. I was fed up with a few things (jobs not getting done and stuffing the face with too many treats) so I took some measures to work on those areas.

First, this is our new job chart: I intended to do something that said "Bee Helpful" but then did just the beehives and bee's.

We assembled this for a FHE activity a few weeks ago. Searched all over to find the perfect shelf which ended up being at Michael's. My Michael drilled holes into the bee's I found at the same craft store. Drilled in the hooks, glued down the cups. Our names on each beehive (1 extra just in case--THIS WILL BE USED AND SUCCESSFUL FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS). The bee's each have a certain job written on them. They are on the hook during the day and when each task is done, it is removed from the hook and placed in the cup above. I was trying to implement a way that you can kindof "check off" each job as you go in order to help the boys not get overwhelmed (I know because I do). We even put jobs down such as "make dinner" for me and "go to work" for Michael. So the boys can see that we do jobs that they don't see as jobs. 4pm is job time. I just tell them the time, and if they are done by 4:30 they get bonus points (3 points) If at 4:30 I need to remind them, they lose the bonus. At 5pm if their jobs aren't done (5 each) they don't get their entire 2 points. When Michael gets home at 5:30, it is determined if they get 1/2 a point or 1 point. This has worked fairly well. My goal is to not have to keep reminding them to do it...I simply randomly say the time (or sometimes I don't) and they have responded to this pretty well the past month or so.

Next, I'll talk about our Summer Fun Jar..... I am SO excited for summer. To have all my kids home with me, to sleep in, to not have to rush to and fro. However, I was concerned that I would see it as an opportunity to send my kids to the back and suck my life away on the computer. No structure...too much idleness... So this isn't just for them, but for me. To give our summer some structure. To guide our days that we would do at least 1 thing each day deemed "fun." It may only take 10 or 15 minutes, but by golly, it would be fun. I did lots of surfing/research to form my list of crafts, treats, games, activities, and just do the fun things randomly that I find myself telling them we can't do. Such as getting a snow cone at the stand near our local grocery store. I made a list of 70 different things, and I am very excited about them. Each Sunday, we choose 5 things/strips of paper from the jar and depending on the week activities that are already planned (gymnastics, piano, swim lessons, playdates), we choose which day is best to do which activity. Then we hang it on this cool metal magnet strip that I found at the container store (also found the green box there).
Here are the 5 things selected for this week:

1. Pull out old home videos and watch them together (the kids LOVED this...Matthew said, "Mommy I want to hold baby Matthew.")

2. Have a blindfold guessing game with food at home (this was so much fun, too)

3. Have a picnic for lunch (we went to a park and sat in the shade)

4. Make bubbles and a wand

5. Make a sundial

Nothing big...most don't cost anything, some a few dollars here and there. I am worried that they will pull 5 crafts for one week or 5 outings that are more intensive, but I think we got a good variety for this week! Let me know if you want me to email you the complete list. CLICK HERE to see the full list.

Lastly, The Snack Boxes, came from the boys learning how to scale the shelves of the pantry to the top shelf where I keep the goodies. AND them constantly asking if they can have a snack and getting annoyed (both them and me) when I tell them what kind of snack they can have. I actually got this from an article at LDS Living magazine this past quarter, and loved the idea! I printed off fake $5 bills and $1 bills. Each boy gets 5 each for the week (Alyssa is too young to grasp this concept). Granola bars, fruit snacks, and the occasional ding dongs are a $5 snack and can only have 1 a day. Crackers, pretzels, goldfish are $1 snacks and they also get 1 a day (need to get some baggies to portion them off). Fruit and vegetables are free, so they can eat those unlimited.

I'm excited about this plan, and this will also help them manage their fake money. Keeping my fingers crossed.....