Well, hello! You didn’t think you’d hear from me again right? LOL this week has been busy, even with only one kid at home most of the day! I had big plans for this week and nothing has seemed to work out. I was going to have this week be the week of fixing up the boys’ bathroom, but that hasn’t happened! I’m kinda bummed, but ok with it at the same time.

I’ve realized that this week is going to be my school organization week. Every day is filled with chores I now have to do by myself because the boys are gone all day and then they come home, do homework, therapy, eat and need a little time for play. I have to chose the chores they do wisely so this will be a work in progress for a while until we get the new school and therapy schedules down pat.

I had this great idea for doing what I call “school chores” that I got from a blog that I LOVE, The 36th Avenue. She came up with a cute chore chart for homework, etc and if the kids did their chores daily they checked them off and got rewards. I thought the clipboards were just TOO cute and I have tons of vinyl I needed to put to use so the project was PERFECT for me!! Well, I got home from our vacay and every day I planned on doing this project. It never happened, until the weekend before school started BUT I always make every project a little harder than it needs to be. It’s just who I am. So, did I finish up this simple chore chart in one sitting? OH NO!! Is it finished yet, 3 days after school has started??!! Definitely not! I’m a perfectionist and the first one I made is SO far from perfect!! I’m annoyed with myself that this is taking so long to finish, but I really want to be pleased with it so I’m going to keep working on it until I am.

Anyway, the past 2 days have been…. difficult, for lack of a better word. We fight all morning long because they kids don’t want to do what I ask them to do when I ask them to do it. They want to be in charge of their morning. FINE, but when it takes them 20 minutes to get dressed because they just HAVE to bother Tinian and play and read and everything else in the morning, my patience grows VERY thin!! After school is the same story. Trying to get them to do chores and homework so they can play video games or watch TV, is just too much work! So, after school all we do is fight. It has been a wonderful 2 days of this. *SIGH*

SO, last night I threw my hands up in the air and said “ENOUGH!”, well, not really, but in a way I did. I found a chore list on I heart Organizing’s blog and revised it to work better for us. I figured, they could use this and put stickers on each chore. They would like doing that and it would hopefully keep the chaos at bay.  Then, when I finish the “real” chore charts we could start using those instead.

How did our first morning go? Without a hitch…. is what I would like to say, but unfortunately there was still a lot of fighting and whining going on. *SIGH* I just don’t know how to win with these kids anymore. Our vacation has thrown all of us off. The kids’ behavior is worse then ever before!! I don’t know what to do!

But, alas, I’m not here to complain about my badly behave kids. Here’s the set up I have for the homework chore station:

I found an idea for a homework station on a blog and thought it would be a good idea. I had Mark buy a sheet of metal at Lowes for $9 and he drilled it into the wall. I bought a weekly calender and those magnetic containers at the dollar store and the $1 spot at Target. I have another one I’m going to use to put crayons in, but for now the pencils and crayons share the same spot. The blue one is for treats or prizes they’re working for. Right now it’s those Mario themed pencils you see sticking out the side. Their school lunch calender is up at the top for easy access. I used to keep this in our family binder, but it’s too much of a hassle to pull out a binder every morning or night to look at it so this made more sense!:)

Lunch Calender close up:)

A closer look at the morning routine. I have wanted to make a goal of praying and reading scriptures before school for a long time, but it’s always been so crazy in the mornings. Plus, they usually ride the bus and get picked up around 7:30, which I know is that early, but when school starts at 8:25 that’s pretty early! Well, this year I decided I could just drive them to school, since it’s only 6 blocks away and that would eliminate the rush to the bus!:) It has actually been a lot easier the past few days getting them out the door, if that makes any sense. I don’t feel as rushed as I used to with the bus always coming being on my mind.

I also have a glue stick and erasers in the big blue one. I might get another one for just those, but we’ll see. I don’t want to make them too heavy so they fall off, but I want everything to be within reach and easy access for the kids, and me too:)

So, this is good for now. I feel much better now that I have a plan and it’s being put to action. What are you doing to organize your household for the new school year? How do you motivate your kids to get ready on time in the mornings and do their homework? I’d love to hear any suggestions you have!!

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you’re having a great week!!:)