The List

This is the second week that Monday - Friday, you can hear our kids talk about "The List".

I created a list that the children have to do before he or she can watch television during Monday - Fridays.

It is as follows:

Children NO TV UNTIL:

1. You have played outside for 60 minutes or done indoor yoga for 60 minutes  
2. You have built something cool and shown it to Mama
3. You have worked in a school book - reading or math 4 pages
4. You have done a chore for Mama
5. You have done something kind for a family member 

I have actually adjusted the first task to also include 30 minutes of a cardio workout if a kid would rather do that.

It definitely has days where the kids are better about the list than others... but it has been a very positive policy for our house.

I have certainly learned a lot about my children by implementing this policy.

Howard, for one, does his list less than his sisters. He also asks to watch tv less than his sisters. If he doesn't do his list, it really isn't a big deal for him -- he just won't watch any tv that day.

Caroline will start one thing on the list and she will become engrossed in that activity. She and Lee Lee often will start to build something... and an hour or more later they are still playing with those blocks or legos or whatever. Then she'll finally move on and decide to play outside and she will play outside for an hour or more and forget that she's working on her list. She also does not like to practice a workbook because her writing "is not perfect." Through this policy we have learned that she is a little perfectionist and she might stare at a page of "C"s or "D"s not tracing them because she cannot trace them perfectly. We have to work with her on trying her best but accepting that not being perfect is okay while we're learning.

Then there's Tracey. Oh, my there is Tracey.

This daughter of ours is a big fan of television. This child would watch television from sun rise to sun set if we let her. She also does not being told what to do. So, some days she gets up and works through her list methodically and is very excited to have television time before lunch. Other days she says she is not going to do the list... and she twiddles her thumbs trying not to think about the television most of the day. Some days she rushes through the list and does not do her best on the tasks at hand, and then she has to go back and try again on some. The best case scenarios are when she says she is not going to do the list and then she plays outside with her siblings all morning. Then they all come in and they all have fun building something. Then, usually after lunch, they realize together that they already have two tasks checked off from their list and they only have school work, a chore, and something kind left on their list to earn some tv time.

I even have a list for Daddy as well... but honestly, the kiddos are much better about accomplishing their list before tv time than Daddy is.