Make ROUTINES into PLAY
This morning I caught Charlie in PJ’s drawer… shaving his face.
Pj is one of the most amazing dads I know. He’s patient and loving, and always helping when I’m about to lose my own patience. That’s what a good partnership is… taking turns when the other is about to lose it. HAHA.
PJ seldom will get on the floor and play trains, or blocks… or legos. Some dads love that kind of play… Pj would much rather be out playing sports or shooting guns. This doesn’t mean that PJ can never play with his son… no no no. Quite the contrary, he makes EVERYTHING he does into play. So when Charlie’s mowing the lawn with him, it’s play. When he’s feeding and watering the pheasants, play. Charlie will water the trees for fun now. Shave his face for fun now. Unload the dishwasher for FUN!
He’s so used to enjoying these routine activities being FUN, that they are ways he’s connecting and developing and growing stronger in his relationships.
So my challenge today is to make routine things fun.
Maybe you don’t have an hour to sit on the floor and play today, but do you have laundry to do… soap they can help pour in the top. Dinner they can mix… a table to clean.
I have a lost of chores that Charlie does everyday and we use these CUTE vinyl stickers from Reward’ums to switch it out and make it easy for him to know what comes next.
We have a morning routine, dinner routine, bedtime routine and then chores I’ll throw up when I need to. They peel off, stick to the wall and if you keep them clean you can use them again and again and again.
I also like to give him FULL ACCESS to all my safe cleaning supplies. Today I shared some “clean“ cleaning recipes above, but mostly I use a spray bottle of water and Norwex Microfiber clothes. I have a kids set that includes on for windows/mirrors, one for dusting and one for all surfaces. It hangs on his art shelf downstairs right next to his mop and broom from Melissa and Doug.
This boy clears his spot every night after dinner. Wipes his table and chair and then continues to empty the bottle by spraying and cleaning the cupboards, floor and dogs.
I love including him in the routines because even if I didn’t have the change to build a castle with him, I spent the day involving him and sharing my world with him.