This idea was developed during the early days of being quarantined in 2020. My kids had too much free time and no idea how to fill it. There was some virtual schoolwork but that did not take the entire day.
I wrote a daily schedule for the kids, breaking it down by the hour. No one followed it.
I had the kids write their own schedule. They didn’t follow that either.
Then I realized that empowerment and control is key. I needed to provide a framework with the right “pieces” of a schedule and then have the kids manage their time. I took index cards and wrote out the day in 30-minute chunks. Then I used different color of card and wrote the activities that I wanted to be part of their day (to avoid excessive amounts of TV and video games).
I explained the new task to the kids and told them the would be “building” their schedule each day. It only took one or two days for them to embrace the concept and stop asking me what to do. And I had to referee their time less and less as they learned how to craft their day.
I had the chance to share this idea with the awesome executive function coach Seth Perler.
Related pages: Confusing Worksheet Solution, Memorize Notes on a Mirror, Explain Writing as Storytelling, Relatable Reading for Kids
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