I am a mom who likes to be on the go! Staying home only happens if it’s absolutely freezing or pouring rain, or if someone is contagious. One of our favorite places to visit is the zoo! There are a few “luxuries” that are not included in our membership. However, it doesn’t stop my children from asking for them! As much as I would love to, I can’t justify getting them every Mold-A-Rama or a $2 stick for them to feed the parakeets each time. But I don’t mind taking an opportunity to teach my daughter a life lesson: In order to get the things you want, you will need money. And we need to work to earn money.

Even as infants and toddlers, my children were expected to do their share to help with cleaning up their toys and putting their dirty clothes in the hamper. But by 3, my daughter was understanding how important her help was to me. We discussed the chores I expected from her daily (clearing dishes, cleaning toys, etc.). We tried out a couple chore charts that listed in words and pictures what job was expected. We finally settled on a magnetic one to encourage my two-year-old son to “work” as well. My children were expected to do all (there were only 5) their chores everyday.

“Everybody helps.” That was our chant to help them understand the importance of doing their part in the work. The work in the house needs everyone’s participation because we are all on the same team. It’s not just Mom and/or Dad’s job to do the work that the children are capable of doing themselves. And I believe that this will lay the foundation for my two children to continue to be responsible as they grow older – to have good work ethic. Eventually, they will become adults who contribute to their world.

For a day’s work, my daughter earned twenty-five cents. After she earned them, she would trade in 8 quarters for two dollars. And if she didn’t spend it all right away, she would even exchange for five and ten dollar bills. In the beginning, she didn’t trade for many big bills – she was so proud to spend the money she earned, $2 at a time! Eventually, she would earn enough money to buy a feeding stick for her brother as well. Knowing that she needed to work to earn her money helped her not ask for me to buy her something with every visit. She would patiently wait until she earned enough money. I was so proud of her!

After the novelty of earning and spending wore off and she was saving enough money, we started talking about how it is kind to give money away. It started out with some of the donation boxes we can find around the zoo – definitely a great cause. My daughter would ask me to take some money out of her zoo money (that’s what we called it since that’s where she used her earnings) to donate.

Not only am I proud of my daughter’s character and where her heart is, but I am encouraged by the potential of where her knowledge is going on this skill.  I feel like she will know the value and importance of money, how it shouldn’t be wasted or taken lightly.  I feel like she can evolve with both her chores to earn and her personal giving to causes that inspire her.  It becomes my job to find those new opportunities that balance earning and giving, and I look forward to that challenge.

I am a creature of habit, I function better when things are in order. Some people might say I’m anal, but it is how I work. I was that way as a teacher and I am this way as a mom. And hopefully, I’m raising kids who also do well with order in their lives. In addition to the order being the flow of our day, I have visuals that can help my kids.

5-week calendar

On the side of our fridge, there is a calendar that I can change with Vis-a-vis markers – it spans about 5 weeks. I use different colors for each person or our family as a whole. This has come in handy when my daughter has asked about something that is further down the road. She likes to look at the calendar and even asks what number she should look for. Her friend’s birthday is coming up. She asks me, “What number is Becca’s birthday?” “29. But her party is June 4.” She is able to locate both numbers, which gives her a sense of how much longer we will need to wait before we can celebrate with Becca.

Weekly calendar

In my kids’ bedroom, I have a small dry erase board that spans a week. Every Friday night, we change out our calendar and list all the things that are coming up. I’ve been doing this for about 2 years now, when my daughter, who like most children, was always curious about what was happening. My artistic husband adds some great pictures to the words listed to help her better figure out the activities. Those pictures now come in handy for my son. This has been key to my daughter recognizing the days that pass (both the number and day of the week) as well as months. She looks forward to specific days she sees on the calendar! Some days are the same each week (church, swim lessons, library, etc.). Some things happen each week, but on different days (zoo or Wonder Works). She also recognizes when our week will be busy or light.

Order of our day

Our days are pretty predictable – the location of where we head changes, but the flow does not. I know that my two appreciate the predictability. They know that as soon as they walk into any house, they sit on the steps to take their shoes off. They know that when we leave the zoo, their treat is fruit snacks in the car. With our order of the day, I am able to introduce an early sense of time to my daughter. She knows that she is to stay in her bed in the morning until 7:00 am and that the white noise machine goes off at 3:00 pm after their nap. And they both know that “8 is late” when we are trying to get upstairs to bed.

I was introduced to executive functioning the last year I was teaching before I had my daughter. I imagine this sense of the flow of the day will be beneficial to them as they go through life.

Life at home with my two little ones can be hectic at times. They are 19 months apart, and one of two things can happen as we go through our day. First is (unfortunately) fighting – toddlers and preschoolers are quite selfish and there is quite the learning curve for sharing and taking turns. The other is slowing their mom down when she is ready to leave or transition to the next activity. Throw in a six-month-old who I watch every day and hectic is taken up a notch. Because of my current reality, the timer is my best friend. At home we use the one on the microwave and the timer on the trusty iPhone never fails when we’re on the go.

Siblings fighting over the same toy is inevitable. When this happens, my children know the drill.

One child lets the other know that they’d like a turn with the toy.

The other child responds with “You can have it when I’m done.”

“How much longer?”

“2 minutes (my 2-year-old son’s response every time!)”

And this is when I interject. I give the second child the option to know how long “2 minutes” is or if I need to set a timer. I like to give them a chance to sense time passing and know when they are done with the toy and ready to pass it on. My daughter will usually tell me that she knows when 2 minutes have passed – and she does. In fact, she usually is done before a timer would have rang. If the timer is needed, it is a good visual for all parties involved – they can see the numbers counting down. And when the timer is done, there is a beeping or a song to let everyone know it’s time to switch. It’s not flawless by any means, but it does work most of the time.

Transitions can be tricky for little ones. Time to clean up, time to go to the bathroom, time to get your shoes on, time to head out the door, time to leave the zoo. I’m sure in their eyes, I have the worse timing! I do try my best to give them several warnings, but the timers yield a much better result and less crying. For example, when it’s time for us to leave the museum or the zoo (two of our favorite places), I will first give them a 30-minute warning so that they know it’s almost time to go home. I usually set my phone timer when there are 5 minutes left. As soon as the song plays, both of my kids – and any regular friends we see – will look right at me to make sure it is time to leave. Using the timer in this way has made this transition so much easier for us – there is rarely tears or opposition, which makes leaving go just a little smoother.

Trust me when I tell you that a timer is a game changer – even almost magical. It takes training and practice, but once established, it will help you in so many areas.

Talking to children is very important, it develops their vocabulary and broadens their knowledge. So my children and I spend all of our days talking! From the time when they were infants, I narrated our day to them, describing our events in detail. I haven’t stopped talking to them. And, I don’t limit my vocabulary- I interject math related words into the mix naturally (well, as naturally as possible). Now that they are old enough to be part of the conversation, they do at least half of the talking and their vocabulary includes a variety of words.

Ordinal words

Using ordinal words is easiest for us when the children need to wait for their turn. There was a time when I watched a second two-year-old; three children needed to be patient to get into their car seats, to have a book read to them, or to use a bike or another toy.

“Molly and Peyton, you wait on the steps while I put Sam in his car seat first. I’ll get you next, Peyton.”

“Sam, I know you want to play with that dump trunk. You will need to let Molly use that first. You should let her know that you want a turn when she’s done.”

“Wow! There are so many books to read here! First I’ll read _Little Blue Truck_; second we’ll read _The Giving Tree_; and we’ll read a High Five magazine last. When we’re done reading our books, I’ll need to get lunch ready for us.”

Positional words

I cannot be everywhere my kids need me to be. However, I am able to use my words to describe where I need to them to go or what I need them to do.

“Please put your shoes on the tray.”

“Are you looking for your green car? I think it’s under the kitchen table.”

“These dirty wipes can go in front of the closet door.”

“Can you put your dirty clothes in the hamper?”

Comparison words

I take my children to many different places for our daily outings. At two of the places we visit (the library and the museum), there are other children there who my kids don’t normally interact with. Every now and then, my daughter will run into a younger child who isn’t the best at sharing or might just grab a toy out of her hand. I then have the conversation with her that I’ve had many times before. “Some kids who are younger than you are still learning how to be a kind friend. I just need you to understand and be a kind friend.” “Some two-year-olds push…” With a younger brother, she is pretty used to having to be understanding.

My two-year-old son gets excited when he sees just about any vehicle!

“The green one is a big garbage truck. This yellow garbage truck is small.”

“Crane so tall!”

“That’s a fast motorcycle!”

“Look at how long that semi truck is!”

Beside identifying the colors of the cars and trucks he sees, I’m able to use mathematical descriptive words to also describe them.

I do my best to have meaningful conversations with my children. It is great to hear those same kinds of words coming out of their mouths.