Getting Ready for School

Once again I found myself yelling at the kids on a school morning.  They thrive on goofing off and ignore every prompting of mine to get ready.  And I snap.  This is the pattern we have fallen into until I realize, wait a minute, what is that saying, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results..."  That's Einstein's definition of insanity.  I guess I've been a little insane.

Then I remember I made a really cool checklist for the kids to use to get ready for school.

The problem is, they never use it.  Why not?  I never made them responsible for it.  I would keep reminding them, keep prompting.  Until my words finally became a joke.  Insanity.

So I told the kids yesterday that the next day I wasn't going to say a word.  They would be completely responsible for doing the checklist.  At 8:00 sharp we would be backing out of the driveway, whether they were ready or not.  Here's how it went:

The second grader remembered right away and got ready with half an hour to spare after.

The kindergartener goofed off.  

Putting gum balls in the trashcan with her toes.

Running around.

Playing with the marble maze.

Until she finally realized why I was taking pictures.  She heard me telling Isaac good job for being responsible.  Then she ran to the checklist and got busy.  She was ready with ten minutes to spare, even with the late start.  

And there was no yelling.  Ah, sanity.  

Please beat me over the head if I forget again.