outside fun

Here's a bunch of pictures from our outside fun tonight!

O loves her new swing!

S loves the sandbox!

getting ready in the morning

I'm not a morning person.  I'm not just talking about the dislike of getting up early but I just don't like to move very fast when I get up in the morning.  I want to sit.  S is like me.  He likes to rock in our rocking chair when he first gets up in the morning; however, he does like to wake up at 6:30 so he's not completely like me. :)  Anyway, O started preschool two days a week this past fall.  It's been really good for her.  She loves it.  But it has been really good for me too.  I had no idea we were so unmotivated to get ready in the morning until we had to leave the house at 8:40 every Monday and Wednesday!  That doesn't sound very early but apparently it is.  So I've been struggling with not saying "hurry, hurry" or "you are going to be late!"  or "let's move it!" every 5 minutes.  I fully admit that it is mostly my fault.  I need to be more organized and start going as soon as I wake up but it's hard.  I'm glad that I have a couple years of preschool to practice before Kindergarten comes. :)
My point to this story is that we are trying something new.  My friend gave me a link for this idea.  Then she showed me what they were doing at her house(she also has a daughter in preschool).  I thought it might work at our house so here we go! 
I took pictures of the kids as they were getting ready(I took pictures on a day we didn't have to be anywhere and it actually took me a few days to get all the pictures in!).  Here's a few of my favorites. 

I then cut out the pictures and glued them to foam sheets and cut them out again. 

I attached a magnet to the back of each picture.

(side note... I'm going to have to glue the magnets on because the self-sticky magnets do not stick well to the foam paper)

I found some dry erase magnetic boards at Target on clearance.  I was going to give each child two. One as a "to do" board and the other as a "done" board.  Once each task is completed, O or S would move the picture of him or herself doing that task from the "to do" board to the "done"  board. 

I couldn't think of a place to hang the boards in our house where they won't be played with all the time so I changed my mind about having two for each child.  Now I just put the boards on the couch and take the magnets off.  Once they complete whatever task they want, they put the magnet on the board.  It actually has worked really well with O!  She likes to decide what to do next and put the magnets on.  S could care less. :)  His magnets normally end up on the floor.  O will try to help him but that doesn't always work.  But the mornings haven't been as hectic so we will continue until it doesn't help at all!