A Spoonful of Sugar

In an effort to create more routine in our home lately, I stole borrowed this idea from Melissa over at Our Side, and it has worked wonders here.

Our morning and nighttime routines are pretty standard, but I felt like I was spending this time barking orders at the boys. To smooth this out and give us a calmer, more orderly routine I set it to music.

First, I made a list of the boys' morning chores and evening chores: make beds, get dressed, brush teeth, etc. On a CD, I burned a recording of myself giving the direction, followed by a couple of songs that would play while the boys completed their tasks. I tried to pick songs that were upbeat and positive.

So here's an outline:

First, I tell the boys to got make their beds and get dressed. While they are doing that, the songs "Accentuate the Positive" (Perry Como), Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Andrews Sisters), and Hot Diggety Dog Ziggety (Como), play while they do this. When they finish, the boys run back to the kitchen and sit at the table.

When everyone's back, they hear the next task: brush teeth and wash face. During this task I play "It's a Beautiful Day"(U2), "Round and Round" (Como), and " Rum and Coca-Cola" (Andrews Sisters).

Next, they do one of that day's cleaning chores: loading/unloading dishes, cleaning windows, etc. During this time they hear "The 59th St. Bridge Song" (Simon and Garfunkel), and "Papa Loves Mambo" (Como).

And then we're done, and it's fun and cheerful and everyone's smiling! Perry Como has that effect on everyone, I think.

At night I use a couple of bedtime songs: "Rock to Sleep 54" by Hootie and the Blowfish, "I Need a Nap" by Weird Al Yankovic and Kate Winslet, and "Snoozers" by the Bacon Brothers.