Successful Morning

Getting going every morning in our house takes a while. The kids will get up, and eat breakfast just fine, but when it comes to the next step of their morning they are in no hurry. You see, after breakfast they are to get changed,brush their teeth, comb their hair, make up their beds and take care of their buddies. They have been doing this for over two years now and I always found myself having to ask each one, "Did you brush your teeth? Did you comb your hair? Is your buddy taken care of? Did you make your bed?" Always to get the answer, "no" to some of these questions. I've always wondered what I could do to get this task accomplished without so much effort on my part.

Well, today I found the answer. I told the kids at breakfast that we were going to have a competition. Whoever could get themselves and their buddy ready first, without me having to remind them of anything, without arguing and be down in time for school, would win. Arguing or rude behavior in order to win disqualifies them automatically. I will keep track of who wins each day then on Friday Family Night the one who wins the most will get to choose the dessert or meal. Boy, you should have seen them run. Everyone was done with ALL their tasks and I didn't once have to make sure they did anything. They were done fast and had extra time before school started. I couldn't believe how quickly they worked. After I checked their rooms and verified that everything was complete, I announced the winners (because of the buddy system they win in pairs). My oldest son is already trying to figure what he can do the night before to help his morning tasks get accomplished more quickly. Now, why didn't I think of this earlier. I must admit that this idea doesn't come from me, I have read a few different places where something like this was done. I just don't know why I never applied it until now. I think that eventually I will purchase medallions like Olympic medals for the winning team to wear all day. I will keep you posted on how it continues to go for our family and if they keep up the energy like they did today.