As a single parent schedules can quickly become overwhelming, imagine how your child must feel. I wanted to share an idea I had a couple months ago and my girls (4 and 6) seem to love. We decided to make a large calendar out of a piece of poster board. I divided the paper and drew the boxes for "Our Calendar" and we sat down to plan our next few weeks. Besides the poster board we went to the store and purchased stickers to represent certain activities - animal stickers for the zoo, shells for the beach, etc.
After I finished my job or drawing the boxes, we all sat down to color and decoratethe calender. My girls were very excited and quickly started to pick out which squares they wanted to color. We gave their mom's days a set color so they could easily see when they would be with her. Next they colored and decorated the remaining squares and we placed it on the wall so they could see. It was something that started out very simple, but they loved it. They notice when the month is ending and quickly ask to make another calender - it not only helps them know when they will be with their mom or me, it lets them anticipate specific events, the zoo, legoland, etc.
Besides the organizational benefits the calender provides, I have also found that it helps me reinforce discipline, teach delayed gratification, and it is a bonding time. The discipline piece is because they are very much aware of the upcoming events, in appropriate behavior jeopardizes those things - it usually only takes a couple reminders of what they are risking to correct most issues. Most importantly it is a couple of hours that we laugh and plan together. It gives the girls a sense of control in a less than ideal situation - children are unfortunately often "along for the ride" in a divorce situation, I have found the calender is something they feel they can determine, that they can control. What started out as a little craft project has really become something my girls love, no two ever turn out the same, but aesthetics is not really the goal. The joy in their eyes is priceless - if you choose to try a calender for your children hopefully it is rewarding as mine has been. In the end you are creating memories, nothing can replace that.
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