WFMW – Children’s Calendar

“Momma! What are we going to do tomorrow?”

“Momma! When is ballet?”

“Mmooooommmmaaa… is tomorrow church?”

Isn’t it amazing how children everywhere know how to say “Momma” with just the right tone of voice, pitch, and volume to make a mother cringe instantly? Depending on how they wield that wordly weapon they can make you want to run or hide or raise your blood pressure in a heartbeat. Every mother I know has momentarily considered changing her name to be “Momma” no more.

My children are no different. My children are particularly interested in our daily doings. Where we are going, when we are going, who we are seeing, what we are eating… these are the questions I get bombarded with. These are the reasons I have posted my weekly menu, posted our school schedule, and now, made my calendar. When ballet started in January, the questions increased.

We have church on Sunday, Drama Queen has ballet on Monday, Princess has Good News Club on Monday, Tuesday is blessedly free and clear!, we have church on Wednesday, Princess has ballet on Thursday, my brother-in-law and his wife come over for dinner on Thursday, and Friday and Saturday are available as well. Phew! Pretty quick, I got tired of:

DQ: Momma is today my ballet?

Me: No, tomorrow is ballet.

DQ: And is the next day (sister’s) ballet?

Me: No, the next day is Tuesday.

DQ: What do we do on Tuesday?

Me: Nothing, just school, honey.

DQ: Oh. And is the next day (sister’s) ballet?

Me: No, honey. (Sister’s) ballet is on Thursday.

DQ: Ok. When is Thursday?

Me: *SIGH*

That’s when I came up with my solution. I bought this (really cute!) kitty cat calendar from Dollar General for a dollar (and we all know how much I love Dollar General!) Yup!

Then, since Drama Queen can’t read, I drew pictures all over it. I drew crosses on Sundays, ballet slippers on Monday, a big G on Monday for Good News Club, a bible on Wednesday, ballet slippers on Thursday, and a napkin with utensils on Thursday.

I’ve added other pictures as well. I have a pic of Abraham Lincoln inside a present-like box on Abraham’s birthday, same thing on Washington’s birthday (but with Washington of course), a heart on Valentine’s Day, etc. I even drew a picture of me leaving for the retreat. 🙂 All I have to do is remember to mark each day off so they know what day we are on.

So now they run and check the calendar everyday, and they don’t ask me nearly as many questions. If they do, I just say “Go look on the calendar.” In retro-spect, I probably could have used stickers for a bunch of those and not had to have drawn so many. Actually, we did put one sticker on there already, for when our friends are coming over for the re-party since they can’t make it today. I bet I can find stickers with crosses and bibles, etc, for use on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. I bet I can find something ballet-ish for dance classes. I may not be able to use the exact same sticker but it would still work if there was a pair of ballet shoes on one day, a tutu on the next, etc. I’m going to look for stickers for next month because that would make things a whole easier. And prettier!

So that’s our children’s calendar. It hangs in the hallway where they can see it. And it works for us!

Works for me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer. Check it out!