Since I have been trying to teach my 3 and 5 year old about order , I have been having them help me during my homecaring time. We start in the living room together. The kids put their things in their room and I straighten the rest of the room. When we get to the bedrooms I do mine and the kids do theirs. They always take longer, so when I am done with mine I help them do theirs, if they have done some pick up in the meantime. Otherwise they are stuck doing it all by themselves. I have been surprised by how helpful they have been.

FAMILY MEETINGS
Once a week family meeting are a perfect time for handing out chores, arranging schedules, planning vacations and holidays, solving problems and just being together as a family. Treats or a game after the meeting is a good incentive if you have trouble getting the troups enthused. One family I know gives allowances at the family meeting. Make an agenda before the meeting, even an informal agenda, to keep you on track. Keep the meetings short. You might want to take turns being chairperson. And make sure everyone has a chance to speak.

It's almost school time. Now is the time to start getting organized for the school year. Start by getting a file folder for each of the kids for all their papers. Weed them out periodically during the year (thanks for the idea organizing chat buddy.) Start getting the kids to go to sleep at their regular bedtimes now. (I need to work on that the kids are still up and it's late.) Get all their school supplies while they are on sale. Find a place for the kids to puttheir bookbags and things when they come home from school. Also have the school things all set up for when they leave for school in the morning. Try to have a regular homework time. It would be nice if the whole family was reading or doing something quiet at the time. It's hard to concentrate when the TV is on. Bring your kids to school to see where it is. Monday we are taking the bus to his school. The parents get to go too, then we get to watch a safety video. You might want to think about what kinds of extracurricular activities they want to do. This will be my first time sending one of my kids off to school, so if you guys have other ideas let me know.

Jonathan starts kindergarten this year so I have been running around finishing immunizations, getting his hearing and vision tested and taking him for his checkups. Luckily I had his medical records all together. Each of us has a folder for any paperwork, insurance papers and immunization records. A couple years ago I added some things to the household notebook. I have their medical data typed up with birthdate, blood type, last physical, last dental visit, last eye exam, immunizations, illnesses they have had and allergies they have. I also have the child health guide from Kidsource. It includes checkup and immunization schedule, growth record, and more. I feel much better knowing that all their medical records are together.

Time to prepare for school time. The first thing I did was to go through last year's school file with my son. He helped pick what stayed and what we got rid of to make room for this years file folder. Every week during school we go through his papers and discuss which to hang (then they are either thrown out or filed), which to send to grandparents, and which to throw out right away.

Also a morning and evening routine need to be made. Make sure the kids are going to bed at the time they will have to during school, about a week before school starts. Before bed, do a family pick up of things left out during the day. In the evenings set out their backpacks, have them put out their clothes (and shoes!), and set the table for breakfast. That saves time in the morning. Use whatever morning routine works for your family and stick to it. You might want to assign morning chores, or at least have them make their bed. Put a clock in the bathroom.

Try to set up a chore chart so all the kids know exactly what weekly and daily chores they have to do. Rotate them so no one person gets stuck with the same chore. If they don't do chores now, they won't no how when they are adults.

Organizing the study area before school will be a big help for homework time. Make sure there is enough light, paper, pens, pencils, and a pencil sharpener. Set a daily homework time at the same time every day. If they don't have homework that day read together or do some other extracurricular studying. Give them a notebook or planner to keep their assignments in them.

Get a nice big family calender and put it in the kitchen. Have everyone in the family put in their own events on the calendar. Have a weekly meeting to figure out the schedule for the week. If you put a cork board or dry erase board by the calender, family members can jot down notes. Have a great school year.

It's also almost time to start the Holiday Grand Plan. The plan starts the last week in August to help prepare for the fall and winter holidays.

Good Luck with your organizing and stay positive. You can do it, it just takes a little at a time.