Habit Training: Starting the Day off Right

Habit training is a big part of the Charlotte Mason philosophy as an essential step in building character.  It's also VERY important in making sure that our homeschool days run smoothly!

As we geared up for starting school in late June/early July, the first step I took in habit training was in making sure that our days started off on the right foot!  It seemed like our mornings were always painfully dragging as I nagged the kids to JUST.  GET.  DRESSED.  ALREADY!

Then I would start the day off angry and annoyed, with my patience level dangerously low.  Not a good way to start every day.  So I implemented a simple wake up system that had the bonus of giving me a little extra time to get ready in the morning without the kids bothering me for a snack.

I created a simple sign and put it on the back of the big kids bedroom door.  Before the kids come out of their room each morning they have to do their 3 things:

1.  Say a simple morning prayer: "Thank you for this day Lord, help me to be good."
2.  Make their beds.
3.  Get dressed.

Simple, right?  And yet it has done so so much to save our sanity!  The kids start the day completely prepared and all I have to do is get the baby dressed after breakfast while the kids work on handwriting.  I'll be posting our Chore Chart soon to show more ways we have been working on habit training.  Thanks for reading!