Pee first, then brush teeth.

Serious whinging has hit our household, particularly at bedtime - and it isn't just from the almost-four year old. We made a Bedtime Jobs chart to make bedtime easier for us all. What I didn't anticipate was the element of absolute delight it brought to bedtime as well.



We sat down with art supplies at the ready, and I asked Ruby what needs to happen before bedtime. She listed off each job - and in order, no less - with not a pause for consideration (and this is a direct quote): Have a bath, put on pjs, brush teeth, have a pee, say goodnight to the stars and the sky, read a story, go to sleep. She nailed it. We decided to add 'tidy up' to the beginning of the routine, as that's the last thing we do before we really dive into getting ready for bed. Jobs listed, we were ready to make art.



I drew a simple line drawing for each job with a black marker - all on one piece of paper to make colouring easier for Ruby. Ruby tackled the sheet with markers, pencil crayons and dabbers. I cut out each drawing, and connected two coloured pieces of paper together as the backing chart for the images. On the left, "Ruby's Bedtime Jobs" and the right, "Finished ... Time for Bed ...". After a short struggle with sticky back velcro tabs we had the pictures set, stuck and ready for action. I hastily taped the chart to the bathroom door just as Ruby and Nathaniel finished the first job - Tidy Up.



Bedtime was fun last night, if not slightly manical as Ruby moved pictures from one side of the chart to the other, and then back again ("Oh. Oh! Pee first, then brush teeth!"). And there was nary a whinge.