Back to School Challenge
 Day 1: Finding the Bed
HINT: Print this page out and take it with you into your child's bedroom.
I am a mom who firmly believes in the power of a good long sleep. Especially for my kids! My kids sleep best in beds that are clean and rumple-free. Many parents nag their kids to make their beds everyday. And yes, this is important for kids to do. But today, you are going to take charge of making their bed. Remember, this is a celebration of back to school. Tell your children this is a special treat just for them. You are going to make their beds. Even older kids, who may not be too thrilled at the prospect of you entering their bedrooms, will usually not mind if you make their bed while you are in there.
Let's get started! The Checklist:
- Pull all the blankets, pillows, and sheets off the bed. Kids like doing this.
- Start a laundry pile with the dirty sheets and pillowcases. I keep the laundry pile in the hallway, so it doesn't get in the way in the bedroom. During the week, we will be adding to this laundry pile. When you have enough to start a load, get it started.
- Do the blankets need to be washed? If yes, put them into the washing machine right away to get them done today.
- Flip the mattress. Don't hurt yourself. Use a partner if you need help lifting it. Look out for missing socks, library books, and other odds 'n ends that may fly out from under the mattress.
- Check the area around the headboard and footboard for toys, books, tissues, etc that don't belong.
- This is something I get my kids to do. Crawl under the bed and pull EVERYTHING out from underneath. Gloves may be necessary LOL.
- Be tough here. Trash is trash. Broken stuff, missing stuff, unidentifiable stuff, and decaying stuff - it all goes. If you find laundry, add it to the dirty sheet pile. If you find things your child wants to keep, put it where it belongs, or set it aside for the moment. If you find all the school newsletters and announcements from last year, put them directly into the recycle bag. The goal here is to end up with NOTHING under the bed. It is much easier to determine that there are no monsters under the bed when it is empty under the bed.
- Sweep or vacuum under the bed.
- Wipe down the headboard and the footboard (if there is one).
- Check the washing machine; is it time to move the blankets to the dryer?
- Put clean sheets on the bed, clean pillowcases on the pillows.
- Put clean blankets, etc back on the bed (you may have to wait until these are dry).
- Does your child sleep with a pile of stuffed animals on their bed? You may want to gently approach them with the idea, that perhaps it is time to get rid of a couple of them. You may be surprised to find out that your child will have more than a couple that they no longer want. And mom... even if it the very first stuffed animal you gave them when they were only two days old, let it go. You child is learning to purge out the stuff they don't want anymore. This is one of the best gifts you can give them (even better than the stuffed animal LOL). You have to support them! You are allowed a few tissues to get through this. {{HUGS}}
- Take one last look around and under the bed. Don't worry about the rest of the room yet. Have you created a peaceful, clean sleeping space for your child?
Congratulations! You have just survived Day 1 of the Back to School Challenge! Take a few minutes to celebrate with your children. Perhaps go for a walk to the playground (or even the school). Mine are thrilled when we all go for a bike ride.
See you tomorrow - we are tackling the homework area: the desk and bulletin board.
Go to Back to School Challenge - Day 2
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