Daily Sheets of Fun and Wonder

In an effort to inject a little fun into each morning for Max, I just got finished creating some daily logs in Word on the computer. We're heading into fifth grade this year and I'm hoping that Max will get more and more comfortable working independently this year. I'm trying to provide lots of structure for him to help him along.

I made some logs wherein I can fill one out the night before and set it out on the table for Max to look at the next morning, maybe while he's munching on his cereal. They are titled in big letters, "Max's Daily Sheets of Fun and Wonder". I scoured Google images and looked for very fun and very silly images of the things he loves and put those images in the upper left hand corner, a different image for each sheet to keep him laughing and interested. He likes Bey Blades right now, so there's a picture of the Bey Blade characters. He LOVES Legos, so there are several different images depicting Star Wars mini Lego figures doing crazy things like riding miniature motorcycles, flying kites, throwing snowballs at one another, etc. Whatever I could think of, I pasted up in the left-hand corner.

Then there is a section of legal fine print and it reads as such: "all school work and help around the house must be completed before you play with electronics, see friends, or watch Netflix. Signed, The Management (a.k.a., MOM and DAD).

Below that there are big check boxes next to a line on which to write the school assignment or the household task. I really should make some of these for myself to keep me on track - maybe I will! What Google images would I choose? Pictures of dark chocolate bars, bright colors, flower shots, cartoons, chickens........

Hopefully they will elicit a smile from Max each morning, rather than a grimace thinking about spelling or math or what-have-you. At least it will be more of a fun and gentle introduction into the day's happenings. I think it's important and way more fun to sprinkle in little bits of silliness here and there during the homeschooling day. We are getting set to start on Monday! Back in the saddle.