Saturday, July 21, 2012

Routines - get up and go and bedtime

Part of my background includes working in a classroom that was specifically designed for kids with ADD and ADHD.  So, when I realized I was getting really annoyed with having to remind my daughter 20 times that she was supposed to be brushing her teeth, I decided to get creative instead of mad.  The thing about kids with ADD and kids that are still very young (you know, preschool, early elementary. . .) is that it really isn't about NOT paying attention it is about paying too much attention to the wrong things - like how much fun it is to use the toothbrush with bubbles dripping from it as a writing utensil on the bathroom mirror.

It occurred to me that perhaps if I gave Alice something she would be forced to pay attention to that was ongoing (and not me) during her morning and bedtime routines it might mean less work for my husband (who frequently does both routines) and myself.  So I made a play list.  Here are some of the songs we work with and I have to say, we've been doing our morning and bedtime routines this way for about five months now and I'm really glad I did it.



When Will My Life Begin from Tangled - brushing hair
Blow the Wind Southerly - brushing teeth
Aint no Bugs on Me - flossing teeth, rinsing and getting job checked
Ants in my Pants - Getting into or out of pajamas
Splish Splash I was takin' a bath- washing feet and hands on non-bath nights (for bath nights we simply pause the music while she is bathing).
Here Comes the Sun - to wake up and get out of bed (she has a little warning this way,
                                   but knows how long she has for "stretching").
Eine Kleine NachtMusik for picking out tomorrow's outfit
March of the Toys, Whistle while you work and Happy Working Song would all work for clean up
Sunny side of the street for grabbing school stuff and getting started or out the door depending on the day.
I've got the sun in the morning and the moon at night for application morning sunscreen
Drip Drip Drip or Dear Sylvia (from an album called Beethoven's wig) for remembering her eye drops (she has dry eyes)
Gathering school bag on days


We have quite a list of lullabies as well.
Some I can list of the top of my head are:
All the little ponies
Winken, Blinken and Nod
Nightingale and a few others from Norah Jones
Beetles Blackbird
Selection of songs from lullabye renditions of Led Zeplin
Selection of soft and slow classical pieces
A few selections from Allison Krauss
Selections from The Vitamin Strin Quartet


If you already have something like this, or were to give it a try what are some of the songs you might use?

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