A few years ago I saw the idea of a Big 5 from @farmhouseschoolhouse and we immediately adopted it into our home with our young children.
I’ve mentioned it on the podcast before, but a friend reached out with some excellent questions about what the kids and I do for our Big 5, when we have to finish them by, and what we do if someone doesn’t complete their Big 5.
This week’s episode of the podcast answers all of those and more!
Every morning I do these five things (actually, laundry only happens a few days a week) to help me get set up to be completely present with my kids all morning.
My Big 5 are:
- Read scriptures, journal, pray
- Exercise
- Work/Email
- Shower and get dressed
- Start a load of laundry
For me, I find doing these five things daily makes it easier to be who I want to be.
If my kids wake up before 7 a.m. (and the younger ones do), I just let them know I am still doing my Big 5 and am not available yet, but they are welcome to join me.
We taught the Big 5 to my kids by touching each one of their fingers at night and naming each of the things they needed to do in the morning. They love this little ritual.
My children’s Big 5 looks like this:
- Get dressed
- Make bed
- Brush teeth and hair
- Say prayers
- Look at a book/scriptures
Some of my kids knock them all out every morning with pride. Others wake up with a zillion ideas in their heads and jump immediately into projects.
We go through seasons where I’m very involved in helping them with their Big 5 in the morning and seasons where I remind them if they are struggling to go work on their Big 5 while I finish mine.
These lists are highly individual, and each of us will have different priorities that matter to help the morning and day go smoothly.
If you are looking for a way to make your mornings easier give a big 5 a try. It’s okay if it is mostly aspirational – it gives the whole family a vision of what we are growing into over time.
For more tips and specifics, check out this week’s episode!
Subscribe (and rate and review – thank you!): Google Play | iTunes | Stitcher
From the Episode
