Out the door: 4 Kids in 4 Minutes

Nagging, yelling, constantly reminding… any of these words sound like descriptions of your home when its time to go. I needed a simple routine to get us out of the house quickly and peacefully. The solution came in the form of a song. When it's time to go, you'll hear music playing and my kids jetting to action. I found the perfect song to provide motivation. On the Listening Room website I downloaded a song called Two Feet by Chris Barton. The song goes through different shoes that you put on your feet… "I've got two feet and I really like to use them. Two feet to take me anywhere… I've dancing shoes on my feet. " The song is about 4 minutes long and by the time it ends my children need to have gone to the bathroom, put on their coat and shoes, and lined up by the door. The kids also each have a "grab and go" bag that containing a book and a couple of other little things they like to take with them. If they want to take their bag, they must have it with them at the door when the song ends. The kids love it even after using it for several months. If it's time to go and I don't turn the song on, they sing it to themselves as they get ready to go. Now I just need to come up with a plan to get them in and out of the car quickly!