Today’s fun post is a little lesson is organization.–kid organization to be exact. If you’ve followed me for long, you know I have several grandkids which, when all of them are together, requires some organizational skills. That’s when I resort to my elementary-school-teacher background. There are so many tricks a teacher uses to gain and keep control of his/her classroom that moms and grandmas can use if they just were let in on the secrets. One of my favorites is call When I Say…

It goes like this, the leader (mom, grandma, teacher, babysitter), says a word or phrase and the class responds with another word or phrase. These are predetermined and practiced so the kids know how to respond. The two words need to have some fun connection that makes kids want to yell it out and stop what they’re doing. It’s best to have four or five to keep them guessing and attentive. 

Here are some examples I have used in the past, but you can do anything. It’s fun to use words that apply to your family or a movie or the school they go to or something unique to your area. 

When I say LSU, you say TIGERS. (Sports team)

When I say OUACHITA, you say RIVER (Local River)

When I say TO INFINITY, you say AND BEYOND. (Movie reference)

When I say HEY GRANDKIDS, you say HEY GRANNY? (Just another way to do it and granny might be funny to them.)

When I say MARVEL, you say CAPTAIN AMERICA

Be sure to practice a few times, which is fun in itself, so they know what to do. It’s simple. One more time: Tell them the plan and how it works, then practice. Yell out TO INFINITY, then let them yell out AND BEYOND. Keep reminding them that the purpose is to get their attention so once they answer you, they need to listen for some other important information. 

This works whether you have two kids or 160. We use every summer at the camp our family works at and I use it for small groups. With 160 kids, you might have to yell it a few times, but eventually all the kids will be listening. It also works at whatever age your kids are. If they can talk, they can catch on.

In today’s world, one of the problems teachers face, is attentiveness. This is a fun way to teach the children in your life to listen and pay attention. If you’re like me, you want to be a fun grandma, but you also want to help our grandkids gain valuable skills that will help them in life.  One of the most valuable skills our children can have is listening to a teacher or a parent. 

The next time you go to the park or the zoo or on a boat ride or to summer camp, give it a try!