Trying to get through the day—day after day—with the whole family in the same space and maintaining a positive attitude is going to be … a challenge. It probably already is. But one key for keeping one’s composure is to start the day on the right note. And one member of our Offspring Facebook group has a hack for that.
Ted, who is currently at home with his wife and their three young children (ages 5, 2 and eight months), says they start their day with a family scrum. If you’re not familiar with scrumming, it’s a framework most often used by software development teams to get organised, set goals and track progress with daily meetings (scrums).
It gets its name from rugby, in which players come together in a formation to try to get possession of the ball. And since we’re all trying to get possession of our sanity right now, this seems like as good a way as any to try to set the tone for the day. Ted says:
One thing that’s helped a lot this week is starting the morning with something of a “daily scrum” after breakfast where we:
Play the Chicago Bulls theme song on the UE Boom to get pumped up for the day.
Sit down in a circle and take a few deep breaths together.
Sing a couple kids’ songs.
Ask each member of the family what they want/need to accomplish before sunset (5-year-old old pretends to write on his LCD Etch A Sketch tablet).
Rank-order the activities based on sequence and priority.
Have another quick dance party and GET STARTED!
I think the Chicago Bulls theme song is optional here. Pick whatever song gets you and your kids pumped up, blast it loud enough for the neighbours to also hear it and get pumped up, and then lay out your goals and priorities for the day.
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