Time Management

After another summer off, we gathered together on a warm fall day to start up our beloved TAGG meetings once again. It felt so good to be together, and the room was buzzing with conversation, laughter and excitement for the year to come.

For many of the girls, this would be their last year in elementary school. Given all the opportunities and responsibilities middle school can offer, managing time and commitments could become an issue for our daughters. Thus our time management theme was created. We used a couple of games, pie charts and calendars this month to tackle this topic.

We started with a little ice breaker to get everyone loosened up...we made our own summer-themed cards for the game Headbanz. Each mom stood in front of the girls (one at a time) wearing the summer word. The girls tried to get the mom to guess what word was on their head -- only yes or no questions allowed! We encouraged the girls to incorporate some of their summer memories whilst playing. Once the mom guessed, another mom took her place. We had words like water, camping, mosquitos, sand toys, etc. It was a hit! Once all the cards had been used, we all grabbed a snack and chatted a bit.

Coming back together with a "Tag -- you're it! Ooommm...," we then reminded everyone about the topic and introduced a time management game. Here's how it's played:

Divide participants into teams of five or so. Unveil the numbered list of tasks (see below -- these should be written on poster board). Explain the teams have ten minutes to collect as many points as possible. They must be safe and again, they only have ten minutes. The leaders (Michelle and myself) will check off each item the teams have done and award them the points earned in the allotted time. Each group gets a copy of the tasks posted on the wall. 

After the activity, discuss learning points. How did you decide which activities to prioritize? Would this have been easier by yourself? Why or why not?

Activities: 

1. Do a lap around the room (5 points).
2. Create something for a mom to wear, such as a hat or tie (10 points; bonus 5 points if the mom actually wears it!).
3. Find out something unique about each person on the team (5 points).
4. Sing a song together (15 points).
5. Make a paper airplane and throw it from one end of the room to another (10 points).
6. Get everyone in the room to sign a single piece of paper (5 points).
7. Stack up 20 chairs, then put them back where you found them (20 points).
8. Assign a fun nickname to each member of your team (5 points).
9. Create name cards for each team member (5 points; bonus 5 points if you use your team nicknames).
10. Do 25 jumping jacks while singing the ABCs (10 points).
11. Name your team and come up with a rhyming cheer (5 points for the name, 5 points for the cheer).
12. Create a human pyramid (10 points).
13. Form a conga line and dance from one end of the room to another (5 points; bonus 10 points if anyone NOT on your team joins you!).

You could imagine how much fun this was! Michelle and I had a bin of supplies needed for this activity, so everything was readily acceptable if needed. The conga line was my favorite, hands-down. The insightful debriefing afterwards noted that some of the girls thought working together proved very efficient, while others bemoaned that it made everything slower. But they all had to admit it -- this game made them manage their time.

We headed back to tables and our respective families. Michelle and I had requested that the moms bring their daughters' schedules -- ballet, hockey, music lessons, etc. We hoped to help them look at their time and take ownership of it. I knew I wasn't the only one who just reminded my child of obligations every week! Michelle had printed out a couple of calendars/pie charts to help the girls visualize how they spend their time. The blank pie charts had 24 pieces to represent every hour of the day. The girls worked with their moms to see what they did on average every day. Sleep was the victor, with school a close second. But how they did they fill all those other hours? This proved eye-opening for those girls who would often say, "I never have enough time for x, y, z!" Turned out that if you manage your time wisely, you may find extra time for that project or game you wanted to play. 

We took another little break to play a round of "Would you Rather?" We used these scenarios:

1) Bake cookies OR do dishes?

2) Make a birthday card OR clean the house for a party?

3) Go grocery shopping OR go out for dinner?

4) Organize the game closet OR play a game?

5) Cuddle with your pet OR scoop their poop?

6) Do homework OR read a book?

7) Run through a sprinkler OR take a shower?

8) Paint a picture OR put away your laundry?

9) Clean the bathroom OR play a game of kickball?

(If you haven't played this before, it's super simple! Just have the caller say the two choice out loud; choice 1 kids will move to the north wall, choice 2 to the south. Easy peasy!)

This game gently reminded the girls that while we'd all rather just have fun, we have responsibilities to tend to as well.

We finished the night with more calendars and scheduling with daughters/moms groups. We circled up at 8:30, gave our neighbor to the right a compliment, and said good night. Another year is off to a great start!