Orderliness Activities - Building Character in your Children

10 Activities about ORDERLINESS:

1. EVERYTHING HAS A PLACE Help your child go through their room and make sure everything has a place. If they know where everything belongs, it is much easier for them to keep their room tidy. Make it fun by pretending that the toys have an opinion about it (like in Toy Story).

2. CREATION Draw a picture about each day of Creation, and then try mixing up the order. If God had created the animals first, He wouldn’t have had anywhere to put them! God is a God of order, and He does everything in the best, most logical way. Ask your children to point out things that have to be done in order (like getting ready for bed).

3. “STEPS” POSTER Pick an area where your child needs more order (picking up room, getting ready for bed, doing chores, etc). Help them create a poster with the steps to getting it done. It should be between 3-4 steps. Make it colorful and fun. They will love following their poster’s direction!

4. BOOKCASE FUN Orderliness includes sequencing, classifying, categorizing and coordinating. Many of these can be learned using a bookcase. Have them count their books. Have them organize them by subject. Have them arrange them by size. Have them sort out the books that they don’t read anymore to be donated somewhere.

5. CLASSIFY ANIMALS Find some old animal magazines and have the kids cut out pictures of every kind of animal. The more the better. Or you can purchase animal cards. Then, find 3 boxes and some index cards to make labels for them. Your children will love sorting them! Some possible labels are (carnivore, omnivore, herbivore) (water dweller, land dweller, air dweller) (wild animals, domestic animals)

6. A TIME FOR EVERY PURPOSE Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 with your children and discuss verse one. Ask them what they need to do each day. Eat, sleep, play, learn, chores, help others, pray. Moms - make sure you take time each day to play with your kids. This time with them will go fast.

7. A YEAR IN 12 DAYS This takes a little preparation, but can be a fun thing to do in the winter. Have a January day (celebrate the New Year, play in the snow, have hot chocolate), then, the next day do a February day (make Valentines…), then March…all the way through December. It’s a fun way to show the kids the sequence of a year.

8. WHAT SEASON Make a sign for each season and space them out on the floor. Then ask your kids questions and they respond by getting to the right season. For example, when do we go sledding? When is Daddy’s birthday? When do we celebrate Thanksgiving? When do the flowers come up?

9. DAILY SCHEDULE Most kids like to know what will be happening each day. There is comfort in knowing what to expect. Make a simple schedule that works with yours that your children can follow.

10. CLEANING OUT Help your children learn to clean out a space using the 3 box method (“Put Away”, “Give Away” and “Throw Away”) . First, let them help you do one of your areas, so they get the idea, then do one of theirs.