Tag Archive for: family meeting

Family Mottos with Meaning

 

Family mottos family values

 

In our 21st century lives, families are transforming daily.  Families are adding members, refashioning who is a family member and reinventing family structure.  Just how do we keep sharing our family values, inviting inclusiveness and minimizing destructive and hurtful conversations?  Having a family motto helps all your family define what’s important.

 

Family mottos not family bickering

It’s all too often we find ourselves saying, keep your hands to yourself and pick up your stuff. We can fashion that into a family motto that shares how we respect each other and take care of our belongings.  It’s more about how we treat each other that we want to convey to our family.

Here’s some family mottos ” Read more

Your Most Organized Year Ever

Your Most Organized Year Ever

 

 

Each year as we start the new year, we think of ways to make a change and improve our lives.  Did you know that organizing is one of the top three goals each year?  Throughout the month of January, I will be offering 31 tips to help you have Your Most Organized Year Ever.  Implement just one of these tips, tools, techniques or tweaks this year. 

So many papers! So many dates! So much to coordinate!

 

Your family meeting is the key to cooperation, communication and organization.  Each week host your meeting to share what’s coming up this week, gather information on what’s needed and coordinate schedules.  Everyone should bring their own planner to fill in.  There should be a family calendar to complete too. Display that in the kitchen where everyone sees it.  Your family calendar can be a google calendar printed out or a big month at a glance paper calendar.  It’s in seeing your monthly events that everyone stays on track.

 

There are three tricks to success for your meeting. Set your meeting at a time that is good for your family.  Keep it short so everyone stays on track.  End it with fun activity. That can include making ice cream sundaes, going on a bike ride, or watching a family movie.  Make this Your Most Organized Year Ever with your family meeting.

 

Check out more family manager ideas here on Pinterest.

 

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3 Tips for a Productive Family Meeting

 

3 tips for productive family meetings

 

 

School is in full swing.  Your kids have after school scouts and ballet.  Your work requires extra hours and your partner travels. How do you pull together your family for cohesiveness an collaboration? It’s time for your family meeting!   Follow these three tips for a productive family meeting.

What is a family meeting? It’s a time everyone gather together to share their upcoming activities, share family responsibilities, plan ahead as a family and have some family fun.  Set aside the eye rolling from either your kids or your partner as family meetings are an important way to stay on top of what is going on and prioritize your family unit.

 

Keep it short

No one wants to sit for hours in any meeting. Keep a quick agenda for your meeting. Start the meeting promptly and run through the calendars of each family member. Record this on a month at a glance calendar, either digital or paper.  This part of the meeting should be limited to 20 minutes max.Post it prominently where everyone sees the calendar regularly.   (Near food is good!)

 

Focus on positive communication

Next move on to family fun. Alternate who gets to choose the fun, including mom and dad.  Have a list of possible activities, in case there is dissension.  Whether it is a good old fashioned kick ball game, a walk, or a fabulous dessert, focus on positive communication and sharing.  There are no wrong answers to having fun! Acknowledging feelings and active listening create collaboration in families.  Promote a team attitude by working together and playing together.

 

Set a time that works

Family meetings can be any time of the week.  Setting aside a time to meet consistently is important.   It can be when your family is gearing up for the week, such as early Sunday evening.  It can also be when you are gearing down from the week, like Friday evening. Be sure it is a time everyone can attend and guard this time from other distractions.

 

My own kids recall our family meetings to this day! It has sparked their own versions in their homes, including High, Low and Dirt. This nightly conversation starter in my son’s  home has to do with what was good, bad and just plain interesting in their and their kids’ lives that day.

 

When can you start hosting a family meeting in your home?

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Family Meetings: Communication and Cohesiveness

family meeting and organizing

Make the Most of Your Family Meeting

 

Join me on Organize to Revitalize about 5 Ways to Make the Most of your Family Meeting.

You will be glad you did!

http://dallisonlee.com/blog/2013/07/01/5-ways-to-make-the-most-of-your-family-meeting/

Back to School: Successful School Strategies

 

Fall is around the corner and now is the time to establish successful strategies and routines.  This time of year we are ready to begin again, even more so than at the new year.   When families work together new routines, the results can be amazing!  Communication is the key.  No one likes to be told what to do whether you are an adult, teen or even a young child.  Asking questions can make the difference on helping your children be successful in school and working together on solutions for family responsibilities and routines.   Here are some questions to help your family get a great start this fall.   Host a family meeting to collaborate on this. 

What are your personal goals for this next year?  Help your child establish a minimum goal for one area by asking what specific actions they will take to accomplish this goal.   Ask them how you can help them reach the goal.  Share with them one goal you have too and ask for their help. 

What is the best way for you to keep up with your calendar, recording your homework and other activities?  Families can set up a month at a glance calendar in a prominent place for everyone to see or use a digital calendar and print out the month at a glance.  Each  child will need their own planner for use at school, either a month at a glance, week at a glance or a spiral notebook to write in all assignments, important dates and other details.  Parents need a reliable planner system too. 

What is your best way to keep up with papers this fall? Some ideas might be one binder with tabbed slash pockets, one folder for each subject and a homework folder, a small box file, or an accordion file with one pocket for each subject.  Remember, paper management is a learned skill and very important to practice. 

What ways to study help you learn best?  Auditory learners learn well with background music, softly playing in the background. Kinesthetic learners learn well with flashcards, re-writing and movement.  Visual learners learn best with color, highlighting and underlining.  Minimize distractions by keeping study time out of your child’s room.  Check grades weekly online with your students asking them to assess what is working for studying. 

Ask all your family members to brainstorm all the stuff that must be done each week, including trash, dinner preparation, dishes, laundry, and more.  Then ask each family member which task they can do best or which they prefer.  When you work from your strengths and/or work on what you prefer, everyone does a better job. Ask for family members to partner in getting these jobs done too, so that no one person has to work alone.  Record their responsibilities on a chart and post this again in a prominent place.  Everyone has come together to work together as a team. 

Start this year off with a plan for everyone in your family. Keep the strategies going with encouragement and enthusiasm, hosting family meetings to continue this dialogue and communicate about other important family values.   Starting new or getting back to routines makes a difference for everyone.

Organizing for the Busy Mom Teleclass

Take a fresh perspective to improve your and your family’s quality of life! 

The Family Manager™system transfers management skills and strategies from the business arena to running your homeand personal life.  Teambuilding, delegation, standard operating procedures, and other sound

business practices will help you reduce daily stress, create a smoothly running home, and have time for self care and recreation.  The teleclass is offered by Ellen and Marla Regan. 

In this teleclass series, Ellen and Marla will focus on 4 departments in the Family Manager™ series.

4-Part Teleclass featuring:

  1. Learning how to have a Family Team creating House Rules to guide your family’s interactions and form Standard Operating Procedures for the running of your home.
  2. Organizing tips for your home.  Learn how to declutter your home and use your Standard Operating Procedures to ease the stress of daily life.
  3. Techniques for time and schedule.  Learn how to manage the family calendar and daily schedule.
  4. How to have “you” time. Learn to care for your body, mind and nurturing your spirit.

Classes are every Wednesday in October, October 6, 13, 20 and 27.   Cost for all 4 classes  is $49.  Call in to the bridge line (long distance charges apply) and be a part of the class.  Register today as class size is limited!

Top New Year Resolution for 2010: Spend more time with your family

According to ABC13 in Houston, the top newyear’s resolution is to spend more time with your family.   As a Certified Family Manager Coach, my passion is making families cohesive, communicative, and nurturing.  However, as with all goals, this can be overwhelming and end us with less than stellar success. Let’s break this down into some baby steps to be sure you accomplish this goal!

1.  Spend more dinner time together. Whether the goal is one dinner a week or seven, create a plan that works for you and your family. Dinner together can be sandwiches or spaghetti, create a plan that is simple for you and enjoyable for your family.   The plan can be a grid of 3 weeks of easy to make dinners with your family input, a technology tool with thescramble.com or e-mealz.com, or assigning family members a night to cook. 

2.  Spend more quality time together.  Create a team and strategically plan for time together. Our world is crazy busy and if we wait for spontaneity our family time may not occur.  Set aside a family meeting time once a week with a short meeting and plenty of fun time.  During the meeting be sure to chat about upcoming family events.

3. Spend more time learning together.  What interests and activities do you want to share?  Choose open ended activities that every one can be successful at, including art work, walking, or going to a museum.  Celebrate everyone’s strengths by affirming each other and encourage new interests.

I look forward to learning from you how your resolution is coming together!

 

Family Meeting

Families are busier than ever.  To keep up with your events and to keep your family communicating hold a weekly “family meeting”. Families need time to prioritize, know what is coming up, talk through all the activities, and cultivate your relationships.  Choose a day and time each week to hold the family meeting to share important dates, upcoming activities and share family members’ accomplishments. At the meeting, fill in a calendar with each person’s upcoming events and deadlines and then hang the calendar kitchen where everyone can see and review it regularly. After this 30 – 45 minute family meeting, join in the fun with a special meal or dessert, game night or movie. This team building creates a special bond where everyone is heard and everyone shares what is important.  At our family meeting, each member shared one anecdote about what “one good thing” was about another family member.  Some times siblings needed to “stretch” to find the one good thing, but making each other feel a special part of your family creates affirmation for that person that builds self esteem. 

 

What day can you start your family meeting?