Becoming an Octo-family
When Lucas was little, we traveled all over the place with our Robotics Team, and while I have always appreciated schedules, agendas, and punctuality, having a designated routine just wasn't an option for us. Nowadays, it's a necessity. Lucas craves consistency and we've discovered that acquainting him with our family's upcoming schedule not only enables independence, but offers me some refuge from resistance and calamity.
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Enter: the Octopus Watch.
First of all, let me be clear: this is NOT a sponsored ad, and I'm not being paid to tell you about this amazing product. I'm doing it because it changed our lives. It stopped the meltdowns, it fostered focus and gave Lucas the independence he so desperately needed. |
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What is this thing, you ask? In a nutshell, it's a watch that displays a schedule that you've set for your kid. You can designate a routine that includes a series of events and reminders to help your child stay informed and on task.
We were one of the many, many, many supporters of the Octopus Watch on Kickstarter, and impatiently waited well over a year for our watch to arrive. Like any other budding, new product, we've dealt with the learning curve of software in its infancy and had our share of technical difficulties with the hardware. But even taking all of these hiccups into consideration, this watch is still a phenomenal product and a game-changer.
We were one of the many, many, many supporters of the Octopus Watch on Kickstarter, and impatiently waited well over a year for our watch to arrive. Like any other budding, new product, we've dealt with the learning curve of software in its infancy and had our share of technical difficulties with the hardware. But even taking all of these hiccups into consideration, this watch is still a phenomenal product and a game-changer.
Click to Download Template
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In addition to wearing his Octopus watch 24/7 (other than when it's charging every 2-3 days), I've incorporated a command center into our home that allows Lucas to know what we're up to during the week, and what's coming next in his Morning Routine on School days. I no longer go from Mary Poppins to Batman in three seconds flat because Lucas is counting dust motes instead of putting on his socks.
And all it took was my cell phone and an hour on my computer.
Even if you don't have an Octopus Watch, creating a schedule for your kid that will help them learn to be less reliant and more independent is totally achievable.
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So how did I do it? Here's a few simple steps using an Octopus Watch:
- Take a screen shot of the app (with your schedule open),
- Use the crop feature to take snippets of your icons (the icons featured above are already pasted in!),
- Email the icons to yourself, or store them in the cloud,
- Open the Google Doc Template (linked above), and go to "file" the download it in the format that is easiest for you.
- Open your downloaded file,
- Right Click on the icons and select "change picture" to swap yours in, or drag the pre-populated icons into the order of your routine
- Change the text on the description and time
- Print and put into a frame and hang where your child can see!
