I Call this Family to Order

Thanks to a blog (I apologize for my poor memory that I can't tell you which one), we had our first family meeting this weekend. I hope this is something we continue on a regular basis, but we'll see.

I made an invite using fancy fonts and such to invite them to a family meeting, Sunday at 3, come with ideas, paper, and a good attitude!

I made an agenda: Why Family Meetings? Calendar, Mom's Issues, Sylvia's Issues, Riley's Issues

Why Family Meetings? Go over next week's schedule, talk about issues, strengthen our family.

Calendar: PTA meetings, PAC meetings, rehearsals, special events.

Mom's Issues: Long-term goal of creating an art space for Sylvia's upcoming school year, rework homework area for next year, get rid of stuff girls don't need anymore.

Sylvia's Issues: Wants/needs new clothes (my response: come up with ideas for earning an allowance for us to go over, and start a wish list and clean out closet of items that no longer fit/don't want anymore)

Riley's Issues: Unfortunately, too many of them involved complaints about her sister. New meeting rule: only ONE complaint about a sister allowed at each meeting. Pick the most important issue to bring up. Wants to rearrange bedroom. (my response: come to next meeting with ideas on how to rearrange.)

I stressed that not all issues will be solved at one family meeting, and family meetings won't solve everything, but it's a chance for us to concentrate on us. We will try to keep our weekly meeting time consistent, but of course, will change it up as need be.

The girls took notes, squabbled when the complaints started to get out of control, but I think they remain open to the idea and we'll see where it leads.