Different Rules for Different Spaces

The goal for today was to teach my daughter that there are different rules depending on where and what she is doing.  She will be going to Kindergarten in the Fall and I want her to understand that the library will have different rules than the gym will.  I know she knows these things, because she is a smart kid - but sometimes she just forgets.  So today was just a little reminder.  We went to the library first.  Before we went in, we talked about the rules in the library.  This was what she came up with.
1. You have to walk.
2. No screaming.
3. No touching.
4. Use listening ears.
5. Don't hit your brother.
Good rules!  So we went through about half of the museum and every 10 minutes or so, I would ask her to tell me the rules.  Even my son caught on and was following the rules, too.

Once we finished the museum part of the trip, we went across the street to the park and we sat on the grass to drink some water.  I told them they could play for a bit, but there were rules here too.  That was when we talked about the differences.  We came up with a new list of rules for the park.

1. You can run.

2. You can scream (but not too loud)

3. You can touch things.

4. Use listening ears.

5. Don't hit your brother.

So some were the same and some were different.  When we got home, she was telling daddy what we did while he was at work and the first thing she said was "Daddy, we have to use our listening ears EVERYWHERE!"

A good way to talk to your children about rules is to get them to remember the four basic start points for all the rules (in our house anyways).

How do our feet act? (Ex. Run, Walk, Sit)

How do our mouths act? (Ex. Quiet, Loud, No Sound)

How do our hands act? (Ex. Hitting, Touching)

How do our ears act? (Always listening)