Jack's life is a little more complicated these days. Sometimes it's a school day and sometimes it's not. Mom picks me up from school on some days and Dad does on other days. I sleep at Mom's, I sleep at Dad's. Mom and Dad go to work on days that I don't have school so I get to play with a babysitter. Then, Jack asks every day if it's a school day. I know where he's going with that -- if it's not a school day then it's the weekend or a holiday and I can watch cartoons with Mom in bed.
It was clear that we needed some sort of system to set expectations about the coming day. And the more visual the better so he could easily identify what to expect. So I bought a bunch of stickers and posted the school calendar on the wall at Jack's eye level.
At the start of the week we lay out what to expect for that week. School days are designated with a crayon sticker. If Mom picks me up from school or I sleep at home then we put a flower sticker on that day, or a baseball sticker if I'm with Dad or overnight at his house. If our usual "manny" (male nanny) will be picking me up/babysitting me then he gets a car sticker. Friends' birthday parties are designated with a cupcake sticker. We even have stickers with a dozen different feelings that Jack can add to the calendar to express how he is feeling.
And at the end of each day, Jack crosses off the day and we talk about what to expect tomorrow.
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