Chores? or Contributing?

No one likes chores. I don’t like chores. Why would I expect my children to like chores? It is such a hard word. Required, no fun, almost like punishment.

So, why not try – contributing?

We ask our girls to contribute to the household in the ways that they can. They are not old enough to earn money with an outside job but they can fold the clothes. They are not all old enough (or really tall enough) to reach to the bottom of the washer to get the clothes out but they can all fold. They may not be able to sweet the grass outside due to allergies but they can all sweep the floors inside.

My point is this: everyone can do something. And shouldn’t they? Aren’t they all benefitting by being a part of the family?

My mom recently reminded me of a great way to handle the dishes. If you cook, you don’t have to clean. So, we have been using that instead of assigned nights and guess what? I not only have help cooking most nights, I don’t have to do hardly any dishes at night! I do still have the occasional one that gets missed or the nights where we don’t get them done before church so I do them after the girls are in bed. But, I am doing a whole lot less in the kitchen than I used to because I have willing helpers. Most of the time.

We are implementing a new schedule this fall and as part of their morning routines, each girl will be completing a chore. I ended up writing it as chore on the schedule because I couldn’t come up with a better word for it. Job really isn’t better. But, when we discussed our schedules, they all understood and so far so good. Everyone is contributing and things are getting done.

As for the contributing they do? Bathrooms gets cleaned. Laundry gets washed, dried and folded. Floors gets swept. Windows gets washed. Trash gets taken out. Dust is wiped away. And we don’t have too many days where we have to do a huge clean of the whole house.

Is it perfect? No. But nothing is. Does it work well for us for now? Yes. And I’ll take that.

At Home.

This post is the third in a series for 5 Days of Homeschooling 101 and is part of the TOS Review Crew Blog Hop.
Monday – Curriculum
Tuesday – Planning
Wednesday – Home Management
Thursday – Traditions
Friday – Encouragement

Some of my blogging friends participating in this blog hop are:
Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Joesette @ Learning Curve
Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together
Katie @ Katie’s Daily Life
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Latonya @ Joy in the Ordinary

To read more please visit the Review Crew post or the link up to read more on planning and to get a whole bucket full of idea to help you plan. If the linky doesn’t show up below, please just head over to the Review Crew post to find the link up.

http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=271510

Tagged: Back to Homeschool, home, housework