Posts in Chores
Chores Revisited

We revamped our chore system in December and I thought I'd share what is working here.

This will be our second run of a group of chores using the Maxwell's chore packs, and I must say that after about six months of using the cards, we are happy with the success rate.  *Some* children forget certain chores even though they are written on the cards and attached to their bodies.  Huh. Kinda like the child who misspells words and omits whole passages while doing copywork.  But I digress.

I had to make a master spreadsheet for all the chores assigned to all the kids so that I could clearly see division of labor and so that I can remember what each child is responsible for.  Then I printed out a copy and put it on my clipboard so that I have access to it all day long.  I would be more than happy to send the Excel spreadsheet to you in an email attachment.

And while I was doing a little bit of searching through the Maxwell's site, I realized that years ago we had given them our chore chart to post on their chore charts page.  Our oldest boys were seven and five at the time!  Here's the link. It might be helpful if your oldest ones are little guys or girls.

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ChoresKendraComment
The Girls' Room (and ending squabbles)

I love lists.  I love them because they get my thinking out onto paper so that I don't have to think anymore and I love them because they communicate what needs doing.

Two sisters here were having battles every time they needed to pick up their room.  One claimed she'd done the job while the other claimed she hadn't and so forth.  I was at the point of exasperation.  This was a situation just crying out for a list!  We posted the list last week and magically, 90% of the conflict just disappeared.  Both girls know what is expected of them and neither can claim they did their part if the evidence is to the contrary.

GIRLS’ BEDROOM CLEAN UP

7-year-old

Make both beds

Tidy dressers

Fold clean clothes and put them away

Tidy bathroom

5-year-old

Put books away

Put dirty clothes in the laundry

Put toys away

Pick up trash and throw it away

What needs a list in your home?

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Chores, Home Organization, Life with Preschoolers, Resources, Training Little OnesKendraComment
Laundry

Laundry- ugh!  If you've been reading Preschoolers and Peace for any length of time, you'll know that back in February or so I revamped our laundry system because of my pregnancy then.  I miscarried, life was thrown into a  bit of a tailspin, and long story short, the laundry system failed.

This week I was searching for a new approach.  There were several things I liked about how I was accomplishing laundry so I decided to keep those elements:

- I love the actual washing and drying.  It's the easy part- load the machine, turn the right knobs, and voila!  It's done.  Transferring to the dryer is no biggie, either.  Plus, I can rest assured that no one is putting a red sweatshirt into the bleach load (or handling the bleach in the first place).

-I love having a basket for each child or bedroom on the laundry room counter.  Eliminates unnecessary trips of dirty laundry from bedrooms to laundry room and clean laundry from laundry room to bedroom.  See photo below.

But I HATE to fold.  I hate to fold for a household of eight, soon to be nine, even more.

So duh!  Why was I standing there folding everyone's laundry and placing it in their baskets?  They are all perfectly capable of doing the job themselves, even the two-year-old with help I will gladly offer.

Henceforth, when I grab our current read-aloud, they will all retrieve their laundry baskets and fold, with the following guidelines clearly outlined and posted:

FLETCHER LAUNDRY

Our motto: WE LOVE LAUNDRY!

(OK, not really…)

1. Fold whatever is not folded in your basket

2. Put undies and jammies in the correct places in your bedrooms:

Boys- in your drawers

Girls- in your shelf baskets

3. Put socks away where they belong:

Boys- in the laundry room drawer and basket

Girls- in the laundry room drawer

4. Put items that need to be ironed neatly on the ironing board

5. Hang towels in your bathroom

6. Put sheets away on your closet shelves or directly onto your beds

7. What’s left in your basket? Make sure what’s left is supposed to be there!

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Chores, Home OrganizationKendraComment
Homeschooled Children Who Dawdle

Marle and Katie asked what to do about their dawdlers.  Seems every child tends to take his time with an unpleasant task at one point or another, eh?  But then, so do I.

I think it boils down to two things: the child's heart, and mom's heart.  I know, you probably didn't want to hear that last one but it's true.  Sometimes we are impatient because we know we can do the job better and faster than our children, especially the preschoolers.

I can't say I've always handled this well, but depending on the child and the circumstances I have:

1. Told them I would read aloud to them while they worked.  Actually, we do this a lot and they really like it.  Keeps them on the task, avoids potential arguments they might have while dividing tasks, and makes me less prone to being impatient.  Also kills two birds with one stone (reading aloud and accomplishing the task).

2. Gone into another room with a magazine, flopped down on the couch and announced, "You can take as long as you want to, but I'm just going to sit here and enjoy my magazine.  It's not my time you're wasting, it's yours."  This has some sort of odd psychological affect, as well.  If I suddenly act like I don't care, they suddenly do care.

3. Told them that they have a set amount of time to complete the task.  For every minute they have left over after the task is complete, they get a quarter (or an extra minute staying up that night, or whatever). For every minute they go over the allotted time, they pay me a quarter.  Finances are always a good motivator.

4. I tend to make sure there is some reason they want to get their chores done.  Typically I schedule something good after chores, like taking a walk, or stopping by to say hi to grandparents who live next door, or a quick dance time when I turn up the stereo and we all dance like idiots.  They love to dance like idiots.  If you don't believe me, see this post.

5.  Made them copy all the verses pertaining to work and/or laziness contained in the Bible.  This makes the boys squirm.  Pencil aversions, dontcha know.

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Chores, Life with PreschoolersKendraComment
Clipboard Chores- the List
Clipboard jobs include:

-clean front and garage doors with all-purpose cleaner-weeding front and back flower beds -weeding the lawn -sweeping the garage -washing and vacuuming cars -cleaning the laundry room –sweeping cobwebs off the outside and inside of house -vacuuming lampshades -scrubbing tile and grout with a toothbrush -scrubbing the dishwasher -scrubbing the pool tile with a mitt -brushing algae off the sides of the pool -vacuuming all the carpet in the house -cleaning and filling the hummingbird feeder -cleaning all the painted wood trim in the house with all-purpose cleaner -washing windows inside or out, or both -cleaning the mailbox, inside and out -washing out all garbage cans, including the big ones -washing down all the toys -cleaning the bathtub drains out -cleaning the bikes and helmets; check for maintenance -dusting each book in the schoolroom -polishing Grammy’s silver -vacuuming all the upholstered furniture -changing everyone's linens and then washing them -polishing shoes -ironing -cleaning the spindles and risers on the staircase with all-purpose cleaner
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ChoresKendraComment