Kids Working at Home Tip of the Day

June 20, 2008

We have a rule in our home. If you leave something out that someone else has to clean up, you have to not only pick up the thing you left out, but also ten other things. It's like tithing, but reversed. Kind of....

June 9, 2008

Here is a continuation of the list of chores our children are expected to do. In a previous post was a before-school list. Here is an after-school list: Just remember that these chores are divided by the five kids capable of contributing according to age.

-Clean your room

-Clean off "your" stair

-Clean out van

-Sweep carport

-Bring down dirty clothes

-Sweep kitchen

-Practice piano

-Practice voice

-Wipe down the inside of the fridge (since we have a cow, there always seems to be milk on the shelves, and at the bottom)

-Unload the dishwasher

-Wipe down the toilet

-Organize the shoe closet

June 7, 2008

Sometimes, rather that ask a particular child to help me with something, I will throw the chore out there for grabs by asking, "Who would like to do so-and-so for me?" An example of this occured last night as I was breastfeeding the twins together. I then remembered that Johnny had a stinky diaper and knew he needed to be changed right away as he had a diaper rash. I asked, "Who would like to change Johnny's stinky diaper?" After a long pause, Reid begrudgingly said that he would do it and began getting out the materials to accomplish the task. I was so grateful that, at least, he had volunteered to help me out, that I decided I would offer some positive reenforcement. I let him know how grateful I was that he had offered to help and I told him that I would do his morning chores for him the next day to show just how grateful I was. I could tell that he was trying to sound casual and unexcited, but as he walked off, I heard him say, "Cool." It's sometimes hard for me to remember to offer positive reenforcement. I tend to spend a lot of time trying to correct, so I was pleased that I remembered to do this right this one time! I was also hoping that the other kids who didn't volunteer would feel a little regret. Let's hope it worked!

June 6, 2008

Here are some of the chores our kids are expected to do each morning before school. This list is divided by the five kids we still have at home who are capable of working.

-Make your beds

-Feed the chickens

-Feed the rabbits

-Feed the dog

-Organize the shoe closet

-Clean the living room

-Unload the dishwasher

-Take out the trash

-Clean off the kitchen island after breakfast

-Clean off your stair (I use the left side of the first five stairs to store things of theirs that I find throughout the day, instead of having to climb the stairs to put them away)

-Pick up the bathroom floor

-Clean the bathroom sink and mirror

-Put away your breakfast dishes

-Bring down five hangers from your room (to be used by me during the day for laundry)

-Gather the chicken's eggs

Even though this may seem like a lot, remember that this list is divided into five parts, with each child being assigned the chores that are appropriate for their age. It usually takes them about ten minutes to complete their five to six chores and it gives me a headstart on mine!

June 5,2008

Try making a chore chart using Microsoft Word. Format it into a table with morning, afterschool, after dinner and Saturday chores printed along the top as column headings. Down the left side, as row headings, insert pictures of each child, then type the chores within in the middle squares. The kids can't get confused about who does what chore! And neither can the dog!