Sep 15, 2008
AM I Crazy???
Okay I know I'm a little crazy and that's okay. But I feel like a crazy person. How long does your school day last? And during your school day do the children do housework? I just feel like school is their job but so many families have their children do housework as well. During the summer, when school is out, they have housework but not during the months of Sept - May. What are the benefits of having them do housework? We are just so busy I don't know where to squeeze in one more thing? Thanks for any wisdom you can offer.
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3 comments:
Hey Kelly,
Our school day last until about 1pm. Sometimes I do stuff with the big kids until about 2 if they are really enjoying what they are doing.
Sometimes the little ones are just being toots , and we do not do theirs until after Dad gets home. But one a good day...1pm-2pm.
My kids clean up what they mess up. They have to straighten up before they go to bed. Bring all the dirty laundry to the laundry room. They have animals to feed. In the mornings they are responsible for clearing and wiping the table after breakfast and unloading the dishwasher. Then we have about a 15 minute "mini-break"...which is basically for me to make my coffee:)...and we get started. Then they clean the table after lunch and clear their desks for Quiet Time.
It really is easier just to do it yourself and not have to go over what the kids do, but I have learned not to go over and do it again. Mostly I just let it go and tell them that it looks great and thank them for doing a good job. They get better and better at cleaning ,the older they get. We also set a timer. 4:30pm rolls around..we shut down and I start supper..I set a 15(20,30) minute timer and tell the kids to see if they can get the playroom and classroom picked up in 15 minutes(or 20,30 depending on the mess)they usually have to break up into teams & they have to work as a team...If they can do it, they are done for the day. Some days they do not get it done..so they are learning to stop dragging out so much junk. The big kids are learning to remind the little ones to put their things away, and they are learning to keep things picked up so it will not take so long, next time.
Then they clear and wipe the table after dinner. These are the little things they are responsible for as part of our family. They may gripe and complain every now and then , but it makes them feel good to know that I depend on them to help me get the house in order so that Daddy can come home to a **Semi-Clean house and a meal(which is my part) that he can sit down and enjoy with his family. In order for that to happen they have to help. Some days we get behind and the house looks like a tornado has hit it, but everyone pitches in to get things back in order.
My motto is: I did not mess it up by myself and I'm not cleaning it up by myself.
Andrea, I love your ideas! Thanks for sharing! I need to set the timer more often.
Kelly, I think we all struggle with housework and time to do it especially with homeschooling. We have the kids all day...getting a new cup...making lunch...putting books everywhere,etc. I have my older ones do bigger jobs such as the dishes, laundry and the bathrooms. The younger ones...well...if I could teach them to pick up their toys, that would be great.
I think it's important to teach our kids these things so that they will know how to do them when they are older. Homeschooling is more than ABCs and Numbers. It's also life skills. The problem is time and getting it all done. The older ones can get done around 2 if they start early. If they have had a long night before, they might sleep in and not start until 10. But..if they do get done by 2, I have them pick up and do their list. I wrote a list for each child on a dry erase board and change out the chores for each child. Sometimes, they will do some of their chores during school...just to take a break. It's amazing what they can do. God knows I can't do it all so it's important they help. If they live here, they need be apart of our family and that also means taking care of our home.
I can't wait to hear about all your ideas!
Kelly,
We only "do school" about 3 hours per day. I do 1 hour in the morning, and 2 in the afternoon. The rest of the day I make the kids help me around the house, or we just play or go out or something. :)
I don't find any fault with anyone else's way of doing things - every family is different - but for me, I feel that school is more than academics, it is about teaching life skills. So when I say, "school is my kids' job", I am talking about bookwork as well as housework. If my job is to prepare my kids for adulthood, I need to teach them that learning from books is important... so is taking care of the house, taking care of younger children, learning how to bake and cook and love and play. :)
Rebecca
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