Chores
Monday, June 1, 2009 at 01:17PM It's week #2 of summer break. There's a fair amount of chaos the first few weeks of summer as we all clamor about trying to find our groove. Our's is typically a scheduled home....up at 6 AM, out the door for school by 7, home at 3:30, dinner at 5, sports, showers and kids in bed by 8. All of this is lost on us as we enter summer. There is absolutely no routine, which is fine for about a week and then it's just craziness. Colton is constantly bouncing balls off the front door and yelling the imaginary score while intermittently running to the piano to pound out a few notes. Sierra has some type of magnetic attraction to the lazy susan, which she spins and spins repeatedly (while singing opera) until the little screeching ball bearings (and the opera) tear into my brain. Audra likes to cook and is frequently pulling things out of the cupboard to throw in the skillet while Buckley runs around in his bathing suit looking for a swim partner.
I love my kids and I love being together for the summer, but the chaos has taken it's toll. It's time for chores. I've taken four small household jobs and given each of the kids one for the week. The plan is to rotate each week so each of the kids has a different chore each week. They are simple chores....laundry, dishes, dog maintenance and general straightening up with trash duty. I posted the chores on the kitchen blackboard and had a little meeting with the kids. They were receptive, agreeable and good-natured about their new duties.
Colton got the dog maintenance chore which consists of feeding Lily each evening, keeping her water bowl full and the picking up of her little poo. He immediately put a plastic bag over his hand and headed outside. Buck's chore for the week is laundry, with a fair amount of it already heaped onto the couch waiting to be folded. He dove right in. Sierra got the dishes. She quietly left the room and needed to be reminded (several times) that the dishwasher required emptying. Audra got the household tidy up, which is a biggie here. Just this morning, the boys had tied the sofa pillows to their legs for knee pads and their "knee pads" were still on the floor. She also got the trash detail, which is a full time job, really.
As productively as our chore morning began, it quickly went bad. As I was explaining to Sierra about the physics of stoneware hitting a tile floor, Buckley was holding up and announcing a pair of "ginormous underwear" (they were mine) while our little poo picker-upper came running into the kitchen to show us how well he had done. As he excitedly opened his bag of goodies, we gasped and covered our noses as the kitchen's breakfast aroma was quickly overtaken by the leftovers of Lily. He promptly threw it into the kitchen trash can before I could stop him. Apparently I forgot to mention the importance of using the backyard trash-can for this particular chore. Audra, having the trash detail, took it out as quickly as she could using the one hand that wasn't pinching her nose while Sierra excused herself, once again, from the dishes until the aroma in the kitchen improved.
Reader Comments (5)
It's nice and quiet over here in the office if you ever want to get away!
You're doing a great job.
Love W
Sierra is so much like Carson! He needs lots of direction, and redirection, on chores. The most personality, yes. The strongest work ethic, no.
I must say that your system for dispensing chores to the children sounds very fair. However, I’ll check back in a month or so to see what inequities the children have found with it :-) Sierra will do fine with her chores. She always helps me out on Sundays at church if I need something done. (Of course, I do have a bag of candy that might serve as an incentive.) Keep smiling!!
Randall, Thanks for checking in! I will do a follow-up post to let you know how the chores are working once we get into our groove. Sierra is very helpful, she just prefers to do everything in her time - she's a very bright girl! Yes, perhaps I need candy to help keep them motivated. Good thinking. :)
Yes, KC, Sierra and Carson are definitely two peas in a pod. It's strange how alike they are! They are both very interesting and smart. Love them both!