Children's Chores (Morning Routine)

Hello again, friends!

I'm going to be talking today about my children's chores.

Several years ago I established what we call our Morning Routine. Basically, it's morning habits that I expect them to do on their own every day before we start school. Each child is responsible for the following:

Get dressed

Brush teeth

Make bed

Tidy bedroom 

Take all dirty clothes down to the laundry room

Put clean laundry away

Help with breakfast 

Clear place at table 

Before I go on I want to say that I do not pay my children an allowance for doing these chores.

These are the basics that are just expected every day. 

Also, we do not start school until all of this is done. The reason for this is because I consider it part of our school day. If I wanted my children to have a life that was only about academics, I would send them to school. But a big reason why I homeschool is so that I can teach them habits of successful people.

Successful people, who have good quality lives, get up early, get dressed, eat a healthy breakfast, brush their teeth, make their bed, tidy their surroundings, etc, etc... You get the picture.

Also, successful people, who have good quality relationships, don't make others do things for them. That's why I expect even my young children to do whatever they can on their own. If they need help, they are welcome to ask, but I strongly encourage them to take responsibility for their own teeth, beds, laundry, etc...

These are important and essential life skills.

Also remember that one of the great benefits of homeschooling is the lifestyle. 

They get to live along side US, learning work ethic, hygiene, godly values, serving others, meal planning, etc. Other things like character training, and relationship building within the family, are benefits to their upbringing because of this lifestyle.

I say all of this to point out that we do not fly through our morning routine to just get it over with. I use our morning routine as training. I'm training my children to enjoy their work, find satisfaction in a job well done, help and serve their siblings, and be good stewards of their bodies and of our home.

Our mornings are full, and we are busy doing all sorts of things, but I tried to snap a few pictures to show you. I don't have pictures of everything, and what I do have isn't all from the same day, but I'll include as many as I can since pictures help make reading a blog interesting.

I expect help with breakfast:

              

And help occupying the baby while I make breakfast:

             

The children clear their place:

           

And help with table chores:

            

Our mornings are upbeat and fun. We play music, we talk and laugh together, and I try to set a happy tone for us. Dark houses make me sad, I believe homes should be bright and airy, so my first order of business (after my coffee, of course) is to turn on lights, open the blinds, and if the weather permits, I open the windows so we can hear the birds and feel the fresh morning air. 

After breakfast we go upstairs and I work on laundry while the kids get dressed and tackle their rooms. 

They gather up dirty clothes:

           

They tidy up and make their beds:

         

(I just noticed that Roman has a snake stuffed into his pants, haha!)

Then they dry Swiffer their rooms:

        

It's important to understand that little kids aren't going to be able to make a bed and tidy a room the way a woman can. I've showed them what to do and how to do it but in the end the result clearly shows that little kids did this. Unless company is coming, that is the point! I want them to take responsibility for and pride in their own rooms. Since the girls share a room and the boys share a room, it also is good training for them to learn how to work together toward a goal.

They also put away their clean laundry:

         

I have learned from experience that little kids really are capable of doing a lot! The above is everything that they do every day, but sometimes, on an as-needed basis, I'll have the older two:

-Help with Elsa

-Switch laundry loads

-Strip their beds for me to wash bedding 

-Dust

-Organize a cupboard 

About a year or so ago I had a visitor in my home and I had asked Roman, who was six at the time, to run upstairs and pull everything out of the washer, switch it over to the dryer, and start the dryer on "Normal". He came back after a few minutes saying he had done it (and I knew that he had). My guest was astounded, and I was confused at her astonishment. 

It's been my observation that this generation of parents are too easy on their kids. Friends! By the time a child is five years old they can switch over a laundry load without supervision! And no, they don't deserve an applause or a treat! I don't mean to rant, I just have learned from experience that 1. Kids want to learn, 2. It only takes showing them once or twice and they'll get it! 3. It makes them feel good because they're helping mama, 4. It gives them a sense of purpose in the home, and 5. It teaches work ethic.

Don't make the mistake of thinking your kids are too little and you have plenty of time so you'll teach them when they're older. You might be tempted to think, Courtney's a young mom with little kids, she doesn't know what she's talking about. But there's a reason why I feel so strongly about this. Remember, I have a teen-aged step-son! I've seen with my own eyes what happens when you wait too long to teach these things! Once a child is nine, ten, eleven... and you start teaching these basics, by then it's too late because they're past their formative years. (I know what I'm talking about. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!!!)

The good news is, I have a fresh start with my kids and I'm determined to do things differently! The good news for you is that if you have little kids, you too have the opportunity to start now and train them while they're young!  We can do this, girlfriends! 

Once our morning routine is complete, we sit down to do school. Care has been taken of our physical hygiene and our home is in order. I love sitting down to crack open the books and being able to hear the comforting hum of the dishwasher and washing machine. 

"Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." 1 Cor. 14:40

             

(Roman still has that snake in his pants... {eye roll...} ;)

While I'm on this topic, I'll end with one last thing. The day I started the rough draft for this post and I was snapping pictures of the kids working in their rooms, I noticed that the girls' closet looked like this:

            

I had known for a while that this closet was pretty bad, but it's just so easy to close the door and forget about it, haha. But you know, somethings gotta change when you can't walk into a walk-in closet, sigh...

           

A snow storm was coming in, and there was no place we had to be...

          

The perfect conditions for an afternoon organizing project!

I didn't send the kids off to play so that I could work on it myself. We were all together working on it. Everybody had jobs and I used it as an opportunity to teach them how to tackle organizing a closet. 

We made piles. A trash pile, a doll pile, a book pile, etc...

It took about two hours, and here is the result:

The kids and I enjoyed ourselves while we worked and I noticed that they were very proud to show dad when he came home. 

            

Well friends, that's all I have for you today. I sure have enjoyed having a blog and writing to you, recording projects, and telling stories. I also enjoy getting your comments and questions. In fact, the idea for today's topic came from a reader who asked me about children's chores. You're welcome to leave any questions or suggestions in the comments below. 

I'd also love to hear anything you'd like to add about your children's chores! 

Can't wait to hear from you! 

Love to you all,

~ Courtney