Tuesday, April 30, 2013

un-school

I love that word.  Well, maybe it's not a real word, but a made up one that I enjoy.  I saw this poster on Pinterest, or maybe Facebook, that says something like, "We're not trying to exactly replicate what public school looks like here at home.  We're trying to take our every day lives and incorporate those moments into part of our curriculum."  Or something like that.  Of course, along with these every day moments, we do actually have school work~math, language, science, health, spelling and poetry, history and reading.  And home economics.  Lots and lots and lots of home economics.  ;)

I tell you this, because as part of our school today, we started working on a gift for someone special.  I'm so excited about this gift~I've never given anything like this before, and it's so good, that I'm jealous!  I told the boys that I wanted the exact same thing for Mother's day.  ;)  We'll see if they remember.

I can't wait to give it!

We have done lots of loads of laundry today.  I'm so glad that the boys are such willing helpers~they help me with all the laundry.  We are some laundry-folding fools!  We sort it all into piles~they do pants, boxers, socks, pajama's, and I do all of mine, Todd's and their shirts.  It works...and it's teaching them to be independent someday.  You know why~because I'm just not raising boys, but future husbands and fathers.  I want them to know their way around a kitchen and laundry room.

They also unload the dishwasher after breakfast, and start it each night.  I figure this is a fair trade, because I cook all the meals around here.  ;)  And because right now, they genuinely like to do this activity.  More power to them, right?!

Graham is my grocery-shopping buddy.  That boy has mad skills when it comes to maneuvering his way around our local Kroger.  He is great at finding the best deals, too.  A lot of times he also helps with meal preparation.  All of them do that, actually.  I love putting them to work with a knife and a cutting board...they're awesome little choppers.

Drew and Jonah have asked me to let them do the laundry and the dishes everyday.  I'll gladly give that up to them...even though I don't mind doing it myself.  I'm really, really old-fashioned in my role of stay-at-home wife and mom.  I figure my job is to take care of everything involved with our home.  Todd's out working all day, and many nights, and I figure it's the least I can do.  I would feel differently {probably} if I worked outside of our home, or if I was a full-time employee somewhere.   I know he would help me if I needed him to do something, but I'm blessed with good help and don't often require the extra help. 

A weird fact about me is that I love being a stay-at-home wife and mom.  I love doing laundry, I love folding shirts, I love cooking and I get extreme satisfaction out of cleaning the home that the Lord has blessed us with.  Call me crazy...but I seriously love doing all this.

I don't know why I'm writing all this, except for the fact that I came across a really cool chore chart for kids the other day.  How do you feel about chores?  We expect a lot from our kids, I'll give you that...but I think it's a homeschool thing, too.  Lots of families I know who homeschool have kids that work a lot around their house.  Chalk it up to the fact that school doesn't take seven hours at home, and you need extra activities to fill in some gaps, and you get your reason for the why that I know you want to ask.  We don't pay them money, either...their payment is getting to participate in privileges, like going for ice-cream, or hanging out at the bowling alley with friends, or other similar things, like the occasional movie or church outing.

Do your kids do chores?  Do you pay them?  What do they do? 

Share the love and comment!  Please.  Help a girl out.  Since N.O.B.O.D.Y. commented on yesterday's post.  ;) 

Love to all. 




5 comments:

  1. I will comment that I feel you are doing a very good job. You are raising your sons very much like we did ours. They did have chores to do and they did help me with laundry (and did their own ironing when they wanted cotton shirts that had to be ironed) and helping clean the kitchen and keeping their rooms clean (even though it didn't always happen). They did not get paid or get an allowance but got to do fun things for payment.

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  2. We ALWAYS have mountains of laundry around here, no matter how many loads I do every day! I need to start enlisting the help of the kids to help with the chores. I know being a stay at home mom makes me responsible for a lot, but I don't think one person should have to do everything to keep a household of five people going. Know what I mean? It sounds like you have a great system in place. :)

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  3. We have a responsibility list in our home and a chore list. The first list they have to do those things the chore list are extra jobs around the house and they can get paid for most of them. However they can choose to do extra as a service project for our home. It's some weird system that works for the crew.

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  4. I also want to say I'm rather old fashin too. I get joy for being able to take care of my family. I also understand how big of a sacrafice it is for me to be home, I don't want to take it for granted. I feel so blessed that I am able to be here with them.(I do work part-time at a nursery school two days a week though)

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  5. Shari, what is up with the laundry?!?! It never goes away. ;) I keep telling my kids to please stop dirtying up all the clothes, but they don't seem to listen. I do love taking care of them, but it is so nice to have help, especially when they are so willing.

    Esther, I friends who do that~the chores they HAVE to do daily and some extra's they can earn money for. It sounds like it works great for your family! I think that's what matters~whatever works for each family~because each family is so different.

    Glad to know I'm not the only old~fashioned one left out there. ;)

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