chores
On Sunday mornings, I like to wake up slowly. Unfortunately, my son wakes up early and by the time I haul myself out of bed to make a pot of coffee, he's raring to go. Usually, Bob makes pancakes and has the boy help in the kitchen, so I get a little peace & quiet. Today however, the boy was more wound up than usual so we had to get creative.
We've been discussing chores a lot lately. Jed's getting older and can do more to help around the house. Our philosophy is that everyone who lives in the house needs to pitch in as s/he is able and Jed is struggling a bit with the idea that he can be assigned chores as well.
Today, I assigned him a major chore: pull all of the cans & foodstuffs out of the big corner cabinet, organize them into categories, and then put them all back. He balked at first, but then acquiesced so for the past 40 minutes or so, I've sat here drinking coffee and listening to the sounds of organizing from the kitchen.
He's actually having a blast. We told him that he needed to decide the categories, so he's tried a few different systems. He started out cans vs. boxes vs. bottles, but then decided to change. I think right now there's meat products, soups, sugary stuff, spicy bean-y things, and a few others. It's taking him awhile because he got distracted when he set up a battle between the vegetables and the fruits and then he got sidetracked piling cans to make a pyramid. He's now in the process of putting things back into the cupboard, but he only wants lines not stacks, so he's having to try some different configurations to make it all work. He seems pretty happy through it all, he's been singing while he works. He's even takes a few breaks to practice his "Michael Jackson dance moves" while he's in the kitchen.
All in all, the process has been a success. Jed practiced doing chores, my cupboard will be somewhat organized, and I've had an hour to sit and veg. I also learned that I have 6 cans of chicken broth, and that the tomato sauce is being ambushed by the beans. I think it was a stroke of genius - a chore that he enjoyed and that got me some much needed quiet time.
Bob thinks the whole assignment was a Sawyer-esque ruse, much like when I taught the girls to play dead mule. Dead mule was a favorite family game when the children were young. The goal was to act like a dead mule, to sit quiet and still while I timed the players to see who can be the champ. (Hannah was by far the best; she one time played dead mule for 42 minutes straight!)
I say there's no comparison. Besides, would I ever try to manipulate our children into being quiet???
We've been discussing chores a lot lately. Jed's getting older and can do more to help around the house. Our philosophy is that everyone who lives in the house needs to pitch in as s/he is able and Jed is struggling a bit with the idea that he can be assigned chores as well.
Today, I assigned him a major chore: pull all of the cans & foodstuffs out of the big corner cabinet, organize them into categories, and then put them all back. He balked at first, but then acquiesced so for the past 40 minutes or so, I've sat here drinking coffee and listening to the sounds of organizing from the kitchen.
He's actually having a blast. We told him that he needed to decide the categories, so he's tried a few different systems. He started out cans vs. boxes vs. bottles, but then decided to change. I think right now there's meat products, soups, sugary stuff, spicy bean-y things, and a few others. It's taking him awhile because he got distracted when he set up a battle between the vegetables and the fruits and then he got sidetracked piling cans to make a pyramid. He's now in the process of putting things back into the cupboard, but he only wants lines not stacks, so he's having to try some different configurations to make it all work. He seems pretty happy through it all, he's been singing while he works. He's even takes a few breaks to practice his "Michael Jackson dance moves" while he's in the kitchen.
All in all, the process has been a success. Jed practiced doing chores, my cupboard will be somewhat organized, and I've had an hour to sit and veg. I also learned that I have 6 cans of chicken broth, and that the tomato sauce is being ambushed by the beans. I think it was a stroke of genius - a chore that he enjoyed and that got me some much needed quiet time.
Bob thinks the whole assignment was a Sawyer-esque ruse, much like when I taught the girls to play dead mule. Dead mule was a favorite family game when the children were young. The goal was to act like a dead mule, to sit quiet and still while I timed the players to see who can be the champ. (Hannah was by far the best; she one time played dead mule for 42 minutes straight!)
I say there's no comparison. Besides, would I ever try to manipulate our children into being quiet???
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