Time for Chores!
I’ve been frustrated at my lack of time lately and feeling like I’ll never have the time to do more than maintain the level that I have now. It was in pondering this dilemma that I determined to try having my preschoolers help. Today I had them try a variety of different chores so that I could determine which chores were best for each child and what I needed to teach each child to increase his or her repertoire of chores. Most of my surveying was with Isaac, as he’s the older and more willing of the two. We started off with the toilet. He did ok, but needed direction on where and how to wipe all of the surfaces, how to hold the spray cleaner, and how to squirt the toilet cleaner into the toilet, but for some reason he enjoyed the task. Later in the day he used the toilet and then reported that it needed to be cleaned again. I taught him how to clean a mirror (using the one in his room). At dinnertime I had him clear the table and rinse all of the dishes. He did these chores well and with little need for direction. Charlotte did the laundry and scooped the litter. She switched clothes from the washer to the dryer and unloaded the dryer when it was done. She did so well that I could actually walk away while she was working and she persisted through and finished. The litter didn’t have much to scoop, so that lesson will have to be resumed later.
It was a successful trial. I found a few chores that they could do independently that would actually help me. I think I may spend some more time training them before implementing a chore chart and rewards system, but so far so good.