Tuesday, February 5, 2008

A new twist on chores

God gave me this brainstorm over the weekend (I think I mentioned it last Friday) to add the children's daily chores on to their daily assignment sheets for school. I've had a chore chart on the fridge for as long as I can remember, and if we start school late or something takes longer than planned, chore time is always the first thing to go. If you came to my house, you would be able to tell that this is so. I am pretty relaxed about the dirt, having chosen to spend hours a day teaching my children instead of cleaning!, but I have been very discouraged about my house for several weeks now. I had that sinking feeling that I just couldn't even manage the basics.

Well, that all changed yesterday! Just to put your minds at ease, because I know you're worried about this ;0), I do not ask my children to do anything I am not willing to do myself. Nor do I ask them to do more than I do. But having their consistent help, on their daily assignment sheets, where they have to cross it off every day as part of their regular work, is already making a significant difference in the cleanliness of our home and in my outlook! (and Lord willing in their attitude toward work and their understanding of stewardship)

So far this week, we have had:

2 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away
the entryway rugs shaken out, and the floor swept
the cats fed and watered
the mouse fed and watered
the dining room and living room swept each day
both bathrooms wiped down with baby wipes (toilets and sinks)
the tub scrubbed with a scrub brush
the family room vacuumed
the dishwasher unloaded

and it's only Tuesday!! And none of the above was done by me!!

So encouraging! I love how God cares about the little things.

3 comments:

Beth in Texas said...

I hope the cat wasn't fed w/ the mouse. :-) We were given a fish yesterday (with permission asked by the giver) and the kids started surrounding its fish bowl with their toys to "share" their treasures. One put a small stuffed cat right by the bowl. I told him that was mean!

Pam said...

Beth, you're funny. :-)

No, the cat was not fed with the mouse, though I'm sure he wished he were! Before we got a little stand whose top is almost exactly the same size as the cage (therefore nothing else fits up there) our cats used to just sit there and stare at the mouse forever. They would sometimes bat at the cage, especially when the mouse ran around. I'm not sure our one cat (the male, hmmmm) still understands that he can not penetrate the glass wall. Whenever the cage is on another surface, he keeps trying!

Lona said...

Woo-hoo! Great idea, Pam. God gives us wisdom when we ask...