Tuesday, July 29, 2008

You'll Never Guess What I Did.

I made a cleaning schedule for the bathroom. No, not for me, for Catherine.



You'll notice she doesn't have the big jobs like scrubbing the tub or mopping. She does get the toilet though. :D

She's been doing the bathroom for our morning chore time (it's a family time where we talk and work together) for a little while now and while I once thought chores were evil I'm now seeing a girl who's starting to take some pride in how she does a job and who confidently tells visitors that baking soda makes a great mild abrasive. Granted, that doesn't mean she's always happy to do her bit but she always does it regardless and with less and less, "Can I do it later?" every day.

Spurred on by this success I've assigned Harry some duties as well and he's taken to them like a fish to water. I think he enjoys the sense of working as an equal with his big sister and me.

So tonight I made up the schedule to hang in the bathroom so Catherine has a guide to consult. And it feels pretty good to be able to trust that she'll use it.

3 comments:

kitten said...

Every little bit helps. And it great what a little lady she is growing up to be.

Anonymous said...

We've had "morning routines" for quite a while which were aided by "chore cards" that the kids created, held in their own little chore card holders on a bulletin board, but they got abandoned during our move and have just been found again. This time around I intend to add house chores to the mix, before it was just their own stuff, make beds, brush hair, etc... but I'm tired and old now and need the younguns doing the char work.

Heather said...

I made up a chore chart a few months ago. The kids were delighted to discover that I listed my cleaning chores as well. I think it helped for them to know that I wasn't being a slave driver; we're all working together and doing our part to keep the house clean and organized.