Chores with a Purpose

Summertime is my favorite time to teach new chores.  Before the summer begins, I scan over our chore chart noting who is ready for more responsibilities.  Usually, they all are.  As the children age, their chores become more complex and closer to the same chores I, or my husband, do on a regular basis.  {We feel it is a disservice to our children not to teach them how to clean the house, do the laundry, change the oil in the car, repair and maintain household appliances, etc. before they move out of our house.  There is a lot to learn, so it only makes sense to start early, in our opinion.} 

Since we take a summer break from our formal lessons, there is extra time we can devote to learning new chores.  Some of the ones we have upgraded a child to (meaning it use to be an older child's responsibility, but has now been passed down to a younger child) include:

• dumping the trash can
• washing and drying the dishes
• sweeping the kitchen
• brushing the dog

A few of the new ones we added to the older children's lists include:

• exercising the dog (long walks around the neighborhood)
• unloading the dishwasher
• mowing the yard
• laundry

For the most part, our children enjoy learning new chores and getting more responsibility.  Granted there are a few chores none of us like, but they are all necessary to help keep our house running smoothly.  And, helping our children learn to do a few more things around the house each summer is working for our family.



Linked to: