Weekly & Monthly Chore Packs

Today is our weekly cleaning day. So I thought I would blog about the weekly & monthly chore packs. Here is a picture of the chorepack template that is given in the book so you can easily copy & fill out what you want accomplished on your weekly cleaning & monthly days. I went through each room and tried to write a card for each step of the cleaning process. I also figured out what I wanted done monthly like wash walls etc. The nice thing about this is if you forget or notice your child is missing something when cleaning you can simply add a card. I have a mom notebook which I will explain more on another post so I placed the cardholders which come with the chorepacks in my mom notebook. In the notebook I have a list of what rooms we decided each child would do on our round table discussion day. Instead of assigning names to the plastic holders I wrote the rooms.That way whenever we switch around the chores it is not a big deal .So in the notebook is the weekly tasks for each room. I remove the daily task cards from their chore packs and place what they are to do weekly.Some children are assigned more than one room but I only place in their pack one room at a time.As they complete the room I switch it again.

• For example: Dominic is in charge of the laundry room so I remove his daily chores place them in the laundry room sleeve and put the laundry room task cards in his chore pack.
  

I also have a separate plastic sleeve for the outside & cleaning the van. That way if it is raining on the weekly chore day I can simply add the outside chores like mowing, weed whacking etc. into their daily chore packs.

We are doing the weekly chores on Saturday but with this system it is so flexible you can do whatever day you want because you simply switch cards in the chore pack from daily to weekly :O) My hubby is working on Saturdays now but when he is off I will have them do it on Fridays or a weekday so we can do things with him whether it be work he wants to get done, field trip, or just a family fun day.

The monthly chores like washing walls, curtains, or whatever you feel is needed monthly I also place in the plastic sleeve with weekly chores.I just do not place them in the chore packs until the day I have scheduled for monthly chores.To make it simple I plan on scheduling a day the first week of the month. More than likely a week day even during the school year.I also plan to switch rooms every year or 6 months so they learn how to clean each type of room. A bathroom requires different tasks than a kitchen for example. You can change it weekly, monthly, yearly etc.It is so easy to do with this system.

If my children are faithful in the daily & weekly chores they will learn that it doesn't take as much time to keep the house if they work on it everyday forming good habits. Daniel all week made me smile he was so excited to complete his daily habits he calls them.They enjoy knowing exactly what to do.It is also great for no excuses on I did not know what to do! I do not expect everything to be perfect at first but everyday & every week work on improving their skills until the final goal they are independent and when I check everything is done right. Depending on the age & character of the child will depend on how long that may take.

The Principle Approach -using the Bible as the main textbook

Today I was looking through the 2011 issue of the Schoolhouse Publishing Catalog www.shpublishing.com .They had an article titled How to Choose your curriculum and Not Turn Prematurely Gray in the Process. This was an excellent article on the different views & styles of homeschooling. For example they gave a brief explanation to the different styles that you will hear in the homeschooling world.

1. Classical Education


2. Charlotte Mason Method


3. Unschooling


4. Principle Approach


5. Unit Studies

What caught my eye was the explanation of the Principle Approach because this reminds me the most concerning the Wisdom Booklets. How ever the interesting thing about the Wisdom Booklets is it is a tool that framework is the Bible (Principle Approach) but can be taught in any style: Classical Education, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Principle Approach, & Unit Studies.

Today was the first time I heard of the Principle Approach but from what I read it really reminds me of the Wisdom Booklets. Here is a a few links to get a better understanding. So I am going to research more about this approach. One thing mentioned was a notebook so I will be digging into this subject more but I thought I would share with you.
The Principle Approach - FACE
http://homehearts.com/step-by-step-guide/step-4-develop-your-approach/the-principle-approach/

One thing that was neat about the Schoolhouse Publishing is they have a charts in the catalog after each subject ex. history the places checks to show the homeschooler the different styles so you have an idea if it fits your style.

I am so thankful the Wisdom Booklets teach my children about life through the lens of the word of God.That is what is important to us more than what style I use to teach but finding your style since we are all different sure makes it more enjoyable. I was just telling my husband today my goals especially for my highschool students next year is to research and answer the recommended projects in the WB.I want them to learn to answer life through the Bible and know how to cut up the meat themselves before they chew it.This I believe is what the Principle Approach is all about but I will dig into the subject some more!

Managers of Their Chores (or habits! )

Yesterday we were blessed to to have the Maxwell family from http://www.titus2.com/ come and visit a local Baptist Church on their way home from the PA Chap Homeschool Convention.

We enjoyed not only the tools and gained some great ideas but also the message they gave.We miss the teaching on the home.We would love to be apart of a homebased type church again but there is none in our area. So it was worth the hour drive to hear the Maxwell family for us on a Monday night. The wisdom they gave we have heard before but it still was music to our ears.

I already own Managers of the Home but the Managers of Their Chores was on my hit list for this year. I was told the Duggars use this system too and on the TV show you can see the chore packs attached to the children. I have only watched the Duggars one time.We are not much of TV watchers but I would love to see their show since they are an ATI family :O). So we purchased Managers of Their Chores and Preparing sons which were both on my hit list for this school year. No shipping and what a perfect time for me because we are done with school and I can take the time to teach & train concerning chores.

So today we had a round table session and began to organize our habits using this system. We discussed daily, weekly, & monthly chores. Today we got done the daily chores and divide up the house for the Saturday Weekly Chores.Tomorrow if we don't go to the zoo we will break those rooms down in more details. I plan to blog as we work through the habit system.

I then pulled out the chore backs and began to make them.In the book there is tons of examples, direction, and scripture that encourages you in the fruit of forming these life long habits.

So what is a chore pack? A chore pack is simply small cards made of cardstock with their chores and life long habits are placed inside a name badge.There is a template in the book that fits in the name badge perfect. The little ones that can't read I google imaged pictures to place for them. Here are some samples.

Nehemiah's is simple school, brush teeth , and make his bed. It may not be perfect but each year as he grows we can work on that but my goal is a life long habit.

Jobs I added pick up the toys.I also choose a picture with the teeth brushing that shows the inside of the teeth being brushed too.

Angelo who is 7 will use Clorox wipes to wipe down the sink & toilet daily. He will also once a week vacuum the house.

The older kids who can read I simply write on the card. Bible reading is included with their chores because this is definite a lifetime habit I want them to form.They have already formed this habit but it still is worth placing in the chore pack. Another idea I got from the Maxwell's is assign other sibling to do drills etc. I loved this idea so in their chore packs I also have drill time with a sibling. My examples

• Dominic-drill Angelina & Daniel Multiplication


• Joseph~ work with Daniel & Angelo their Bible memory verses


• Angelina~ phonic flash cards with Job & Nehemiah


• Daniel~ addition flashcards with Angelo

You can do spelling, older students Latin prefixes, etc. I just loved this idea because it is something that I want to accomplish daily but find it is not accomplished.That is the great thing about the chores packs you can personalize them to your family needs both in house cleaning & school.

The chore packs come with everything you need : cardstock, name tags etc.

I then placed the completed chore packs in the school room were I spend most of my time.It over looks the living room so it is were I work from mostly. I attached the chore packs to a piece of cloth and in the morning they will attach the chore packs to their clothes on the bottom of a t-shirt, sleeve etc. to remind them. I will also have a Master chore list to check them and can look at the chore pack to see if they moved their cards.I forgot to mention as they complete the chore they place he card in the back to get the next task.

One of the things that blessed me is when Terri said I used to feel guilty to make my children do chores but the Lord showed me these are life long habits that we are preparing them for when they are adults. That hit me because both me and my husband both were never taught these life long habits and it has affected us as adults. I want my children to have success in this area because for the rest of their lives they will need these skills. I also explained this to my children so they understand we are not having them do chores to be our slaves but out of love for them in preparing their future. When I began today I called a round table session and stated my problem.I allowed them be apart of organizing the system.I want them to look at problems or weaknesses and learn to evaluate, break it down, and finally organize to manageable tasks to get the job done. This will help them if they area homemaker, manager, worker, serving in the church, etc. What a wonderful way to learn how to work as a team & have a servant heart!

organizing clothes for large families!

For the first time in many years I am able to keep up with my laundry because of the organizational system I came up with that has taken the stress laundry to be gone! Here were my problems:

1. old house with no closets


2. many children & 2 adults ( talking clothes!)


3. clothes hanging out of dressers


4. could not tell how many play clothes or good clothes we had


5. blessings continually coming in via hand me downs & birthday gifts etc.


6. carrying laundry baskets up and down stairs then sorting then putting away


7. not knowing easily what clothes the kids had or needed (they may have 1 pair pf good pants and 20 play for example)


8. need more room in the boys rooms

I have finally addressed all of these problems :O) Now this laundry system may not work in every home but I thought I would share to either spark your own idea or help you.Here is what I did ......

I purchased a clothes organizer for each child. My daughter has one in her room since she is the only girl she has her own closet. They come in different colors. I found a good quality canvas with cedar support but I could not find the link again. Here is one on Amazon so you know what I am talking about but I can't tell you the quality. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F51ADU?tag=closetsideas-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B001F51ADU&adid=1K6DAZK5T1R7PMPZFG46&&
Google search them out and find ones that work for you.You can also build permanent ones out of wood which we plan on doing after these wear. I originally was going to have each compartment for one day a week.A set of play clothes and a set of good clothes.Since we homeschool they mostly wear play clothes which is great! The problem I found was especially the younger kids would grab good clothes for play.So I decided to have the top 3 compartments good clothes and the bottom three play clothes. My hubby hung up a aluminum bar up for me to hang them on in the laundry room. So after they were hung up I took all of the clothes out of the dressers and placed them in the organizational system. We then threw away the dressers (were worn and not worth saving) That gave room in the boys room & no more carrying clothes up stairs to the bedroom! Since it is the change of season here in PA I purchased clear containers and packed them with the winter clothes to place in the attic. I kept a few cold season clothes since we are between in weather. I did not pull out the summer clothes yet so we have a 50/50 mix of warm clothes but most of the winter is put away.

I purchased a clear container to put the sweatshirts and pants in that will not go into the attic for when the hot weather is officially here so I can use them on cool nights or in between the next season change. This way they are easily to access without going into the attic. I also have a laundry basket under the organization system for the donations to the Salvation Army or Good Will etc. As I filled up my organization system I was able to see what the kids had and kept the best play clothes. I threw away what was excess but not nice enough to to keep. I got rid of so much clothing this way and was able to keep what we need and be able to bless others. Another advantage was the kids can see what they have and all ages can go and grab new clean clothes for play etc.When we go places I can easily find their good clothes. We do have one closet)cabinet in the boys room for their Sunday shirts & pants.


We placed the organizational system in the laundry room.I have a table to throw the clean clothes if I do not have time to fold but most of the time I take the clothes straight out of the dryer fold and place them in the organizer. No more steps or sorting sizes!!!! Another advantage of the organizational system is it controls the amount of clothes we have so I can easily keep up with our laundry.We are so blessed in America that to many clothes can become a problem.Now I can focus on our needs and bless others without the over abundance. The last advantage is as a mom I can easily see my children's needs.Angelo needs some new good pants and with this system I can see easily what needs my children have and their needs.


Finally we have 3 laundry baskets

1. dark clothes


2. play work clothes (muddy)


3. whites

Instead of hampers I purchased nice laundry baskets that you can even carry one handed so when someone sees one is full they can take it down to the laundry room to wash.Even Dad gladly helps! So finally after many years I am able to keep up laundry.Thank you Lord for all your blessing you are the great provider!!!!

I pray this helps or blesses you in some way!