Chores is a book in itself. There are so many offers, tidbits, and easy methods in handling the daily load. We'll address all those in due time. You can't expect me to dump my entire blog of Chores in one post now can you? :)
One of my most fondest memories I have with my mom is learning how to do chores and how to make it fun! We would scramble to be the next one to get to pull a folded crumbled paper from the cup. Let me let you in on a little secret that she taught me.
So, today's post will help you through the jungle, or at least give you a machete to begin to find your way through the jungle of chores you want to accomplish. If you look up right now, go ahead, look up into your living room. Do you have that pile of laundry on the couch, toys scattered across the floor, that "someday I'll go through that box" in the closet, but you can't see over the mail stack that is three phonebooks tall, and you have about 1000 emails in your inbox that you probably will never answer but never delete but who cares right?
There are probably close to 1000 things that you *could* be doing right now. Chores is the never ending daily battle that we must do otherwise we'll just end up doing twice as much tomorrow, or three times as much the third day. So let's try to get a handle on them today and have the kids give you a hand doing it.
Let's begin today, not tomorrow, today.
Now do this:
Find a scratch sheet of paper and a pair of scissors and cut the paper it into even sized pieces (it doesn't matter how big or small). Now, look through your house and write down one thing you would really like to get done today and write a few words or a sentence "fold the laundry" "change the kitty litter" etc... Go ahead and write it in crayon if you can't find a working pen it's okay. Write them in NO specific order. They don't have to be HUGE Chores, or even a chore it could just be your "to-do" list today.
Now that you have about 6-8 pieces of paper that have a chore or a "to-do" item on it. Fold it up. Fold it in half, then in half again, and again and into a small squared v-shaped crumble until you can't fold it anymore. Put that folded paper in an empty cup or bowl. Add in as many as you would like to do today or this week.
Take that cup full of folded squares and give it a good shake. Here is what you have a cup full of untitled squares. Pick one out, the suspense is killing me.... you get to do what first? What does that little square say? It gives a little bit of fun into your daily routine of knowing what you have to do but giving you a variety of what order you do it in.
Now lets' have the kids play this game in their room. You can write down all the main parts of cleaning a room.
"pick up stuffed animals"
"find all the barbies"
"put the blocks in the bin"
"put board games in the bookshelf"
etc...
The kids get a big kick out of this game because they get to draw the next surprising task!
We've always gotten a kick out of the pick-a-piece chore game. I think it makes it a little bit more fun on how to clean, and not just putting our nose to the grindstone and getting it done. A little variety makes us a little happier. You can keep this cup and paper squares in the kitchen and put away and get it out every time you ask the kids to clean their room. You will be surprised how fast it can get done some days.
Have fun, shake things up!
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