Wow. God granted me the energy to go full-steam for three days de-cluttering our house. I have sorted through every cabinet and drawer here! Then I totally crashed on Sunday, which was appropriate as it is supposed to be the Sabbath anyway. Husband was so happy with my hard work, he was pleased to let me relax and do as I pleased. Victory in many ways!
The kids and I went through each of their rooms together, and I am happy to say every drawer can now close, and some are even empty! The closets are pleasant to look at and they rediscovered toys they forgot about. We filled up multiple garbage bags and tubs to take to the thrift stores. In the process we really thought about our buying habits and what is really important to us. Anything we buy, we will have to take care of...will we really enjoy it, or will we end up having to sort through it and give it away? I don't think any of us wants to sort through anything in the near future! The fewer things we have, the simpler life is. We don't want to be hindered by our stuff. We want to be free to go where God leads us.
Sweet Will did have time to spend some money this weekend, and he made a good purchase. He loves to spend money as soon as he gets it, but we made him wait a week to really think about it this time. He decided to buy a watch. A good purchase, because now that we have gone through his room, we know he doesn't have one. There were so many things we had two or more of just because we didn't keep good track of our things.
Now on to the second battle--keeping things picked up! Everything has a place, now we just need to develop good habits. For instance, when you are done with something, put it away. Put your garbage into the trash can--yes, I actually do find it strewn about the house. This is something I just don't understand. The iAllowance app is up and running. More on that later this week. Today we clean--vacuum, dust, etc. Tomorrow the real battle begins.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Kid's chores and allowance
Ha. I just found this old post in my draft folder. How appropriate because today, I am declaring war against clutter and kids not taking care of their things. I have not raised children who would make it on their own as of yet. Ellie is now 12 and Will is 10, and I am still constantly picking up their things. I naively assume that if I tell them to not leave plates on the couch, they won't do that any more. How silly I am. So today it begins. They got a warning last night after I discovered the mailbox key was not put back in its place and is now missing. We will be going through their rooms and the house all day today. If something doesn't have a place, then we need to get rid of it because it means we have too much stuff. They are to use the chore lists on their iAllowance apps (which is a great app by the way) every morning and evening. Twice a day I will conduct a full house check-INCLUDING THEIR ROOMS! If their stuff is put away, and the chore list is complete, then they earn an extra quarter. If not, they owe me a quarter.
Ugh, I have to be consistent with this. We are going to do it for one month. Hopefully by then, new habits will be formed. We did do my first idea for a while, but then it fell to the wayside. This is my fault. I need to be diligent and follow through. I need to be strong and stop enabling my children's negative behavior.
Dear Father,
Please grant me a clear head, and a soft heart. May we get through this day efficiently and lovingly. Please give us eyes to see what we truly love and want to keep and what is just adding clutter to our lives. We love You and want to live for You. Please give me the wisdom and strength I need to raise responsible adults and not children.
In Jesus Name I Pray--Amen
ORIGINAL POST:
I recently read a quote that made perfect sense to me..."A parent's job is to raise adults, not children." It is a constant struggle, because they are kids. :) My husband and I want to teach our children how to manage money and how to take care of themselves when they leave the house. With my new focus on efficiency, I have put together a plan which implements allowance, chores and addressing negative behaviors.
Monday is a big chore day for me, so I was inspired to complete this list of chores for the kids. Once I think of something, I like to go for it immeadiately! :)
ALLOWANCE
Each DAILY task = 10 cents
Each WEEKLY task = 25 cents
ELLIE (10) AND WILL (7)
Daily
1. feed Kady (E) collect eggs (W)
2. feed Frank (E)
3. sort laundry
4. empty garbage cans
5. walk Kady and get the mail
6. unpack backpack/lunch box
7. complete homework
8. help make lunches
9. put laundry away
10. empty dishwasher
11. pick up stairs
12. help cook dinner
13. set the table
14. load dishwasher
15. sweep kitchen
16. Make dad’s coffee
17. Make dad’s lunch
18. nightly pick up
19. Read 20-30 minutes
WEEKLY
1. clean Frank’s cage (E) vacuum stairs (W)
2. clean chicken coop (E) clean windows (W)
3. pick up dog poop (E) pull weeds (W)
4. vacuum room (both)
Here's how we're going to work it:
Every two weeks, the kids get an empty mason jar. We have one jar filled with small marbles and 16 big marbles. Each time a daily task is completed, they get to add one small marble to their jar. When a weekly task is completed, they get to add a big marble to their jar. Here's the catch: if I have to pick up after them, or if they perform the negative behavior we are trying to eradicate, then I get to take a small marble from their jars and put it back into the big jar. On payday, we'll count up the marbles in the jars and convert them to money.
The goal is for the kids to do all 4 weekly chores and 40 daily chores. This equals 5.00. I suppose they'll have to do more to make up for the marbles they are bound to lose. We'll see how it works!
Ugh, I have to be consistent with this. We are going to do it for one month. Hopefully by then, new habits will be formed. We did do my first idea for a while, but then it fell to the wayside. This is my fault. I need to be diligent and follow through. I need to be strong and stop enabling my children's negative behavior.
Dear Father,
Please grant me a clear head, and a soft heart. May we get through this day efficiently and lovingly. Please give us eyes to see what we truly love and want to keep and what is just adding clutter to our lives. We love You and want to live for You. Please give me the wisdom and strength I need to raise responsible adults and not children.
In Jesus Name I Pray--Amen
ORIGINAL POST:
I recently read a quote that made perfect sense to me..."A parent's job is to raise adults, not children." It is a constant struggle, because they are kids. :) My husband and I want to teach our children how to manage money and how to take care of themselves when they leave the house. With my new focus on efficiency, I have put together a plan which implements allowance, chores and addressing negative behaviors.
Monday is a big chore day for me, so I was inspired to complete this list of chores for the kids. Once I think of something, I like to go for it immeadiately! :)
ALLOWANCE
Each DAILY task = 10 cents
Each WEEKLY task = 25 cents
ELLIE (10) AND WILL (7)
Daily
1. feed Kady (E) collect eggs (W)
2. feed Frank (E)
3. sort laundry
4. empty garbage cans
5. walk Kady and get the mail
6. unpack backpack/lunch box
7. complete homework
8. help make lunches
9. put laundry away
10. empty dishwasher
11. pick up stairs
12. help cook dinner
13. set the table
14. load dishwasher
15. sweep kitchen
16. Make dad’s coffee
17. Make dad’s lunch
18. nightly pick up
19. Read 20-30 minutes
WEEKLY
1. clean Frank’s cage (E) vacuum stairs (W)
2. clean chicken coop (E) clean windows (W)
3. pick up dog poop (E) pull weeds (W)
4. vacuum room (both)
Here's how we're going to work it:
Every two weeks, the kids get an empty mason jar. We have one jar filled with small marbles and 16 big marbles. Each time a daily task is completed, they get to add one small marble to their jar. When a weekly task is completed, they get to add a big marble to their jar. Here's the catch: if I have to pick up after them, or if they perform the negative behavior we are trying to eradicate, then I get to take a small marble from their jars and put it back into the big jar. On payday, we'll count up the marbles in the jars and convert them to money.
The goal is for the kids to do all 4 weekly chores and 40 daily chores. This equals 5.00. I suppose they'll have to do more to make up for the marbles they are bound to lose. We'll see how it works!
PS I got some ideas for the task list at http://totallytogetherjournal.com/chores-aka-but-thats-why-we-had-you/ .
Monday, June 23, 2014
Pray Sooner
Wow, what a morning! Hubby comes into our room this morning about six am. My head is covered up with my pillow in an attempt to muffle the hammering and drilling sounds coming from the roofers fixing our roof. "The rooster got out," he tells me. "He's behind the club house. Don't let Will go back there. You'll probably have to use the chicken stick." And off he goes to work. I keep my head covered for a few more hours. I am so thankful to have a hubby who wants me to have a job that let's me stay at home when the kids have vacation!
Rewind to six weeks ago...we picked up nine baby chicks and brought them home! We've had chickens before, so this is not new to us. We have been keeping them in the kid's clubhouse until last night when we moved seven of them into their chicken palace. Two of the nine are still living in the clubhouse due to the fact that they are ROOSTERS! Sad to say, one is already crowing and trying to dominate the ladies by pecking them. Well, apparently, when my sweet hubby went out to check the roosters this morning, one had had enough and somehow escaped. I wish I could have seen that happen. :)
So, this morning my son and I are in the backyard chasing the rooster around while still in our bathrobes! After approximately 30 minutes, my son gets too hot for his winter robe, and sheds it in favor of his boxers and cowboy boots. My mother's heart loves this, and will treasure the memory. Finally, after about an hour we decide we have to let the dog outside. Who knows if we will ever catch this rooster, and she is only one year old. We can't keep her inside for much longer without messy consequences. MISTAKE! Puppy almost kills rooster! Puppy is banished to the house until rooster is caught. Suddenly it occurs to me, we haven't taken time to pray about this. I walk around to the other side of the clubhouse and stopped my son. We pray a short prayer for wisdom and speed. Guess what? That rooster was caught in the next 3 minutes. More like 5 seconds my son, who is reading this as I write, says. Lesson learned? PRAY SOONER. Don't wait so long to include God in what you are doing, or struggling with.
Rewind to six weeks ago...we picked up nine baby chicks and brought them home! We've had chickens before, so this is not new to us. We have been keeping them in the kid's clubhouse until last night when we moved seven of them into their chicken palace. Two of the nine are still living in the clubhouse due to the fact that they are ROOSTERS! Sad to say, one is already crowing and trying to dominate the ladies by pecking them. Well, apparently, when my sweet hubby went out to check the roosters this morning, one had had enough and somehow escaped. I wish I could have seen that happen. :)
So, this morning my son and I are in the backyard chasing the rooster around while still in our bathrobes! After approximately 30 minutes, my son gets too hot for his winter robe, and sheds it in favor of his boxers and cowboy boots. My mother's heart loves this, and will treasure the memory. Finally, after about an hour we decide we have to let the dog outside. Who knows if we will ever catch this rooster, and she is only one year old. We can't keep her inside for much longer without messy consequences. MISTAKE! Puppy almost kills rooster! Puppy is banished to the house until rooster is caught. Suddenly it occurs to me, we haven't taken time to pray about this. I walk around to the other side of the clubhouse and stopped my son. We pray a short prayer for wisdom and speed. Guess what? That rooster was caught in the next 3 minutes. More like 5 seconds my son, who is reading this as I write, says. Lesson learned? PRAY SOONER. Don't wait so long to include God in what you are doing, or struggling with.
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