Homeschooling Housework Basics
The final in a 3 part series on children and housework
Establish a routine for children and housework.
"Let me pencil you in!" - Scheduling is everything. Once you have a good routine worked out, and once you have an idea of how your kids will helpwith housework, try it out. Then, make a schedule and keep to it.
Plan to clean one area at a time. For example, Mondays we clean our bathrooms. I do the downstairs, and all three boys work the upstairs. The four-year-old removes everything from the counters, the six-year-old wipes the counters with a cleaning cloth, and the eight-year-old cleans the mirrors. I come later and do the toilet (letting the four-year-old help run the brush around the toilet bowl). Is the bathroom sparkling clean? Well, not always. If I did it myself, it would look better. But, they try, and they do get it pretty clean. Sometimes I have to call one in and go over something again. But, they are doing it, giving them pride and power. I am freed from the bulk of that bathroom. It works!
On Tuesdays, we vacuum. The younger two boys are responsible for cleaning all the toys off the floors upstairs. I usually go look before the vacuum is run. They often miss a few small things (little building blocks, marbles, small toy pieces). Then, the eight-year-old runs the vacuum. Sometimes the younger boys do a room, under supervision.
Thursday is trash day. One boys gets a trash bag and the others empty all the bins into it. Then, it is taken outside.
Your routine will be different, I am sure. Whatever you do, stick with it. Try to plan around 30 minutes for your cleaning. Work it into the morning schedule, before school. It helps keep everyone on track.
Is my house spotless? Are you kidding! I have three boys! My house is never perfectly clean. While I do not aim for perfection, I can become overwhelmed when the housework piles up. We have a lot of things we do. Choosing to homeschool our children is a big job. We have to make choices. Do we sit down and teach that math lesson, or mop the floor? Do we enjoy the beautiful weather and go for a field trip, or fold a load of laundry?
Homeschooling does not have to make housework impossible. By training our children to help, it becomes something else that unites the family. The family that cleans together....often needs a bath!
Have fun!
