Doodle Acres

Well today is Tuesday so that means it’s “Training Tuesday” at our house.  Recently I added a job wheel (I read about it in the Complete Tightwad Gazette book I’ve been reading) to divvy up the dinner meal preparation tasks.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have done a good job training my two oldest children but have slacked off with the younger two.  This job wheel is an attempt to create a better division of labor.

Last week Lily learned how to set a proper table.  Today she learned to make salad.  She had used the salad spinner before but this is the first time that she cut the carrot herself (with supervision, of course!!!).

Peter even got in on the training today when he spilled his water on the floor.  I directed him to the rags and he cleaned it up himself.

Peter learning to wipe the table after lunch:

Step One: Get him away from his toys.

Step Two: Get a rag from the closet.

Step Three: Wipe the table that Mom has sprayed with vinegar and water spray.

Lily learning to set the table PROPERLY using a handy-dandy guide.

This is Lenny wiping down the counters with vinegar and water spray after washing the lunch dishes.  I have asked him to add this to his mental “to-do” list when it is his turn to wash dishes.

After contemplating training ideas for my littlest angels, I got to thinking that there are some things that the two oldest children and I could stand to learn as well.

Training Ideas for Lenny

-         Make his own eggs for breakfast

-         Make grilled cheese

-         Follow a recipe to make several dinner dishes

-         Learn to make an entire dinner of homemade foods (not hotdogs but a real meal)

Training Ideas for Hope:

-         Meal planning and budgeting for an entire week

-         How to change a tire

-         Clean house herself (not picking up, just cleaning) in about 4-5 hours

Training Ideas for Me:

-         How to change a tire

-         Clean house myself (not picking up, just cleaning) in about 4-5 hours – If a cleaning lady can do it, so can I!!!

Well I think that I will dedicate some time each Tuesday to training my children (and me).  I’ll call it Training Tuesday – hey, this could be fun!!!

While in Vermont, we decided not to use the dishwasher but rather to wash the dishes by hand.  After an afternoon snack of popcorn, I asked my seven year old daughter, Lily, to wash up the popcorn bowls.  She consented readily but I was astonished to find as I oversaw the task that she really didn’t know how to wash the dishes.  She was fumbling through but it was clear that I had never taught her how to wash dishes. 

I have always prided myself on how well I have trained my children to work.  However, at that instant I realized how well I had trained my two older children to work.  I have come to rely heavily on Hope (15) and Lenny (12) but have continued to view Lily (7) and Peter (3) as babes.  Yes, I can hear you saying that Peter is indeed a babe.  That’s true but he is capable of supervised work (toting light groceries from the car, emptying wastepaper cans, drying unbreakable dishes, etc.)  By age 8, Hope was doing most of the family laundry on her own.

I have a strong belief that we have all been created to work and that we do our children no favors by waiting on them.  Now my eyes have been opened to the fact that I’m only half way through the training process – Two children down, two to go!!!  Let the training begin…

Tasks to teach Lily:

-         Washing and drying dishes

-         Vacuuming and mopping floors

-         Folding her own laundry

-         Wiping down bathroom counters and sinks

-         Set table properly – the emphasis on “properly”

Tasks to teach Peter:

-         Emptying wastepaper cans with help

-         Drying dishes with help

-         Spray and wipe the kitchen table with vinegar spray