New Room-Cleaning Charts

It has been an absolute nightmare trying get the kids to clean their rooms lately. Since I want all of us to maintain our sanity throughout their childhood, I had to come up with a different way to go about it.

I read this article the other day and thought it could really help create more of a structure with how the kids clean their rooms: 

(Ignore my not-so-good artwork)

I made a very non-fancy chart for each of the kids' rooms with each step written down and a picture to help them remember (and hopefully be able to do it with minimal help one day).

I made a big deal of the charts and asked each kid where they wanted theirs on the wall in their room, then we taped them up and I explained the steps to them. After that we actually got to work. I have to say that it made a huge difference for Ellie! (I have yet to try it with Nathan) She knew what step we were on, which helped her know what to pick up next, rather than me endlessly pointing at objects and asking her to put them away. 

I'm really hoping that this will make a permanent difference in helping my kids learn to clean their rooms, and that it will give them a pattern to follow when cleaning any other room in the house.

Wish us luck! 

Fruits of Our Labors

Some of the veggies in our garden are ripe, and the kids love to go out and pick them! So far we have had snap peas, shell peas, lettuce, and strawberries (as long as the birds don't get them first), but I think the thing they are most excited for is the carrots! Every time we go outside I have to remind them that the carrots aren't quite ready to be picked since they run right to them.

It's amazing how the kids love to eat the vegetables that they have helped to grow in the garden so much more than the ones we buy from the store. 

Even this little guy loves to eat veggies from the garden! But he especially loves to play in the sandbox. Every time the back door opens he makes a beeline for it, and he could stay out there for hours at a time. That's probably why he is so tan!

I told Sam last night that I never want these summer days to end!