When your children are younger, you need to be very active cleaning and putting things away as the kids are working on their papers. I remember walking a LOT. I would start them on their lessons then be cleaning near them. Dishes and cooking were for very early or during lunch - or after school. Homeschooling is HARD work BTW. Some 'people' have NO CLUE how hard it can be so when they say or ask something stupid... just smile and say something cute. :)
As my kids had a question, I would go to the table. I always made trips from one place to another PRODUCTIVE. If I have folded some laundry, I would grab the pile that belonged nearest to that child and go. I would hold the laundry as I was answering their questions. Then I would complete my laundry trip. think of it as a form of 'car-pooling' but with housework chores. You do more than one thing as you are going by to check their papers or answer questions, that is unless you can afford a maid. I couldn't, especially after I divorced (I had Biblical reasons).
I still do this sort of 'chore-life pooling'. It's now what I call 'being organized'. It's even helped me when I do work outside the home. I was an excellent crew member at McDonad's one pre-Christmas season! For example - I would need to go to the stock room after cups or what have you, so I would think about what else I needed to do ON THE WAY while I was empty-handed. I would do it too. I worked BOTH ways not just one way. If I had to wait on pies to cook , I would restock all the things around me - not just stand there like a bump as some (most) of the other workers did. Be productive and who needs an exercise gym!
As my children grew older, I would start teaching them how to do the chores. Not all of them, but the 'age appropriate' ones. This is something that ALL kids need to learn. They need to learn to WORK AT HOME. The ones that don't learn have a crappy house or must make enough money to hire a house cleaner. Job security for the cleaners!
'LIFE SKILLS' and 'survival skills' are so important. I don't mean how to 'hide and shoot enemies in the woods' survival skills though.
Imagine this scenario: It's winter and we had a terrible snow storm. The storm downed the power lines and the water pressure is off because of it also (it's pushed by electrical pumps). You have central heat and so now your family will freeze if something isn't done CORRECTLY. ALL PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS! Weather is DEADLY! The 'Old Timers' knew this so now why is everyone so ignorant? They / we are SPOILED and it's going to 'hurt us' one day.....
Teach your children how to cook, clean and care for animals - stock animals (preferably chickens,rabbits because they are small enough to butcher for one meal). Then teach them how to collect water from SAFE sources and how to CLEAN IT. Teach them about hypothermia and such things. It's a dangerous life we live, so teach your children to survive.
When my older children were all 'old enough' to wash dishes, cook simple meals, do laundry, feed the livestock etc.. I made a schedule for CHORES. It's like' pre-work' skills. They learn who does what chores on what days and ROTATE. I would also rotate through seasons too. When my oldest son wasn't mowing the lawns he would be helping bring in firewood. We all helped unload and stack though. 'AGE APPROPRIATE CHORE' is the key to this working. Don't let little kids do the laundry or you may have colors messed up but do teach them to sort by colors at younger ages. Then you SHOW them what to do after that. They learn by watching FIRST - even cooking but from a safe distance.
My kids always wanted to DO it first instead of WATCH. I told them that their JOB was to 'watch and learn' then ,when they could answer some key questions AND be old enough for that chore, they would start 'leaning by doing'. It's amazing how quickly chores are accomplished because they become part of the lessons. Many of these chores can be labeled as HOME EC., so count them as lessons... because they are!
They will be ready for the work force. SO MANY PEOPLE 'worry' about home schooled kids not being social but many public school kids don't know HOW TO WORK - let's show them how it's done!
My preacher once said - "In this world if you show up on time and do your work, you will excel because so many other workers don't want to work or don't know how to work well". I agree.
We are raising the Cream of the Crop!
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