Life is so busy when you are homeschooling. And the house is always full of people, so anyone might wonder how can anyone homeschool and still keep a reasonably clean and tidy house?
If you are a clean and tidy person you can still keep your house clean and tidy while you’re homeschooling. In fact, it’s a good idea to do so because it’s certainly healthier to live in a clean house and it’s time-saving to live in a tidy house where you can put your hand on things as you need them.
Let me tell you five things that I learned which helped me to do this:
1. Teach Housework as a Lesson
We once had a whole term of Wednesday afternoons at our house as housework lesson time. The children were learning how to clean the house.
Mr-Ten-Year-Old read the small instruction labels on the cleaning bottles, used the toilet brush with enthusiasm (“It’s like cleaning teeth!” he said), and enjoyed spraying his sister with the hose pipe while he washed the drive.
Miss-Five-Year-Old had a lovely time dusting bookshelves with a feather duster, zapping the cobwebs with the vacuum cleaner and playing at ‘librarian’ as she replaced books on the shelves while tidying.
A young person who shall remain nameless tried to hide behind the rocking chair and dodged from room to room at cleaning time.
And another nameless one moved at snail pace, didn’t do the dusting very well and unfortunately missed the M&Ms hidden in strategic places for him to find as he worked.
When we did the big weekly clean-up, it would take about a couple of hours for us to do a good basic clean, by which time we were tired and ready for snack time and a rest. Then the children played. What we didn’t do one week we would tackle the next week or I would do later, and I was surprised how much we achieved in our couple of hours, each week.
2. Practise the Three Step Lesson
A key to this learning time was the “Three Step Lesson” plan when teaching the children to do housework:
- I do and you watch
- You do and I watch
- You do.
So, for example, I clean the bathroom basin while my child watches, I talk about what I am doing and why. I explain in detail all the parts of the job.
The next time, my child cleans the basin while I watch, encourage (not point out faults) and give tips.
The third time he can do the job alone.
After that I need to maintain his work by checking periodically, encouraging him when he does a good job and gently reminding him of any things he might have forgotten.
3. Housekeeping Can Count as School Time
Homeschooling on a Shoe String by Melissa Morgan and Judith Allee contains a a great quote. I like this message because it contains so much truth. Just look at this:
“Don’t feel guilty about focusing on chores. They are not separate from your homeschooling effort. They are an important part of it. If necessary, let academics slide for a while until you can get your home under control. You need to have a well-functioning household for your children to get the most benefit from homeschooling. Yes, it’s okay to interrupt a child who has his nose buried in a good book if he hasn’t finished his chores.”
4. Match the Job to the Person
You can do this in a variety of ways. You can allocate jobs and times for doing it. You can give little people little jobs. Show them how to do the job, let them do the job with you watching and encouraging. Then let them do the job themselves and make sure you go back and look at the work to encourage all the parts done well.
Don’t expect the job to be done as well or as fast as you can do it, but do expect the best that your child can do. Include them and praise them as they go. Give them tiny things to do and then check up on them. Give them lots of positive feedback for all their efforts.
Make it fun by having special ‘morning tea’ when things are done, or you can have a treasure hunt with M&Ms at the end of cleaning time, and then you can give out pocket money.
5. Have Good Work Tools
It’s a good idea to have good work tools; it makes the job more appealing to start with and is a help in doing a good job in the long run – good dusters, rubber gloves, spray bottles, lots of mops and cloths. Even a tiny tot can join in with a mister or a spray bottle of water and a cloth, wiping down the kitchen cupboard doors.
Choosing Housekeeping Tasks That Your Children Can Do
Learning these skills, along with cooking and sewing, how to iron, use a hammer, wire a plug, is fun, easy and so important. When the children join in and help with the housekeeping you are including an important component of teaching your children that they do help with the running of the home.
In homeschooling the children see “real life”. They don’t go out in the morning, leaving a wreck in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and come home to a magically clean and tidy house. They participate in real daily life, including cleaning, cooking, shopping etc.
But how do you know what a child is capable of? To help you, I’ve collected a list of jobs children of different ages can tackle.
I have adapted this from: The Superwoman Syndrome by Majorie Shaevitz, This is a ‘minimum’ list. Some children will be more capable and willing, but you can expect that your child should be able to handle these age-appropriate jobs.
3-4 yrs old (Children of this age need gentle teaching and firm follow-through.)
Dress self (put on trousers, socks, shoes, jersey, coat)
Pick up and put away toys
Empty wastebaskets
Help set table; clear dishes
Put dirty clothes in hamper
Close doors in room
5-6 yrs old (Continue to guide and remind)
Set and clear table
Feed pet
Help put away groceries
Dust
Put away games, toys, clothes
Take out the trash
Water plants
Assist in meal preparation
Make bed
Clean out pet cage, box
7-8 yrs old (Children of this age like to feel “grown up.” Tasks should reflect this.)
Sweep floors, and outside paths
Help with food shopping
Walk dog
Vacuum
Wash, dry, and put away dishes or fill and empty dishwasher
Help with meals
9-11 yrs old(Children of this age are pretty capable and can be helpful in teaching tasks to younger siblings.)
Wash car
Prepare simple meals
Use washer and dryer with directions
Fold and put away clean clothes
Straighten up room
Clean up bathroom
12 yrs plus (Children over 12 need and want to feel independent. Whenever possible, encourage your children to select tasks and the time they will do them. Rotate unpleasant jobs among family members.)
Mow lawn
Iron
Do laundry, wash clothes by hand when necessary
Wash floors, windows
Buy own clothing
Run errands
Clean refrigerator
Clean own room thoroughly (dust, vacuum, straighten up, change the linens, etc.)
Plan menus, prepare and serve meals
Babysit younger siblings
Clean cupboard or other storage areas
The younger your children are when you start giving them jobs to do, the more likely they will be able to do the jobs that are listed on this chart at the given ages.
This topic is studied in more detail in Lesson Nine of Successful Homeschooling Made Easy. www.successfulhomeschoolingmadeeasy.com