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we consider ourselves a family most blessed. It is our goal to be a blessing to the world around us- at work, at play, at church, at home, at school, in our community... it is our hope that we are a reflection of the grace and love given to us from Above!

Monday, September 6, 2010

8X8




This summer we started a new chore chart. We called it 10x10. 10 chores accomplished by 10AM earned them a sticker on a chart. 10 stickers and they got a lil' somethin'. I saw this idea on a homeschool blog intended for students to complete their daily work and converted it to appropriate chores for my three offspring. Since I only have one reader, I added pictures so my younger two can still understand what they need to finish while learning to read the words associated with the pics.

Once they complete a task, they flip their card until all are flipped backwards. This helps them see how much they've accomplished, while only seeing what remains to be done. When all cards are flipped, they collect them in a stack and hand them to me for the positive reinforcement. The goal is for the ribbons to be empty by 10AM so we can enjoy our day. I can easily walk by the ribbons and see where each child is in the process of finishing their morning chores and nagging hasn't been needed. I simply ask which card they are working on and they are excited to hand me their final product of completed cards.

It worked so well this summer we are continuing this fall and I decided to post it because maybe it will work for you too! With school starting they need to be ready by 8:15AM, so now it's 8x8. Every morning includes 6 essentials to get the kids ready for school along with 2 basic chores that they have all been trained how to do over the summer. Those chores rotate daily so that everyone gets the opportunity to have variety in their routine. While they're at school I re-set the board with afternoon chores and responsibilities and again, there are 8 things to do, this time, by 8PM.


AM Responsibilities include: Wash face, brush teeth, make bed, get dressed, PJ's away and clean room

PM Responsibilities include: School work, straightening front room, reading/listening to a book, room time (rest), PJ's on, brush teeth and dirty clothes away

Chores include: Unloading the dishwasher, the dryer, putting clean
clothes in the bedrooms, dragging out the bedroom hampers, feeding and brushing the dog, cleaning the TV screen, cleaning the french doors, cleaning up the back yard, sweeping the back porch, setting and clearing the table, restocking the toilet paper and tissue, wiping the bathroom counters, etc.

The cards get clothespinned together in my hall closet for easy access. And the pictures on top of their ribbons help to keep chore lists straight (and make a cute decoration for my hallway). When company's coming, it's funny to watch them rush for the ribbons as they want bragging rights that their ribbon is empty and they have successfully achieved their goal for that morning/evening. At night I reset the cards for the next morning- and they let me know immediately if I've forgotten to do so!


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Mommy's New Toolbox


I've been reading Life Management for Busy Woman which has convicted me to get into God's Word on a daily basis. And Childwise begins in lesson one about giving kids the moral reasons for the behaviors we expect of them. And all moral reasons have a scriptural basis, so once again, I need to get into my daily Bible reading. So as we struggle with our household conflicts- sharing, fussing, tattling, tantrums, bragging, teasing, selfishness, etc. I know I need to be able to point the kids to scripture, so it's not just MY words on why it's not OK, but it's their Heavenly Father's Words. But what verses apply to our every day dilemmas? What verses will show them the right way to handle these issues? Besides my commitment to search the scriptures for more verses, I did find a great list in Creative Correction. What Every Child Should Know Along the Way also has a helpful list of desired character traits with multiple scriptures to reinforce. And while school supply shopping at my local Walmart I came across a cute index card holder for $1 and cards for 33 cents... can't beat that! So you might find random index cards of Proverbs and I Timothy posted around my house- and I hope my kids will soon grasp WHY it's not OK to yank the pillow out from underneath unsuspecting sisters' head and laugh about it while she sobs.

Monday, April 7, 2008


One of Caleb's many recent achievements...
he's been so interested in phonics and completely on his own,
shocked us all when he wrote his first name with sidewalk chalk,
along with other 3-letter words like "cat", "hat", and "sun"!

Random Pix of Caleb

Posing for Pictures (Fall 07)





Our Little SUPER man (Fall 07)





At RCP Summer 07





Treasure Chest of Cuddly Critters (Summer 07)


Easter 2007

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Caleb's 1st Day of Preschool

Notice that they ALL have the same expression on their faces...
A little uncertain yet curious at the same time!
BTW, Caleb did GREAT on his first day and every day since.