un-school

I love that word.  Well, maybe it's not a real word, but a made up one that I enjoy.  I saw this poster on Pinterest, or maybe Facebook, that says something like, "We're not trying to exactly replicate what public school looks like here at home.  We're trying to take our every day lives and incorporate those moments into part of our curriculum."  Or something like that.  Of course, along with these every day moments, we do actually have school work~math, language, science, health, spelling and poetry, history and reading.  And home economics.  Lots and lots and lots of home economics.  ;)

I tell you this, because as part of our school today, we started working on a gift for someone special.  I'm so excited about this gift~I've never given anything like this before, and it's so good, that I'm jealous!  I told the boys that I wanted the exact same thing for Mother's day.  ;)  We'll see if they remember.

I can't wait to give it!

We have done lots of loads of laundry today.  I'm so glad that the boys are such willing helpers~they help me with all the laundry.  We are some laundry-folding fools!  We sort it all into piles~they do pants, boxers, socks, pajama's, and I do all of mine, Todd's and their shirts.  It works...and it's teaching them to be independent someday.  You know why~because I'm just not raising boys, but future husbands and fathers.  I want them to know their way around a kitchen and laundry room.

They also unload the dishwasher after breakfast, and start it each night.  I figure this is a fair trade, because I cook all the meals around here.  ;)  And because right now, they genuinely like to do this activity.  More power to them, right?!

Graham is my grocery-shopping buddy.  That boy has mad skills when it comes to maneuvering his way around our local Kroger.  He is great at finding the best deals, too.  A lot of times he also helps with meal preparation.  All of them do that, actually.  I love putting them to work with a knife and a cutting board...they're awesome little choppers.

Drew and Jonah have asked me to let them do the laundry and the dishes everyday.  I'll gladly give that up to them...even though I don't mind doing it myself.  I'm really, really old-fashioned in my role of stay-at-home wife and mom.  I figure my job is to take care of everything involved with our home.  Todd's out working all day, and many nights, and I figure it's the least I can do.  I would feel differently {probably} if I worked outside of our home, or if I was a full-time employee somewhere.   I know he would help me if I needed him to do something, but I'm blessed with good help and don't often require the extra help. 

A weird fact about me is that I love being a stay-at-home wife and mom.  I love doing laundry, I love folding shirts, I love cooking and I get extreme satisfaction out of cleaning the home that the Lord has blessed us with.  Call me crazy...but I seriously love doing all this.

I don't know why I'm writing all this, except for the fact that I came across a really cool chore chart for kids the other day.  How do you feel about chores?  We expect a lot from our kids, I'll give you that...but I think it's a homeschool thing, too.  Lots of families I know who homeschool have kids that work a lot around their house.  Chalk it up to the fact that school doesn't take seven hours at home, and you need extra activities to fill in some gaps, and you get your reason for the why that I know you want to ask.  We don't pay them money, either...their payment is getting to participate in privileges, like going for ice-cream, or hanging out at the bowling alley with friends, or other similar things, like the occasional movie or church outing.

Do your kids do chores?  Do you pay them?  What do they do? 

Share the love and comment!  Please.  Help a girl out.  Since N.O.B.O.D.Y. commented on yesterday's post.  ;) 

Love to all.