The Everyday Family Chore System ~ Homeschool Crew Review

 

Chores — nobody likes them, but we all must do them.  Well, we must if we want to be able to function in our home.  The larger your family, the more important they seem to be.  Add in spending more time at home than most families and everyday messes can multiply (or is that just at my house?).  When my children were fewer and younger it was easy enough to have a tag-along helper as I washed dishes, swept floors or cleaned the bathroom.  As my children, and our family, grew, I needed their help more and more.  One of the best philosophies on children and chores comes from Vicki Bentley, of Everyday Homemaking, in her ebook, The Everyday Family Chore System.

If you have been with me for a few years, you might find this resource familiar. We’ve reviewed it before, also as part of the Homeschool Review Crew. Why would I choose to use it again? Because of how wonderful it is. You see, we did well with training our oldest three daughters. They can essentially run the house. They can do all the laundry, house cleaning and kitchen tasks — including meal prep. This is the end goal, right? Training your children to not need you. They not only can do the tasks asked of them, but often will jump in and make sure things that need done are done, even if it is not on their chore list for the day. Yes, these older girls are great examples and helps. But, my training has been incomplete. We have three other children. Three younger children that I have failed.

 

It is not just my younger children’s ability to do the chores (though there is a great method explained in The Everyday Family Chore System).  It is that they have not been shown and taught the reason for doing so.  I have failed at showing them why and how to serve and honor one another.  It is right there in Scripture.  In both Galatians 5 and 1 Peter 4 we are told to serve one another.  Vicki’s system (from raising her own family of 8 plus 50 foster children) begins with the youngest children.  Teaching them to not only serve on another but to do it cheerfully.  To be obedient the first time.  This is as much for your children and their character as it is for being helpful to the household.

In the first part of the book, Laying the Foundation, that is exactly what is covered.  Next comes implementing the plan.  This is where the specific tasks to be expected at various ages is discussed.  It is in this section where Vicki explains one of the key things to her system that makes it different from others we have tried.  How-to-do-it cards have changed my life.  Seriously.  After all, we are training our children to work independently.  When they can refer to the steps needed to do a chore, that eliminates an excuse.  I have been letting their older sisters complete tasks that they are more than capable of doing on their own.  Vicki’s system is just what we needed at this time (or a year or two ago).

The last part of the book is templates and helps to implement the system in a way that works for your family.  You can implement this system with existing homekeeping systems.  One that Vicki references in her book is FlyLady.  There are recommendations for a few different ways to put this system into practice to work best for your family.  If at first something isn’t quite right, don’t give up, tweak to make it right.  Seriously, having our three girls so capable is a wonderful boon to having teenagers.  I just need to get those younger siblings caught up to where they should be.

Everyday Homemaking not only has this wonderful book on Vicki’s chore system – perfect no matter the size of your family or ages of your children, but also a newly revamped cookbook.  To read more chore reviews or some of the recipes from the cookbook, simply click the image below.