The Molly Crew is the “house” part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. We will be reviewing items related to home – cooking, cleaning and saving money primarily. If you have been a reader of Molly Green’s blog, Econobusters, then you know just the sort of things we will be sharing with you. I am excited to be on this Crew and sharing our first review!
Our first vendor is EverydayHomemaking.com This website is chock full of information for busy families. Vicki Bentley is mother, foster mother and grandmother to many. She has homeschooled 17 children and is a popular speaker on many homeschool topics. The products we are reviewing today are not for homeschools, though. Certainly, we homeschool families will be blessed by them. Don’t let that keep my non-homeschool friends from checking these things out though. If you keep a home, you will find something of value here.
We have been blessed with the second book in the Everyday Homemaking series, The Everyday Family Chore System. Regardless of the ages of your children, some sort of chore system will keep your home running smoothly. I love Vicki’s list by ages of what children can do. Given the opportunity, you will be amazed at what your littlest ones can help with.
There are three parts to the book. The first is called Laying the Foundation. Vicki lays out what your expectations should be, establishing rules, discipline (not punishment) and tying heartstrings. I have often read of tying heartstrings, but until I read what Vicki has written here, I didn’t fully “get it”. Many things were happening in our family (whew! wasn’t messing that up!) but now I can intentionally make sure these things happen. As my children approach those dreaded “teenage years”, I want to be sure to already have strong, close relationships with them.
It may seem odd to be coming from a book about chore systems, but it is part of that strong foundation into the why. A chore system is not simply a checklist for getting things done. If that was all it took then there would not be the age old struggles of children and chores. 🙂
The next step is to implement the plan. This is the biggest section of the book. It covers everything from who can do what (I love this list!!) to how to set up your chart. There are many options here, make it work for your family. Ours is on magnetic sheets and on the side of the refrigerator. I still need to find a pocket to hold our “how-to-do-it” cards. This is going to be a big help for me in not keeping the same child with the same chore.
The part I’ve not seen in other information on chores that was a huge eye-opener for me, is those “how-to-do-it” cards. I don’t know how many times I have told my children how to do an aspect of their chore and become disappointed that it is not completely done. With these cards, the steps are spelled out. Some are included and you can make your own. The third part of the book is all of the job labels and cards (with blanks to customize for your family) to print and get set up.
Another thing stressed was principle over method. My eldest daughter has taken over “ownership” of the kitchen chores. I have learned that I love the end results, but have a hard time being in the room while she works. She doesn’t do it “my way”. A few things may need to be done a certain way, and those are explained. The rest is left to her determination of what works best for her. If it meets my expectations when done, I cannot complain. We both are enjoying this new revelation.
Even if you have a chore chart you like, you will pick up some great tips from Everyday Family Chore System. You can purchase this as a coil-bound book for $19.99 or downloadable pdf for $17.99. You can view sample pages and pick up a lot of information right from the website.
The first book in the Everyday Homemaking series, Everyday Cooking, was also reviewed by the Molly Crew. From reading those reviews, I’ll be adding this to my collection. Check out all the reviews for both the chore system and the cook book from the Schoolhouse Crew blog.
Disclaimer: As a member of the Molly Crew, I was given an e-copy of the Everyday Family Chore System at no charge for the purpose of review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions expressed are my own.
