Handwork: Starting Out Slow with Fleece

My kids have asked me to teach them to knit, and I've not been quite ready to tackle that level of coordinated fine-motor skills at their ages.  So I looked for another handwork project that was a bit more basic.  A couple years ago I saw an add for a darling tied, patchwork, fleece blanket kit. So of course my first thought was, “oh, that's cute and clever, I can make that kit.” After hours and hours of cutting and massive hand cramps, I finally finished prepping all the squares. I really should have just ordered the kit. . . but heaven forbid I should ever do things the easy way!

There are two major times a year that the kids work on handwork – when we watch the LDS Church's General Conference in April and in October. I watched my mom with her handwork, then gradually learned to do some myself and a kid, and now my kids have watched me and are itching to try some. I don't really think it matters what you start them out on, as long as you find a way to feed their creativity. This tied fleece blanket doesn't require fine-motor skills and for that reason was a good starter for us. It make take years to finish as we only pull it out bi-annually, but the seeds of a tradition are sown. I think we might move on to crochet next or some counted cross-stitch. I would like my kids to know how to crochet and knit regardless of whether they ever choose to apply those skills as an adult or not. I can't control what skills they choose to use or lose, but I can help determine what goes in to their domestic skills arsenal.

Organization: Thinking Inside the Box

I'm a real believer in maximizing the use of containers to control the chaos of storage space. Unfortunately, my kids seem to have a talent (bordering on super-power) of destroying my storage containers. Maybe I need to teach them the difference between a step-stool and a laundry hamper. *chuckle* My solution – don't spend too much on storage containers for my kid's rooms, since some will probably be cracked and ready to be replaced every 3-5 years.  I'm not willing to drop a fortune just to have the inside of my cabinets look like Martha Stewart's.  I'll save the pricier, sturdier items for other parts of my house where they will last free from kid-destruction.

 From baskets for toys, to the little square rubbermaid containers that hold paperclips, my life would be one messy melange of stuff.

 The dreaded desk drawer - doesn't eliminate mess, but contains it slightly.

 I'm not blessed with a spice-cabinet, so I use these to organize spices alphabetically in my pantry.

 Laundry and cleaning supplies.

 My favorite camping-supply boxes (affectionately called "bob boxes" by my inlaws) on overhead garage shelves.

 Legos.  Need I say more?

 Upper shelves of closets hold scrapbooks, and other sentimental memorabilia.

The more I watch friends and neighbors move, the more I feel inspired to have as much of my storage areas organized with plastic storage boxes that just need a lid and viola! It's cleared out. Sometimes I actually utilize “double-boxing”. Double-boxing is my term for stacking two storage boxes together, so that you have an empty storage container to use at a moment's notice. I watched an emergency preparedness video that showed what to do if you had 5-10 minutes to evacuate your home. Since then, I've got an empty storage box (double-boxed so as not to take up extra space) on the top shelf of my coat closet.  While the inner container holds camera equipment, the outer box's purpose in an emergency will be to hold all paper files, documents and back-up cds.

Another way I use double-boxing is with my kid's laundry hampers. Most of the week, they sit stacked up in their closet holding their dirty clothes. But on laundry day, they are to take the one hamper downstairs with their dirty clothes leaving an extra hamper in their closet. The reason I do this is because while they are in school, laundry tends to drag out – by the time they get home, and shift it from the washer to the dryer, then that night (hopefully), get it folded . . . you can see that it might drag laundry out over 1-2 days. (That's the price I pay for having them do it themselves.) But in the interim, there is still a laundry hamper to collect their dirty clothes, and they are less tempted to simply pile the dirty clothes on top of the folded, not-yet-put-away clothes in the bottom of the hamper. And yes, that happens ocassionally. *chagrinned*

I've still got a long way to go on maintaining an organized home, (how much longer will the kids live here?) But we're baby-stepping it one little box at a time.  

So - let me know what marvelous ways you organize the trouble spots in your home.  I'm always looking for a new-and-improved system!

Baking: Moms and Muffins

Not all culinary instruction your kids receive will be when they are the chef. In fact, chances are, they've absorbed a lot of cooking and baking tips just by watching you work your magic in the kitchen. (Though at my house, it's not always magic. *smirk*) My point is this: encourage a studio audience when you cook or bake. If it's not convenient for them to help, then talk to them about it as you cook.

At my kid's elementary school they have an annual tradition of Moms and Muffins and then later, Dads and Donuts. The premise is that the kid goes to school early with a parent for a muffin or donut and reads with said parent. Well, true confession time – I've been maybe once. Instead, our family tradition is that on those mornings, I make their favorite muffin recipe for breakfast. Second confession: baking muffins on a school morning is an anomaly for me. Usually everyone get's their own bowl of cereal or toast, and lately, the kids eat breakfast across the street at their grandparent's. *spoiled smile* And no, on the Dads and Donuts morning, we don't fry up fresh donuts. . . my husband picks them up for work that afternoon.

I have a 10 year old niece that regularly makes muffins from a mix for breakfast before school. Ironically, my sister is not a breakfast person, but she sure has trained her kids well. My kids have yet to spontaneously volunteer to bake breakfast. . . maybe I should work out a kid swap with my sister! *chuckles*

Back to my muffins. It's not a tricky recipe, but it might be easier for kids to start out on boxed muffin mixes with fewer ingredients and instructions. Then as they watch and listen to you bake from-scratch muffins, they'll start to want to venture out beyond the box. Here is the recipe for my kids' favorite muffins:

Raspberry Cream Muffins

Preheat oven to 375º F.

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup sugar

Cream together well.

Add:

2 egg whites (or 1 egg)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Mix well and set aside.

In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with:

1 cup low-fat milk

Once all is combined, stir in:

3/4 cup vanilla chips

1 cup frozen raspberries

Batter will be thick as frozen berries are mixed in.

Spoon into muffin papers or well-greased muffin tins. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/4 tsp. raw or turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Makes 12 muffins.

Cooking 001: Menu-Planning

Near the start of each month, I print out a blank calendar which becomes that month's menu plan. I remember as a kid sitting down with my Mom and deciding what I was going to cook that month, then writing it in on the same kind of blank calendar. I remember cooking a lot of taco casserole and one-pot spaghetti. My sister's go-to was always tuna casserole. 

Now as I sit down with my kids, we have to limit some of their go-to's as well. My son wants to make chicken milanese every Thursday and my daughter wants to cook browned butter pasta every Friday, so mapping out a plan really helps in the variety department.

As you can see, we don't get all cutesy with printed out menus in darling fonts. Nope. It's all about the practical – and I highly recommend using pencil. We pull out my recipe file, their cook books, and sometimes surf the web for recipes.  Do I make a detailed list of side dishes and desserts with each meal?  Heavens no!  But I do occasionally scrawl party menus on the margins. We often end up switching days, and we don't always adhere religiously to the sketched in menu. But it does provide a guide and a fall-back plan. If we want to change plans, fine, but at I have a plan to shop from. Let's face it, deciding what to cook is the hardest part!

Organizing: the Art of De-Junking

A day off from school usually means deep cleaning at our house. If my husband is at work and the kids are out of school, we do some of our less-savory chores so we can save the fun stuff for when Dad can join us on his days off. We've been deep cleaning a room each Saturday for the past few months as our spring cleaning routine. We've made it through most of the house except bedrooms. *ugh* I know that some Mom's prefer to go through their kids clothes or toys while they are at school, so they don't have the trauma of throwing things away. I'd just like to say that I pity their future spouses. Given the society we live in, throwing-away and donating is a vital skill to have if you don't want to end up on one of those scary, reality, cleaning TV shows. Ever since the kids were little we would go through their toys and eliminate a bunch prior to Christmas and birthdays. Clothes rotation is a given at least twice a year. So every time we “dejunk” we end up with about 2 large garbage bags full of trash and at least 1 bag full of items to be donated.

When going through the kid's toys we have a 3 or less rule:

•  You can keep three main groups of toys (1.legos, 2. nerf guns and 3. art supplies or 1.tea-party dishes & food, 2. jewelry & hair things, and 3. dolls)

This helps keep things a bit more focused on what they actually use and play with. (All those random kid's meals toys or dollar store purchases end up donated or chucked.)

Today was a bit more intense because we washed walls and all trim as well as the deep de-junking adventure, but my it sure feels nice to have a clean, uncluttered room. Even the kids talk about how much they love having a clean room . . . of course that lasts for about a nano-second! Maintenance – now that's a whole other story.

Baking Tangent: Cake Decorating

My mother used to decorate wedding cakes professionally, so we were raised watching her artistry at work.  She would have homemaking days in the summer dedicated to cake decorating.  I can't say that I carry that tradition on religiously every summer (my boy's interest is declining), but we do have a little hands-on pastry-bag time.  One year my son decorated his entire birthday cake, and my daughter always wants to try her hand at some edible art.
Recently I was asked to make a birthday cake for my husband's grandfather. When I finished, I had 2 pastry bags half full of frosting. I decided to let my daughter have a little cake decorating practice time.

 My favorite way is to wrap the underside (convex) side of a dinner plate with plastic wrap and let her have at it.

When she's filled that one up, unwrap and toss the frosting, rewrap, and away you go!

She's gradually getting a bit better at holding the pastry bag, making stars and writing. She uses up the frosting, and I'm happy with the easy clean-up.

Teaching Civility: Written Thank-You Notes - the Lost Art of Appreciation

My Mom has always been a great fan of and producer of thank-you notes. So my personal drive to write thank-you notes comes from her. I also have a neighbor who is a thoughtful-note-writer-extraordinaire that inspires me. But when one of my older sister started having her young toddlers send me endearing scribbles with her note of translation did I understand that this art can and should be taught from the time kids can hold a crayon. It has been fun watching my nieces' and nephews' thank you notes evolve from amoeba-like portraits of us to thoughtful, half-page or more notes of gratitude. Another thing I learned from her example was promptness. Within a few days of the event or the gift-giving occasion, like clockwork there would be a note in the mailbox. Recently we had a family home evening lesson on etiquette and I learned that you should send a thank you note to someone any time they take more than 15 minutes doing something for you. Interesting rule of thumb. I can't say that we've followed that rule religiously. But that's the joy of my adventure called life – always room for improvement.

So here's what I've tried to teach my kids thank-you note-wise:

A handwritten note is always more personal and preferable.

If no mailing address is obtainable, an electronic thank-you is better than none.

If kids are too young to write, have them draw a picture and dictate the thank-you to you. You can then make a small note quoting them.

Be prompt. We try to get them sent within one week of the event. (More time passing means greater probability that I'll forget, or the recipient will feel forgotten)

Be specific. “Thank you for the gift” is hardly thoughtful appreciation. At least 3 lines is a good guide for kids.

Express gratitude for the person, not just the gift. This is one I've not specifically taught my kids yet, but I definitely think it is going to be part of my new thank-you note mantra. (My kids love that! *wry smile*)

Yes, this means that I have to take note at birthday parties of who-gave-what-gift. I also end up putting a note of reminder on my calendar to write thank you notes (Sunday works great for us). But think how easily a nice thank you note in the mail makes your day. Why not pass that along?

Cleaning: Go-to Chore List

I'm often in need of chores to assign my kids on the spot. Unfortunately, this most frequently happens as a result of some disobedience or behavior infraction, as penance in our family often requires some task completion. It also happens almost weekly as I am looking for Saturday chores for the kids. Odd that so much of teaching kids to work these days has to be contrived or invented chores. I suppose that is part of the price you pay for not living on a farm.

I've got a list of indoor and outdoor chores that I keep on my ipod to help jog my memory. These are jobs that range from preschooler to school-age ability. I'd love anyone else's suggestions of good chores for kids – we do tend to tire of the same old jobs.

Indoors:

• Clean doorknobs and lightswitches
• Clean phones, keyboards and remote controls
• Clean dishwasher inside and out
• Clean apron and legs of table
• Clean chairs and barstools
• Clean a door and door jamb
• Dejunk bedroom
• Empty, dust and replace bookshelf
• Clean kitchen sink
• Clean bathroom
• Scrub bathtub
• Clean outside of washer and dryer
• Clean toaster
• Clean fridge
• Clean outside of stove and oven
• Vacuum
• Clean bathroom drawers
• Stock bathrooms (meaning toilet paper rolls)
• Clean piano and behind piano
• Clean and fill salt and pepper shakers
• Wipe out utensil drawer
• Wipe out cabinet under kitchen sink
• Organize food storage
• Clean small appliances (mixer, blender, food processor)
• Vacuum sofas and chairs
• Clean railings and spindles
• Clean desk drawer
• Dust
• Clean inside and outside of garbage can (small, indoor trash can)
• Clean baseboards
• Water houseplants
• Clean and organize bathroom or linen closet
• Clean basement

Outdoor:

• Dead head
• Weed
• Rake Leaves
• Water planters
• Pooper scoop
• Wash car
• Clean car interior
• Sweep garage
• Sweep deck
• Pick up branches or lawn debris
• Sweep front walk and steps
• Empty cat litter box

So what other ideas can you add to my list?

Cooking 201: Food Safety

If I were to rate kitchen skills, this would probably top the list. As a dietitian, my food service training has made me overconcerned (sounds better than paranoid) in this area. So, from the get-go, I try and teach the kiddos food-safety. Anyone raising kids knows that santization and children are slightly oxymoronic terms. But just because the battle is uphill doesn't mean we don't teach it – right? Most of these are blatantly obvious, but here are the main points I try to reinforce:

• Hand washing (oh how I'd love a black light and some glow-germ!)

• More hand washing (everytime they taste the food, or cough on their hand, or wipe their face – back to the sink we go!)

• Never tasting over the saucepan and never double dipping with the tasting spoon.

• Separation of raw and cooked foods (grilled burgers don't go on the plate that carried the package of patties).

• Separate cutting boards (meat cutting boards and veggie/fruit cutting boards).

• Avoiding cross-contamination (anything from a knife blade transferring bacteria from the unwashed rind of a cantaloupe to using the same spoon used on chicken to toss the salad).

• Proper cooking temperatures (which foods are safe at what temperatures, how to quickly cool foods, or keep them safely hot, and why).

• How to disinfect the kitchen area – especially, sink, counters and dishrag.

• Favorite disinfectant: 1 Tbsp. bleach + 1 Gallon H2O (especially useful following raw meat prep)

• Dishrag trick: wet rag, do not wring out completely – microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Here is a link to a good source of food safety info: http://www.foodsafety.gov/

Food safety is much more difficult to teach than knife skills because a cut teaches an immediate, obvious lesson, whereas food safety is much more shades of gray in terms of symptoms and sometimes they are rather delayed. But if my kids can internalize some food-safety skills over the next decade or so, I will be one happy Mom, and then yes kids, I'd be happy to come to dinner.

Cooking 101: Cutting Technique

One of the scariest things about teaching kids to cook is fear of injury. My solution to this is not prohibiting them from using knives or other sharp tool, but rather to teach them initially the proper way to handle them. Most of the time, kitchen injuries come from lack of skill, but fear also plays a role. When you're afraid of say, knives, you will be very hesitant and jittery using one. That jumpiness or lack of control that comes with confidence often leads to injury.

This is not to say that at age 8 my kids wield every knife in every cooking situation. Obviously age and maturity play a big role. But from the start, I talk about, demonstrate and have them practice proper knife skills. You can find youtube videos showing culinary knife skills, but here's a link to give you an idea of what I mean by 'knife skills': http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/knifeskills/tp/knifeskills.htm

Almost weekly I have to remind them that to watch and know where their fingers are at all times before making any cut.  Is it fool-proof?  No, but then life is never accident free - which is why I always keep antiseptic solution and bandages in the kitchen.  When that first cut comes - look at it as a chance to teach them some good kitchen first aid.  And truly, that will be one of the most important life skills they'll be guaranteed to use.  

Along with proper knife handling, we talk about what cutting boards we use for which foods (more later in teaching food safety), names of different knives and when they should be used (i.e. paring knife vs. serrated), and when to use kitchen shears instead of a knife. As they cook each week, I try to let them decide which knife to use or whether to use kitchen shears, then ask them why they made that choice. Does the whole of domestic happiness rest on knowing and using the proper cutting instrument? No, but I figure that if I can teach them, I should. You never know – maybe someday when they're interviewing for that job to help get them through college, knowing the difference between a chef's knife and a paring knife just might tip the scales in their favor and land them that sous chef job! *wink*

Cooking Dinner: Our Family Rite of Passage

Kids grow up in the kitchen. Or at least I think they should. From watching the cook from their vantage point in the highchair to insisting on stirring and dumping flour in the bowl and all over the floor, cooking should be something they watch regularly – and I don't mean just on the food network.

I was raised with the tradition of receiving a cookbook on your 8^th birthday and that meant the start of cooking dinner on a weekly basis. This tradition has carried over into my home with my children receiving the same rite of passage at age 8. I make them an apron (camouflage for my boy, and cherries and flowers for my girl), buy them a kid's cookbook and work them into the rotation. They get really excited to make that first dinner and plan it out weeks ahead. Don't worry, the enthusiasm wears off quickly as they realize that cooking takes away an hour or more of play time with friends.

8 years old may seem plenty old to start cooking, but by this age they've got pretty solid reading skills, hopefully a bit more height to access the counter, and lots of “cooking lab” time under their belt. By cooking-lab, I mean watching Mom or Dad, making the occasional batch of cookies or fruit salad, and lots of verbal instruction as they are watching parents cook.

I almost get as excited for that rite of passage as they do. Picking out the apron fabric and choosing the cookbook (I prefer the Betty Crocker Kids Cook to the Better Homes and Garden Junior Cookbook). Yes, reality sets in and we end up learning to work through not only a recipe, but frustration as well, but isn't that just a tasty metaphor for life?

Laundry: life's never-ending cycle

When I left home for the first time, I was shocked at how many peers had no real knowledge of doing laundry beyond tossing things into a washing machine, pouring in some detergent and hoping for the best. Let me stress that I am no laundress-extraordinaire. My children balk at folding and putting away their laundry on a weekly basis even after years of having the routine in place. That being said, this is what we try to work on:

• Explaining separating dark colors from lights (these days most things are colorfast, but not all, so it is vital that they understand washing dark colors separately).

• Emptying pockets. How much grief can be saved when that crayon is removed prior to laundering! I often will shift their clothes from the washer to the dryer, so that it is ready to be folded when they get home from school. I tell them that I claim all money found in the washer. And, heaven forbid, that crayon makes it to the dryer – well the natural consequence is to have them clean out the dryer, then sort through the ruined laundry and they pay the dry cleaning bill for the salvageable items. Mourning the loss of favorite clothes is a memorable lesson.

• Teach load size and water level as well as temperature. It is vital they learn how much a washer can reasonably hold and how to check washing instructions on delicate or new clothing items.

• Stain treatment. Again, something we struggle with. Trying to get them to treat a stain as soon as the clothes come off hasn't really sunk in yet, but we keep trying!

• Prompt removal of clothes from dryer. Usually, we have to resort to the “re-fluff trick” of turning the dryer on for another few minutes so the wrinkles that have formed from sitting in the dryer can relax out.

Yes, I have taught my kids the shortcut of a damp rag and a wrinkled clothing item tossed in the dryer for a few minutes. Unfortunately, this does undermine the whole ironing-skill-thing. *smirk*

Still, in real life, they will need the quick go-to tricks as well as the old-fashioned long-hand version of things!

As I said, these lessons are far from cemented in my kiddo's long-term memory. But we've still got another almost decade of training ahead, so maybe there's hope!

Homemaking days and other patience-practice exercises

Homemaking Days

Growing up, my mother would plan several homemaking days during the summer when we were all out of school. These days were a deliberate effort on her part to make sure her kids had repeated practice in some domestic arts areas. For example, we would have periodic baking days, cake decorating days, sewing projects, ironing practice, and of course lots and lots of canning. And always there was the weekly weeding assignments. There is no question that most any domestic task is easier, more efficient and turns out better when you do it yourself, but that's not the point. After all, parenting is about loving your kids enough to put in the hours, patience, frustration, and tolerance to repeatedly train your kids to become capable parents themselves someday.

During these training-moments at my home, there are certainly times when I have to talk through some clenched teeth. Yes, my kids can tell I'm frustrated, but that doesn't mean we scrap the training session until we all feel warm and fuzzy. If that were the case, bring on the bon bons – we'd rarely have another training moment! For myself, feeling less than June-Cleaver-ish is not an excuse to stop training my kids. In fact, I think that is actually somewhat beneficial to them. Part of learning any skill inevitably involves obstacles, and frustration. They need to understand that frustration is normal. More importantly, they need to learn to work through their frustration and complete the task. For me, adding music to our chore always seems to mellow the mood and break some of the tension when they've spilled laundry detergent all over, or I'm just feeling less than patient with the messiness of parenting. If you give up on a task when it gets frustrating, that will stick with your kids, and my guess is that they'll not want to spend to much time training your grandchildren. *knowing chuckle*

Here are my frustration-mediation tips:

• Plan major skill-training moments out in advance.
• Expect it to take 2-3 times longer than you think. Don't over schedule for that day.
• Explain to your child what the task is and why it is important before you start.
• Some skills are easily taught with a group of children, but many are better taught 1-on-1.
• Let the child choose the background music.
• If necessary with extra-hard tasks, plan out a small incentive when you're done (at-home movie night, manicure, etc.)
• When you get frustrated, take a moment to explain why you're frustrated, take some deep breaths, have a hug and move on.
• Remind yourself why you're doing this – so that someday you can sit back and smile as you watch your kids train your grandkids!

When Kids Start Learning Domestic Arts? Earlier Than You Want.

I've had people ask at what ages my kids started participating in some of these domestic-arts skills. My short answer is this: earlier than you want. I know that is an oversimplification, but truly, if your child is old enough to easily perform a task, then they should be introduced to it earlier so they have time to practice said skill.  Yes, this may provide more frustration for you as a parent, but it will pay off in time. You may want to limit the extent and duration of the chore at a young age, but overall, our kids are much more capable of work than we generally think.

Now for the long answer:

Toddler:

Put away toys

Place dirty laundry in hamper

Token “play” cleaning: little toddlers love to mimic – so use this their future advantage. Toy

vacuum cleaners, little dust cloths, etc. Let them actively-watch you while you clean, and while

you have these 'little friends' around all the time, talk to them about how you clean and how you do your domestic work. It may seem like useless chatter for you, but it will help them be more

comfortable and excited for what they will be able to do as they grow up.

Preschooler:

Fold laundry and help put away with help

Clean low surfaces, such as wiping down dining chairs, piano keyboards, doorknobs, wiping the

outside of dishwashers, dryers, etc.

Low dusting – low bookshelves, coffee tables, etc.

Can start to clean some bathroom surfaces with a stool – wiping down counter or cleaning sink

with help

Supervised cleaning of the car – wiping down armrests, emptying car's garbage

Replacing plastic sacks or liners in house garbage cans (bedroom and bathroom garbages)

Helping set the table

Helping unload the dishwasher, such as putting away plastic kid cups or silverware

Tidying room

Cleaning baseboards

Help with light yardwork (picking up dead-headed flowers, leaves, etc)

Make bed

School Age:

Emptying all house garbages

Dusting

Vacuuming by the time my daughter was in 1^st grade she was vacuuming. I carried the vacuum up and down stairs

Dusting window blinds and wiping down window sills

Dishes – by about 1^st grade my kids started taking turns loading and unloading the dishwasher

Setting the table

Bringing down dirty laundry, folding and putting away clean laundry

Change and replace bedsheets

Cleaning all parts of a bathroom

Sweep and mop

Sweep outdoors – deck, garage, front walk, etc.

Clean car - inside and out

Regular weeding assignments

Participate in deep or spring cleaning

Mow lawn at 10 or 11 – depending on child's size and strength and supervision

Clean up after pets – cat litter box, pooper-scoop after dogs

Start cooking weekly meals at age 8 (more of this later).

This is a brief overview, but hopefully it gives you a starting point for deciding when to start what chores with your kids.

Cinderella, my hero!

My homemaking-maven Mother taught us four girls all sorts of skills inside and outside the home. Where she left off, my Dad took up on the work detail. Thus, we were all rather well-versed on how to spend your Saturdays in what we considered hard labor. *chuckles* I really had fabulous childhood. But the thing I appreciate now is not only that I enjoyed a loving, adventure-filled, fond-memory childhood, but that it was a practical proving ground. Maybe that is why Cinderella is my favorite princess – she was a hard worker with lots of skills.

So here's a look at the Cinderella-schedule at our house . . .

(The 'or' chores listed below refer to a rotation at our house - one week you're on dishes, the next week you're on garbages.  The dishes-doer dusts and the garbage-emptier gets to vacuum)

Daily:

make bed

pack lunch

practice piano

do dishes or empty kitchen garbage & recycling

Weekly:

launder and put away clothes

vacuum or dust house

clean bathroom

clean kitchen sink

various 'Saturday chores'

cook dinner

clean room

change sheets

These are just the routine chores that I'm hoping will be somewhat built-in by the time they leave home. As it is, there is still plenty of griping, even if these routines have been in place for years. Also, it should be mentioned that teaching your kids to clean the house is infinitely more taxing than cleaning yourself. Not to mention the fact that you have to live with a certain level of, how shall I say it, sub-par workmanship. That is the biggest challenge for me as a 'type A' personality Mom. *slightly chagrinned* That is why I have the kids clean the house at the beginning of the week, and I'll clean it towards the end of the week. That is the compromise of a 'control-conscious' personality that I can live with.   So there you have it, that is our base-line system of operation.  Guess that makes me Cinderella's evil step-mother.  I can only hope that my kids grow up to raise their own Cinderellas!