I loved, it, loved it, loved it! It gave me some pretty fun ways to teach the kids how to be self sufficient without ending up being the super mean, drill sargent mom. Kay breaks down 12 skills she feels her kids need to know before they "fly the coop". She breaks that down into a 12 month plan:
- how to make a bed and maintain an orderly room
- how to cook and clean a kitchen
- how to do yard work
- how to clean a bathroom
- how to get a job... outside our home
- how to do laundry
- how to do a handyman jobs
- how to host a party
- how to work together
- how to run errands
- how to put others first through service
- how to act mannerly
I want to do it all for them for many reasons but mainly because I love them to crazy and my love langugage is service and my second reason is... I can just do it better! :) But those reasons stink and I need to get more serious about teaching them some real life skills.
My all time favorite tip was for Month 1. To get the kids motivated (incentives) she gave the kiddos each a jar with money in it - $1 for each day of the month. The kids were expected to make their beds and maintain an orderly room (and bathroom). Simply put - clean up after themselves. She didn't remind them and when she headed into their room in the morning, after they'd left for school if things weren't picked up and the beds weren't made, she'd take $1 out of the jar. There was no way to get the $1 back (no make-up work - cause real life doesn't work that way) and the kids were not allowed to borrow or have any of the money until the end of the month (whatever was left).
Clever! There are lots of other really great tips and tricks that I'll be applying to my work as a momma.
Growing kids is hard and I often question whether I'm doing any of it right. I want to raise good solid, hard working members of society (whether they want the same thing or not!), this was a great resource to have.
No comments:
Post a Comment