Tag Archives: child training

Bad Day

1 Reply

Monday. Monday Monday Monday. I will confess that I have had a total meltdown already today— it began with the kids bickering over breakfast and got worse from there. For some reason school today was overwhelming. Even the simple problems were frustrating the kids. So I thought I’d get them a snack to lift their spirits (and mine).

I made them all hot chocolate with marshmallows and brought it to the table along with some mixed nuts. I hummed Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” to myself as I measured out the chocolate powder. I surveyed the kitchen. Dishes everywhere. It was only 9:30. …just keep swimming, just keep swimming.I thought hot chocolate would make things turn around. You know, a little chocolate can do wonders, right?! NOT. Within five minutes child A had spilled child B’s hot chocolate all over her school work and clothes. It soaked through the tablecloth into the carpet and into B’s slippers. Child C proceeded to explain why it was all child D’s fault that no one was obeying.You can imagine where it went from there. : Child B is now folding laundry. I didn’t have the willpower to try and resurrect her ruined notebook pages. Child C is learning why it matters to line up columns when multiplying large numbers (yes, I made C do it until it was right), Child A is finding out how hard it is to get hot chocolate out of the carpet and D is now napping.

Sometimes, life is just hard. Homeschooling is hard. If we’re honest, we can encourage and support each other. If we’re not honest, we can easily find ourselves alone in a glass house. I don’t know about you, but I find I am most encouraged when mom tells me she had a bad day but she didn’t give up. 🙂

So that’s my encouragement to you today—if you’re having a tough time, don’t give up! It’s worth it. Even when the hot chocolate spills.

Be encouraged while you mop up the mess,
heidi

Heidi St John Guide to Daylight

Git ‘er Done: 5 Tips for Easier Laundry

17 Replies

Ahh, the joys of laundry … or not.

“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.” – Erma Bombeck

Does the thought of all the laundry you have to do overwhelm and discourage you? If so, you’re not alone.  Laundry is one of those things we tend either love or hate!

I used to hate it—but in all honesty, I don’t anymore. I love the smell of clean laundry.  And I REALLY like grabbing shirts and dresses out of the dryer before they need to be ironed!  Mmmm.  Lavender fabric softener is my new guilty pleasure. 🙂 But I won’t tell if you won’t!

No matter how you feel about this age old chore, it’s always good to feel like you’ve got the best of it instead of the other way around. No, really!  You can! It’s important.  And you don’t need a laundry “room” to be really great at getting a handle of doing laundry. In fact, I devoted a huge part of a chapter to laundry in “The Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Daylight” because I honestly believe that if we had a better system, laundry would not be such a chore.

So without further adieu, here are FIVE of my favorite laundry tips!  Let me know what your favorite tips are – if they make my next article, I’ll send you a free copy of my book.

{one}

Train your children to do laundry. I’m not kidding!  If your child is just three years old he is not too little to start training.  A three year old can put laundry in the hamper.  She can help you put the clothes into the washing machine.

So often, moms find themselves overwhelmed when a quick glance around the room reveals a much bigger issue: children who could and should be helping simply are not.

Start when they are little. By the age of eight, my kids can run both the washer and the dryer, and they can measure the detergent too.  Teens can do their own laundry. Tweens should be helping by folding the baby’s laundry.  You get the idea.  Put your kids to work!  Yes it’s more work for mom initially but the payoff is worth it, and believe me when they move out they will thank you for training them to take care of themselves and others.

{two}

Early and often. Fly Lady says, “A load a day keeps the chaos away”, and I could not agree more.

Around our house, the first load is started first thing in the morning. We often run three loads a day but two for our household of 10 is about average. Two loads a day. Kitchen towels pile up and we do them twice a week. My point is—we are doing a lot of little loads to avoid the massive laundry “day” that is sure to pile up if we don’t.

{three}

Use a system. This cannot be over-emphasized. 🙂  Systems work!  And usually, any system is better than no system!

I wrote about our system at length in my book but I can simplify it by saying that in our house, each BEDROOM has it’s own laundry basket.  Here’s how it works:

1. Child fills up his or her laundry hamper.

2. Mom or children start a load and run it through.

3. When laundry comes out of the dryer, it is immediately sorted into the basket that corresponds to the room the child is in.

This makes the CHILD responsible for his or her own laundry. It works.  BONUS: It forces the child to think about the amount of clothes they throw in the wash each day. 🙂  And I’m ALL for that!

{four}

Think before you buy!  In other words—if you have a lot of people in your house, if it wrinkles easily or if it will require extra care, maybe it’s something you should just leave in the store. Yeah. Just say “no” to more work in the laundry room!

{five)

Get caught up. Have a laundry-folding party!  In our house, when we get behind (and believe me, it happens) then my solution is to gather the troops, dump all the clothes out on the floor and have a FOLD-FEST.

The last time we needed to do this was … mmmm… two days ago.  🙂  I had been gone and we had about eight loads of laundry that needed to be folded and put away.  With my kids helping, we got it all done in just over an hour!

hint: if you need to have a fold-fest, take a washcloth, get it wet and throw it into the dryer with the clothes that are too wrinkly to wear.  Give it about ten minutes on medium heat.  Voila! No ironing!

Ready to Git ‘er done? Train your kids to help, get a system and get moving!  You’ll be glad you did!

Heidi St John Guide to Daylight

Working: It’s all in the family

14 Replies

Got Kids?

Homeschooling?

Got laundry?

Feeling behind? Overwhelmed?

Good news!  If you have a child who is four or older, you’ve got help! 🙂

Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Around here, sometimes that means taking the day off and catching up on chores that have been overlooked. We teach our children the importance of working simply because they are part of the family.  While we reward our children for “extra” things like washing the car or helping with a family project, their primary reward is the reward of working together as a family.  Of appreciating the food they eat and the clothes they wear—and the warm comfy bed that greets them each night.

As they grow, knowing they have done a good job by helping their parents around the house becomes a reward in and of itself, and an important part of growing up.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to train up your kids! Train them in every way you can—pretty soon they will be running their own homes.

The Importance of Discipline

4 Replies

Your child depends on your loving correction!

Several years ago, a friend of mine pulled me aside and pointed out a character flaw in one of my children. Apparently this child was not only being disrespectful to another adult, but rude as well. It hurt to hear this from my friend. It stung. I was mad—and a little embarrassed too. But you know what? She was right. I needed to address the problem, and not allow my child to hide behind me.

That meant apologizing to the adult and asking for forgiveness. It’s amazing the peace that follows conflict when it is addressed and corrected.

Are you disciplining your children? A loving mother will lovingly discipline her children. As parents we must remember that much of the responsibility our children’s behavior rests with us.

There are consequences to refusing to address character issues in the lives of our children. Ask the Lord to give you a discerning heart so that you can see what the real issue is and then follow-through with your child. He’ll thank you later.

Something to ponder as you plan the new school year

4 Replies

As you think about a new school year, be sure that the first thing you do is assess where your children are in terms of developing their character.Are we teaching our children to be humble and kind? Are we modeling what it means to ask for forgiveness?To have respect for authority?A bratty, disobedient child who knows his Presidents and speaks Latin is not a blessing to his parents or anyone else.

Character first.

Curriculum will follow.

Heidi St John Homeschooling Guide to Daylight