Yep, you read that correctly. Cleaning is part of our school day. Go ahead, take a moment and let that soak in
before you read more!
In subscribing to a
Montessori-inspired approach to not just schooling but home life, as well,
cleaning is an obvious component of Practical Life skills. It actually seems too obvious. But, putting it into motion wasn’t nearly as
easy as embracing the concept was – at least not for this momma. Let’s face it, life with 4 kiddos is mostly
[dis]organized chaos peppered with a few peaceful reprieves. I jokingly confided in the older mancub
the other day that I sometimes feel like the human version of saltwater taffy
when all 4 of them are clamoring for my attention. His oh-so-loving response was to chant, “Mom,
Mom, Mom,” for the next 60 seconds. He’s
lucky I love him. ;) So, I often kick
into “survival mode” and do the tasks myself to get it checked off the
never-ending To Do list that loves to haunt my waking hours.
Enter my New Year’s
Resolutions. At the top of the
list? Engage the kiddos in more
household tasks, of course! I spent the
first full week of the New Year organizing and deep cleaning the house. How else could I justify pinning all of those
lovely home organization pins on Pinterest? Then, I formed my plan of
action.
Toys: True to Montessori
method, we now clean up each activity as we complete it. It was bad form on my part for allowing slack
in this area previously. It teaches
proper care of toys and orderliness. It also
cuts down on the number of toys that go missing. I was amazed at how quickly the divas
embraced our new system. I thought for
sure I would meet more resistance, but they seem to intuitively understand and
appreciate the need for orderliness.
Whew!
Kitchen: With the addition
of our Montessori-inspiredsnack station, all 4 kiddos have become more independent with snacks and
breakfast/lunch. I have been working
with the divas on setting and clearing the table and will introduce dish
washing this coming week. The older
mancub is responsible for unloading the dishwasher. The younger mancub is on garbage and
recycling duty. I have also enlisted the
older mancub’s help with dinner once a week, on average. I love that he loves to cook! :)
Household cleaning: I have
followed this cleaning schedule for a while now and like the simplicity, as well as the way it
breaks the chores up over the week. Like
the toys, though, this is an area where I have been inconsistent about engaging
the kiddos. One of my reasons for
slacking was the fact that I did not want them exposed to the cleaning
chemicals. Another nod to Pinterest; I
was inspired by all of the DIY cleaning products that have been filling my
news feed. I found this great link for recipes
for cleaning products and she includes an awesome (and FREE!) printable for
labels. I followed her advice and
affixed the labels to the bottles using packing tape and it worked
perfectly!
Here is my version.
Now, I can incorporate
more lessons on cleaning without worrying about the products I am putting into
the divas’ hands. Yay! Plus, what kid doesn't love a spray bottle?! So, I’m pretty sure they will be content to
spray and wipe to their hearts’ content. ;)
Momma feels less like
saltwater taffy and the kiddos gain valuable practical life skills that they
will {hopefully} carry with them into adulthood. Now, to go tackle that mountain of laundry in
the garage…
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