I'll let her tell you about it:
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Cleaning House? Bake Cookies!
by Megan
Mommy and Daddy were gone on Friday night, so the kids were keeping house. I wanted to have the house clean and surprise Mommy when she came home, so I got up on Saturday morning and baked chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I told everyone that they could have one cookie for every cleaning task they completed. It worked like a charm!
An hour later, dishes had been washed and the trash was empty. Toys were put away. Mirrors, toilets, toasters, sinks, a shower, and the kitchen counters had been cleaned. Floors and stairs had been swept or vacuumed. (Ben and Hannah were actually fighting over the vacuum!) Ben was in tears when he could think of any tasks he could do, and I had to think fast to come up with something. When they were done, everyone had earned around 5 cookies. (It's sadly indicative of the state of our house that there was still a lot of work left to be done.)
Just so no one thinks I was being a lazy tyrant, I'll explain myself. I didn't force anyone to do anything; they could earn as few or as many cookies as they wanted, or they could do absolutely nothing. It was up to them. I wasn't doing nothing this whole time. In fact, I was chaotically busy. I had to mix up cookies, scoop them, and bake them, while coming up with age-appropriate chores, checking the kids' work, answering their questions, and instructing them on how to clean mirrors and floors. After that, I had to do a few chores myself, since I wanted some of my own cookies. I wasn't making others do my work, I was providing positive and effective motivation. :)
Mommy and Daddy were gone on Friday night, so the kids were keeping house. I wanted to have the house clean and surprise Mommy when she came home, so I got up on Saturday morning and baked chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I told everyone that they could have one cookie for every cleaning task they completed. It worked like a charm!
An hour later, dishes had been washed and the trash was empty. Toys were put away. Mirrors, toilets, toasters, sinks, a shower, and the kitchen counters had been cleaned. Floors and stairs had been swept or vacuumed. (Ben and Hannah were actually fighting over the vacuum!) Ben was in tears when he could think of any tasks he could do, and I had to think fast to come up with something. When they were done, everyone had earned around 5 cookies. (It's sadly indicative of the state of our house that there was still a lot of work left to be done.)
Just so no one thinks I was being a lazy tyrant, I'll explain myself. I didn't force anyone to do anything; they could earn as few or as many cookies as they wanted, or they could do absolutely nothing. It was up to them. I wasn't doing nothing this whole time. In fact, I was chaotically busy. I had to mix up cookies, scoop them, and bake them, while coming up with age-appropriate chores, checking the kids' work, answering their questions, and instructing them on how to clean mirrors and floors. After that, I had to do a few chores myself, since I wanted some of my own cookies. I wasn't making others do my work, I was providing positive and effective motivation. :)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Beware the Loch Russell Monster!
I just realized that we haven't posted anything on our blog in weeks, though we promised to. I offer sincere apologies for this lapse and shall attempt to make it up to you by posting about our camping trip to New Hampshire. I love the roads in NH, especially the Kancamagus highway. You can tell you're close when you look out the window and rather than the tunnel of trees that you see in CT, you are driving along the side of a mountain, overlooking the valley below you. It is a gorgeous view.
This year, it was a bit warmer, so we could enjoy the Russell pond to it's fullest, even though we were worried about the Loch Russell Monster, affectionately known as Russie. I think the videos and pictures will explain better than I can.
This year, it was a bit warmer, so we could enjoy the Russell pond to it's fullest, even though we were worried about the Loch Russell Monster, affectionately known as Russie. I think the videos and pictures will explain better than I can.
Amanda
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