23 March 2011

This afternoon Punk was playing with Pup. Ever the sentimental, expressive, emotional, drama prince, he was gushing about how fun Pup is, how sweet and cute he is, etc. This fountain of love culminated in a plea for another baby ("A GIRL!!!" Pea interjected) soon! This isn't a new request. A few weeks ago Punk and Pea settled on the number of babies it would take to make our family complete: 15. That's 15 new babies. It doesn't include the three children we have now. A family of 20, apparently, is a complete family!

But, I digress. In response to Punk's effusions, I decided to unveil a little plan I've been cooking up. I said, "Well, you know, Punk, the more babies there are, the less time Mama has for doing things around the house. And, since they still have to be done, that means that the big kids get to do them."

He was excited, "Yay! I get to boss Pea around!"

"Well, no, because this still doesn't mean you're the parent. It just means that you'll get to help the family more. In fact, I'm going to teach you both some new chores during Spring Break. We'll do lots of fun things, too. But, each week (they get 3 weeks off because they are in year-round school) I will teach each of you a new job and we'll spend the week learning it. Then, when you go back to school, you'll be experts and you'll be able to do the jobs yourselves!"

I didn't get as much flack as I expected (hooray!), but that doesn't stop me from expecting it when we get busy with it! Aa and I will be deciding on some jobs that Punk and Pea can be taught to do and I'll be making a chore chart. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Anyone out there got some suggestions for jobs a 5.5 and 6.5 year old can do? They already help set the table, feed and water the dog, take the dog to the yard to do his thing, and put away their own laundry. They've also been helping me wipe down their bathroom and I think they are ready to have that handed over too. So, what do your kids do for chores?