One question I am asked the most is this one..."How do you do it?" Outside of my faith which is my inner strength my best answer is team work... As a family we all work together... whether it be taking the pool cover off ( not our favorite job), to home schooling, to feeding 26 to 30 at meals, to washing clothes, 
to keeping our home clean, to helping take care of everyone's needs, to even how do you make time for your husband... all of these and more get done because we work together as a family - as a team. It took all the big kids plus Paul to get the cover off ( with lots of cheering by the rest of us). We have a chore chart ( picture of it at the top) with 39 diff. chores done by teams of kids. The teams rotate weekly (unless you need to practice your chore- because you did not do it well that week). When Paul and I go out which is usually every other week - the kids pull together to make it happen. Either they make dinner, get the little ones ready for bed, plan the nite for the family and they do it... so Paul and I can go out together with a peace of mind that all is well at home... and usually it is. They just know how important it is for momma and daddy to go out or have a date is for the health of the whole family. When we have a surgery to do... they all pull together to take care of things so I do not have to worry when I am at the hospital. My b-day gift from the kids last year was a mini laptop... so that momma can use her computer at the hospital . They all willingly do their part to help out without complaining.... So how our family gets it all done and amazingly well is because we all work together - teamwork..... Unity is an important quality in our family- working towards the purposes God has called us to and then enabling His will to work in our family... learning to know what His will is and then doing it. Even the support our married kids give is a blessing and all part of how we get it done.
to keeping our home clean, to helping take care of everyone's needs, to even how do you make time for your husband... all of these and more get done because we work together as a family - as a team. It took all the big kids plus Paul to get the cover off ( with lots of cheering by the rest of us). We have a chore chart ( picture of it at the top) with 39 diff. chores done by teams of kids. The teams rotate weekly (unless you need to practice your chore- because you did not do it well that week). When Paul and I go out which is usually every other week - the kids pull together to make it happen. Either they make dinner, get the little ones ready for bed, plan the nite for the family and they do it... so Paul and I can go out together with a peace of mind that all is well at home... and usually it is. They just know how important it is for momma and daddy to go out or have a date is for the health of the whole family. When we have a surgery to do... they all pull together to take care of things so I do not have to worry when I am at the hospital. My b-day gift from the kids last year was a mini laptop... so that momma can use her computer at the hospital . They all willingly do their part to help out without complaining.... So how our family gets it all done and amazingly well is because we all work together - teamwork..... Unity is an important quality in our family- working towards the purposes God has called us to and then enabling His will to work in our family... learning to know what His will is and then doing it. Even the support our married kids give is a blessing and all part of how we get it done.
2 comments:
I can see that with everyone chipping in to help, you really could do it. At what age/ability do you start having kids do chores? Do you have certain chores that older kids do and certain ones for younger kids? I'm liking the list idea a lot. How do you handle it if they don't their chores?
Kathleen.. It depends on the ability of the child as well. Gracie and Andrew do not do chores except that Gracie takes her dishes to the sink after she eats and she makes her own bed. We probably would start younger than most... because we sort of teach that work is positive and by hanging together doing chores it can be fun. I always have lots of helpers with me in the kitchen and when the clean up crew ( after meals) or the clothes folding crew are doing their job they are talking and having a good time... and the jobs get done fast with all the help. Often 2,3 people will do the job that is given to one because they just want to help each other and are having a good time doing it together. If we do not assign a chore to Mya she will ask for work :) I have had her dust shelves in the kitchen or help in the bathroom. Every nite this week she has either asked to bath Ava or Gracie- She loves helping and I know will absolutely adore another baby sister to dote on. We do have jobs for the older ones and younger ones... there are 39 chores listed on the chart- some are done daily and some are Wed./Sat. only... If they don't do chores they loose privileges- like no electronics, or watching the movie... if it is done to many times then you get to do it again ( practice) the following week or longer. We also have them write I will do the dog water better- maybe 100 up to 1,000 times depending on how hard of a time they are having remembering to do dog water... or I say if you are thirsty you must ask me for a drink... and if the dogs bowl is empty no drink... We have been very creative about the discipline so that they understand fully the consequences of not doing the chore and usually we have not had many issues with them getting them done. I keep a paper up on the outside cabinet of names and the discipline and when it is up... so that the child can see and know what is expected... also so we don't forget ( sometimes a huge problem with so many kids :)
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