I'm Being Called Away...

I am hearing Him call my name...

I have a feeling He has been calling me for a while, but this past weekend I finally quieted myself long enough to clearly hear His voice.

My Shepherds voice.

He's calling me to Himself--into a season of greater simplicity and deeper commitment.

So, with great anticipation and joy, I'm taking a blogging break.

I don't know for how long...and I know my long-distance friends and family will be sad about this, but I hope you can understand...

I consider it an honor to obey my God in such a simple way because He is worthy of so much more than just my hobbies and my habits...but my entire life.

Matthew 6:33

"But seek first the kingdom of God 
and his righteousness, 
and all these things will be added to you."

I'll probably try to update with "big event" pictures as time allows and will check up on all your blogs as time allows as well!

Blessings!!!

See you all soon!

The Under the Bed Bed

Not a week goes by where my husband and I aren't woken up in the middle of the night to a sweet voice saying,

"Momma, I had a bad dream, can I sleep with you and daddy?"

We used to say "sure honey" and they'd hope into bed with us...the result?  Ryan and I didn't get ANY sleep.  We learned quickly that our boys are VIOLENT little sleepers!  We were getting kicked and pushed all night...

So although we'd love to say yes, we know better now....plus, we're in a queen and it's barely big enough for us (especially when I'm pregnant and if you haven't noticed yet, I'm pregnant more often than I'm not!)

So our solution to the situation is a toddler bed mattress tucked under our bed.

We pull it out, throw the pillow on (also under the bed) grab a blanket (yep, that's under there too), say a prayer with them and roll back over to sleep.

It used to be a huge hassle.  We'd either spend 30 minutes convincing them to go back to their bed (without crying so they didn't wake up the siblings in the room) or 10 minutes setting up a makeshift bed on our floor for them.

But now it's much more simple...they're even at the point that they'll just come down, pull the bedding out and fall asleep with us never even knowing they came down (until morning when we almost trip over them!)

It works for me!!...Anything to simply life and get everyone to sleep a little better is a blessing around here!

LOOK WHAT JUST CAME IN THE MAIL!!!

I can't even BEGIN to tell you HOW STINKIN' EXCITED I AM about my new DVD's!!!

I want to scream...AHHHHHH!!! (okay, that's my virtual scream!)

Remember my very successful garage sale I told you about HERE?

Well, while the majority of our money went into savings, my sweet hubby let me choose between a new printer for my computer or these DVD's I've been coveting wanting!

So of course, I chose the DVD's!!!

A few weeks ago, Franklin Springs Films was running a major deal on the Homestead Blessing videos, so I got these 10 DVD's on SUPER sale!  

In my collection are the following:
~The Art of Gardening
~The Art of Sewing
~The Art of Canning
~The Art of Quilting
~The Art of Dairy Delights
~The Art of Bread Making
~The Art of Soap Making
~The Art of Candle Making
~The Art of Herbs
and I even got...
~The Art of Cooking (which teaches you how to make the following meals completely from SCRATCH-NO grocery store needed!) 
     ~Breakfast: pancakes, fried potatoes, fried apples & onions
     ~Lunch: pizza, tomato soup, salads & homemade dressings
     ~Dinner: pot roast & veggies, buttermilk biscuits & gravy, green beans, peach cobbler. 


For a girl who grew up a bit spoiled (yes, I'm admitting it) these DVD's are a dream come true, because our family's desire to become self-reliant, country-living homesteaders grows more and more every day!

Where He Leads, I Will Follow

After my last post, I was SO encouraged by your many comments spurring me on and telling me I'm not alone!  Thank you so much for blessing me with all your wisdom and encouragements as I talked about my recent doubts in my ability to home-school while I battle morning sickness and as I figure out our homeschooling "style" in general. 

The Lord used you all to bring me back to some basic Truths that He's been walking me towards for a while now, but I keep straying because of the distractions that are brought on by my fears and worries.

I am SO thankful for His faithfulness and steadfastness in reassuring me and showing me the way even when I get myself lost time after time!


What He's been speaking to me, actually started this summer while I was home alone, vacuuming the house.  The Lord brought me specific direction for this school year... to study the 9 fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5 by focusing on one "fruit" each month.

At that time, I took some mental notes and thought of some ways to incorporate that into my already planned out schedule...


But a few weeks later, when we found out we were pregnant, the doubts and worries, about homeschooling at all, started.  How can I home-school with so many distractions (the little kids, the morning sickness, etc)?  Will anything get accomplished this year?


The Lord spoke to me again by encouraging me to daily do what "school" I can, but focus mainly on the fruits of His  Spirit.  I was freshly excited about having my kids with me all day so that we can discuss minute by minute how to practice and live out each fruit we learn about--even if it's being taught from the living room couch!

So I did some specicif planning and decided to make the Fruits of the Spirit our main focus...

But as my morning sickness got worse and worse, the uncertainties crept back in yet again (thus, my last post).  I could hardly keep up with anything around the house and I was loosing my vision in all my doubting.  This was just not how I pictured it...I was so disappointed in myself and in my inability to "push through" and accomplish "by the books" education each day, let alone the extra effort I wanted to put into creatively presenting the Fruits of the Spirit to my kiddos.


But this weekend, He reeled me in once more and spoke to me about centering our home on the fruits of His Spirit.  (I'm SO thankful He hadn't given up on my by this point!)  I have now seen more than just His desire for my days, I have seen His vision for my days!  I am still feeling sick and tired, but I'm now full of joy and thankfulness that He was faithful to teach me and re-teach me about HIS will for this school year!

It will probably be lacking cute activities and colorful handouts for a while, but it will be rich with scripture and Truth from our own experiences in our home.


So as I look again into the first fruit of the Spirit (love) I am reminded that if I'm loving my kids in the Spirit, none of my efforts will fall short. (see more HERE).

BUT if I push a curriculum on us all, even when I'm sick and even when their hearts are needing something else, and we complete my perfectly planned school year, but I do it without Sprit-filled love, I am nothing but a "clanging symbol" and we "gain nothing" (1 Cor 13).


The Lord has now added to this vision by directing me to teach the boys a hymn each month that corresponds with the fruit we're learning. (Love-"O How I Love Jesus"; Joy-"Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"; Peace-"Peace Like a River", etc).


As I was finding each "fruit's" hymn in my "Amazing Grace" book, the Lord brought it to mind to take it beyond just the hymn, and talk about the author of the hymn, the story behind the hymn and anything else I can find!


So suddenly, my mission to teach about the fruit of the Spirit turned from "just" a spiritual lesson to now include, music and history!


Then yesterday a friend who is getting rid of some books, had set aside a stack for me to look through...and there in the midst of the books was this one:

I was so blessed by the Lord's purposeful ways to get my attention and say, "You're doing well...keep it up...and here's a little extra help..."


Now, on days I feel well, we are still following the plan to complete the original plan ("My Fathers World Kindergarten" for Trusten and "Handwriting Without Tears" for Brahm).  Thankfully though, they already know beyond what is being expected of their ages, so skipping a day here and there in our week hasn't slowed down our pace yet!


My goal right now in our homeschooling isn't my daily planner anymore (Praise God!) it's in teaching and practicing loving my boys in and by the Spirit...


And when I begin to doubt myself, I'm disciplining myself to give thanks for realizing how I was making it about me, and freshly turn my eyes to the Lord for help!


God is so faithful to quiet our storms (even the storms WE create), quiet our doubts and come to our aide...He loves to help His children!

The Purging of STUFF

Our house has been undergoing a serious "purging" over the last 2 weeks. We just have so much, STUFF, you know? Just stuff...it's everywhere, I look!  Stuff, Stuff, STUFF.


We live in smaller home (for our family size) and we often talk about how we wished we had more room.  But, the simple truth is, we do have room...it's just that STUFF is taking up all our room!

Finally, after a late night talk, Ryan and I got serious.  The next day, we went into "purge" mode and decided to "half our stuff".

This wasn't just casual "Spring cleaning", this was serious, no emotions, "just let it go" cleaning like we'd never done before.

My first spark of inspiration came from my friend Amy, at Raising Arrows, who has been blogging every Saturday as she "halves her stuff" room by room.  Well, we caught onto her vision about 3 months late, but caught up in two weeks!

~~So what'd we do?

Well, first of all, we decided to "practice what we preach".

You see, one of my boys is always saying, "But I need..." 
To which I always say (and now he quotes...), "No, that's what you want.  What you need is air, shelter, sleep, clothing, food, water and Jesus."

So, we simply stopped riding the fence on certain toys, clothes that we've hung onto that get worn too infrequently, books we'll never read again, etc.  And we even took it a step further...

We took a spin on the Amish saying for clothing:

"One for wash, One for wear,

One for play and One to spare"

We have tubs full of cute outfits and matching accessories.  But being a practical momma, I usually gravitate for clothes that can be mixed and matched.  Simple, solid, practical. 

So, we accumulated 15 trash sacks of clothes as we took each age's "tub" and simplified to 7 play outfits, 5 dress outfits and 4 pajamas for both winter and summer.

Yes, those 15 trash sacks sat on our front porch for a few days...

I'm sure our poor, sweet neighbors were less than thrilled!

And let me tell ya...

It felt SO good to condense all our STUFF we had in storage, down to half of what it was before!

Around the house, we literally went room by room and just started throwing stuff into boxes.  We don't use it?... we don't need it.  Can't remember the last time we touched it?...we don't need it.  Etc.

~~The hard part
We had to resolve to not let our my emotions get too involved.  My love language is gifts, so I remember almost every item, who gave it to us, if it's clothes~when a certain kid wore it...and on and on.

Plus, I kept struggling with the thought that we were being ungrateful for all the blessings we had recieved.  But the Lord kept reminding me that people gave us these things to bless us, and if they are no longer a blessing (but a burden, taking up space we need) then it was time to let them go.

So I had to "put on my brave face" and just think practically...which is not an easy endeavor for me!

~~The fun part
Some people don't think of garage sales as very much fun...but I do!!!  We had a one-day yard sale.  I put an ad in the paper and 2 simple, paper signs up on busier streets and set our stuff out.

I went for SIMPLE pricing.  All clothes, all shoes $.50.  We weren't out to make money, so I priced low in hopes that more would get purchased!  And it WORKED!!!

Almost all the toys/decor were $.50-$1.00. 

Books, VHS tapes, DVD's and CD's were $.25 (I told you I wasn't in it for the money...I wanted to get RID of this stuff!)

We had four "big" items (a TV, an old laptop, a DVD player and a camera) but everything else was small "piddley" stuff.

And guess what?  We made almost $800 dollars in those 6 hours!!!

Pricing low was worth it (pun intended!) and now we are a lighter, happier home with more room to run, play and prepare to GROW even more!!!

Thank you, but NO "Thank You"

I used to keep a box with all the old cards I would receive from friends.  In college, that box turned into 2 boxes.  Then in our early married life, it turned into a medium-sized tub...


I had a lot of cards!  Most of them were "thank-you's".


During the season of friends having weddings every weekend and then friends having babies every month...


I acquired a lot of "thank you" cards!

I decided in our first move as a married couple to throw away most of my "thank you" cards I had received.


That was a hard decision for me.  I knew people had spent precious time on those cards, spent money on the postage and were truly grateful for the gift I sent, or the food I delivered.


But I had to do it.  I had to get rid of the cards I would probably never look through.  I had to simplify the "clutter"!  And, after all, I knew they were thankful, I didn't need a card to remind myself of that!


What do you do with your "thank you" cards?


Well, I get very few "thank you's" anymore, because of my new policy...my new "shower gift".


In fact, I'm kinda known for it now...


Along with any gift I give or any meal I deliver is a verbal warning (or a note) saying,


"and please, NO THANK YOU CARD!  Instead, use the time you would spend writing me a card, to cuddle your new baby a little longer or fix a special dessert for your new husband or...(the list goes on)."


I don't need thank-yous.  I know people are thankful...I've been there--I know how thankful you are to get a new sleeper for a new baby or to get a meal after a long, hard day, etc.


Trust me, I know what a blessing those things can be...I've had 4 kids within 6 years.  I know how treasured those acts of kindness ares...but I also know the TIME it takes to write thank you notes!


So... don't spend time sending me a thank you...use that time to enjoy your family and I won't have to feel bad about throwing away your card :)


(Don't worry, I still keep some though!  I know "cards" are some peoples love languages...I know who those friends of mine are, so I keep those because they are full of memories and love for me!)

Linked to:

Life at the Cabin: 13 People Living Together for a Week! (Vacation Part 2)

In my opinion, the Tennessee Smokey Mountains are one of the most beautiful places in the world!

This is the view from our cabin...(the clouds are masking the higher peaks)

We literally stayed at the tip-top of the mountain...

we were completely secluded and it was SO peaceful!

We stayed in a beautiful 3-story cabin

(can you see Samuel's little face peeking through the stair rails?)

Sleep

You may wonder where 13 people sleep in a 3 bedroom cabin...well, you get creative :)

Ryan and I's room-(lowest level)

Sarah and Chad's room (main floor)

Liberty slept in the laundry room-(lowest level)

Some boys slept on the couch downstairs-(lowest level)

The other kids bedroom-(top floor)

Samuel slept in the game room-(lowest level)

Esther slept in Sarah and Chad's huge bathroom, Truett slept in their room...and it never felt cramped...just super cozy!

Playing Around

And while they slept, we played cards...Every.Single.Night.  It was SOOOO fun!!!

My brother-in-law is one of the funniest guys I have ever known!  We laughed so hard...to the point of tears, to the point of peanut M&M's coming up my nose...you get the point :)

But we also had some really good, meaningful conversation: homeschooling, parenting, death, the love of money...and so much more!

Pool table in the game room

(the dad's loved this!)

I didn't get pictures of the other activities, like tubing in the river, but I did get some shots of the gang hiking just outside our cabin...

It was really steep and really far down...

Sarah, the two babies, El and I watched from the balcony...

We also watched a lot of movies...

While the girls did alot of chasing/hugging

Meals

To some, mealtime with 9 kids would be stressful...but for my sister and I it wasn't too different from our everyday lives :)

We planned ahead and made CrockPot meals (Cheesy Chicken with Rice, Roast, Chicken Soup over Mashed Potatoes...yum!  We all pigged out!)

The crew (minus the 2 babies, Sarah and I)

This night we had spahetti!

One evening after dinner, my sister and her hubby went into town. At 8:30pm I got my neice and nephews (the oldest 3) out of bed and gave them icecream...I mean, how could I possibly be a good aunt and NOT do this???

Huddy Buddy said, "Whoa, we better not tell mom how much you gave us!"

Another highlight of the cabin...

The whirlpool bath!  The boys loved turning the jets on!

It was just a fantastic week!  One of the best in our lives!  Thankfully, our 2 families get along SO well and our kids love each other!  The ONLY thing that would have made this trip better was if our whole family could have come!...Maybe next time!!!

Last blog post: The Beginning of Our Vacation...Part 1

Next blog post: The conference

Then: Out and About in the City ~A CRAZY, Busy, Fun day!
Then: A Breath-taking Smokey Mountain Hike
Then: The Creation Museum
And finally: The Saddest Day--Heading Home (and another hotel adventure!)

10 Uses for a Pizza Cutter

I love my pizza cutter. I've talked about it before in my "A Few Of My Favorite Things" post but seriously, I use my pizza cutter just about everyday...I've figured out it can make my life a lot more simple and meal-prep a whole lot faster!

So here are just 10 ways (of many) on how I use my pizza cutter...

1) Cutting pizza (brillant, huh?)

2) Cutting sandwiches in half for the kiddos.

3) Cutting up pancakes in a jiffy!

4) Cutting meat quickly.

5) Cutting quesadillas nice and neat.

6) Cutting the crust off of bread (not that I would ever do such a wasteful thing for my kids *wink*)

7) Cutting grapes in half for your toddler.

8) Cutting up spaghetti for little ones.

9) Cutting hotdogs up.

10) Cutting up potatoes. Yep, I use it even on potatoes!

So in other words, I use my pizza cutter on pretty much EVERYTHING :)

If you can think of any more uses for a pizza cutter, do share, Share, SHARE!

This post is linked to Top Ten {Tuesday} at OhAmanda, Real Clean Wednesday at IDreamofClean and Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

The Itch

I've got it...The itch.

It usually starts this time of year and tapers off in late Fall. 

But this past year, late fall nor winter cured "the itch".  So right now, it's feeling pretty relentless.

Ryan was born with the itch.  I got contagious about 4 years ago.  And now the boys have it...probably worse than all of us!!

It's the "I wanna move to the country" itch.

Land!  Room for the boys to run and explore!
No worries about our busy, high traffic street!
A big garden!  A cow!  Maybe some guinea fowl!
Goats, pigs, sheep...homesteading!!!

Ah, yes.  Wide, open spaces.

As our boys get older, bigger, more curious (and more daring), it's seeming more and more like a necessity that we live on some land.  God has created boys with some amazing qualities.  But it seems as though "city living" squelches most of them.

Right now, we live on one of the busiest streets in our "city".  The boys love to be outside, but right now when my boys get "the itch" to be out (read: they are getting crazy-hyper), I tend to sit them down in front of a movie until I can go out with them...because I need to be able to watch them around our busy street.

I can tell them to stay in the back yard, but that's almost like trying to rein in a wild horse!  They want to ROAM!!!

But then I think, if we lived in the country on some acreage of how they could run wild...playing, building, exploring, working...  That would be good medicine for my boys!

My in-laws have always lived on about 5 acres.  And when my boys go to visit, they play hard and hardly get into any trouble.  They love being outside in nature!  It's so fun to watch!

As for Ryan and I, we would love to become more self-sufficient and learn to live off the land.  We'd love to be in the quiet country life... where there may be more work, but there is also more freedom.

Nature, discovery, stars, silence...peace.  Our hearts are longing for it!!!

So now, more than ever, we're asking for the Lord's favor, and that if land is His will for us, that He would open a door!

Psalm 119:58

"I entreat your favor with all my heart!"

Speaking of country living...my friend Grace (love her name!) is having a giveaway on her blog...one item is "Little House in the Big Woods"...I wanna win it!!!

Hi, This is Grace. I'm Not Home Right Now...So Leave A Message...

Well, okay, literally, I am at home (come on, 4 little kids? Rarely am I anywhere else!) but "The Mommy On the Bus" had to SAY something!  :)

What I mean to say is, I'm not "home" at my blog today, because I've been invited to I Dream Of Clean as a guest poster!

So come visit me over there today!  I'm sharing how to set up a chore schedule for littles!

And If you are visiting from "I Dream Of Clean", WELCOME!!!

Glad you stopped in!

I hope you take a few minutes to look around, after all, I really do dream of clean!  Sometimes I even obsess about it (see HERE).

And If you too, "Dream Of Clean", here are a few more posts of mine that you might be interested in...


Cleaning Tip: Let The Lights Lead You

The Benefit of Chores for Little Kids

What Chores For Kids Look Like Around Here

What Chores For Momma Look Like Around Here

My House Managing Binder

And one last, fun post giving you Just a Taste of Little Things I Do To Simplify My Day

Mommy's Daily Chores and Weekly Rotations

Last Wednesday I talked about my children's chores (see HERE), and so this week I wanted to talk about my part of the chores!

I've said here before that I have issues with being OCD about the cleanliness of my house...and I don't say that lightly.  It really is a struggle for me to let go of my control when it comes to messes and tidiness.

So when I developed a cleaning schedule, it wasn't because it would never get done...it was because that was ALL that was getting done and I'd sacrifice playing with my kids for various housekeeping tasks.

I didn't used to clean every day, but I would often find myself panicking that something needed dusted, vacuumed or swept.  And the NEED was really just me over-reacting about a small mess my critical eye would spot!

Then I got a breath of fresh air, when I read a series of posts my MOMYS friend, Amy (check here, here and here!).  She presented the idea that she doesn't think "fly by the seat of your pants" is God's design...even when it comes to cleaning...because He is a God of timing and order... who orchestrated creation in seven specific days (along with seasons, a rising/setting sun, etc).

Before reading her post, I had some daily activities I did, but now I actually have a system!  It now looks like this:
Everyday Chores
-Dinner Prep
-Weekly Cleaning Activity (see below)
-Daily Focus Area (see below)
-Laundry Maintain (daily keeping up with loading, switching and folding laundry)

Weekly Cleaning Schedule:
Monday--Laundry (since I don't do laundry on the weekends, this is my day to catch up and the rest of the week I maintain). 
Tuesday--Dusting (the boys help me with sock on hands!)
Wednesday--Floors: Sweep/Mop
Thursday--Floors: Vacuum
Friday--Bathrooms
Saturday--Ironing/Organizing
Sunday--Rest!
(My husband and I's personal preference is a "clean house" on the weekends, not the beginning of the week...so this schedule helps us to feel like our house is clean come weekend!)

Daily Focus Area:
(Giving attention to each room a day at a time!)
Monday--Bedrooms (wash linens, declutter dressers, check under beds, etc)
Tuesday--Living Room (declutter bookshelves, tables, etc)
Wednesday--Kitchen (clean microwave, oven, fill containers, etc)
Thursday--Dining Room (clean off chairs, reorganize school area, etc)
Friday--Bathrooms (showers, straighten, switch towels, etc)
Saturday--Upstairs (pick up, clean, declutter, etc)
Sunday--Rest!

The way I did my cleaning schedule works SO well for me!  I feel like this saved my life!  I don't get stressed anymore about little "messes" I see, because I can just think to myself, "I'll get to that on...(appointed cleaning day)."  Of course, big, obvious messes (like spills and such) do get cleaned up right away!

When our family was smaller, one cleaning day worked great for me, but these days that just doesn't work very well!  So my house may not be totally clean at one time, but the rotation keeps my house in good, clean, working order!

And since I *LOVE* checklists, I also love when I get all four of my daily chores checked off!

This post is also linked to Real Clean Wednesday (and I'll be guest posting there next week!) and Works For Me Wednesday!

Daily Chores For The Little Ones

I used to drag in the mornings. I would wake up with a simultaneous prayer and deep sigh.  Before my feet even hit the floor, I was already tired just thinking "here we go again" and we'd start the day.  

I would get running first thing--fixing bowls of cereal, changing diapers, loading dishes, cleaning spills, loading my first pile of laundry into the washer, etc.  My tone most mornings was sour and pitiful.  I often found myself wishing that my mornings weren't so demanding of me.

Then I started giving my kids more credit...and it empowered them (click for link)!  They wanted to help, but my control issues were keeping them from it.  So I eased up on my control and gave them more responsibilities.  Quickly, they became thrilled with helping...they felt proud of the new things they could do and were excited they were allowed to do all these "grown up" things!

Then I just needed to establish a routine that worked to make our mornings less mundane and more about having fun and working together.

So about 4 months ago, I discovered a rhythm for our morning that works SO well for us!  I can honestly say now that...
 I LOVE MY MORNINGS... because they are now "our" mornings!  No more boys vegging in front of a DVD while momma runs around filling bowls and cups, cleaning up messes and dressing the babies...we are a team now!  And I keep telling my hubby, that I actually LOOK FORWARD to our mornings..and I know the kids do to!!!

Our morning rhythm success, has a lot to do with the chores we've set up.  Here's what the chores look like:

Schedule:
I have a post HERE about our schedule, so I won't go into it too much, but basically once we wake up and eat breakfast at the table (no DVD's in the mornings anymore) we start our chores.

First things first: MUSIC
We turn on some upbeat music and get to work!  My friend Amy wrote a great post about this HERE.

Chores by Age: (Morning)
**My 5-year-old, Trusten, is responsible for... 
Rinsing the breakfast dishes, and loading them into washer.
Taking the bedroom laundry to the porch and sorting and/or loading the washer.
Getting dressed, brushing teeth.
Making his bed.

**My 3-year-old, Brahm, is responsible for...
Washing off the breakfast table.
Taking living room laundry to porch and loading it in the washer.
Getting dressed, brushing teeth with mommy.
Making his bed.

**My 2-year-old, Samuel, is responsible for...
Getting all the cups to the counter
Getting dressed, brushing teeth with mommy
Putting any misc items back into his crib that mysteriously made it to the floor during the night.
Getting Bibles out for morning devotions.

All of this must be checked off before we move onto morning devotions!

(Afternoon)
**Trusten (5yo)...
Washing off lunch table
Kitchen clear (toys out of kitchen)
5 minute tidy (the room depends on what is needed)

**Brahm (3yo)
Cups to kitchen 
5 minute tidy (the room depends on what is needed)

**Samuel (2yo)
Shoe tidy (put all shoes on shoe shelf by door and/or straighten up shoes)
5 minute tidy (with Trusten--a bit of early mentoring)

(Evening)
**Trusten (5yo)
Wash off dinner table
10 minute tidy (the room depends on what is needed)

**Brahm (3yo)
Cups to kitchen
10 minute tidy

**Samuel (2yo)
Kitchen clear 
10 minute tidy with Trusten

Of course, now that we have a dog, I may need to tweak our chore chart to include some dog duties!

A few words about our chore chart...
--I used Sharpies for all the writing (each boy picked his own color).
--All the "check marks" are done in dry erase marker...
SO, when the day is over, I wipe off the check marks to prepare for the next day, but the chores and check boxes stay put!

Where are the kid-friendly pictures?
I used to use "chore cards" for the boys that had a picture of a boy brushing his teeth, making his bed, reading his Bible, etc.  We kept them in an envelope, but still, the cards got chewed up, lost or spilled on.

So, I took the "wall chart" route instead.  Honestly, it's more for me than the kids.  They have already gotten so used to the morning flow that they do each task without thinking.  But, I still like to keep track with our check-off chart.

I could have drawn little pictures next to each responsibility, but chose not to.  I don't have anything against that idea, and may even re-do it someday with pictures.

But for now, my kids seem to "get it" without needing picture reminders.

And what better way for them to be introduced to letters and words than by having them recognize which assortment of letters goes with the task they just completed?

It's just another way I can encourage them to read and apply it!


This post is also linked to Real Clean Wednesday and Works For Me Wednesday!


Come back next Wednesday for my part of the chores...how "mommy's" daily chores look and how I schedule the cleaning each week!