NOTE: Here is another really old post that I found (written 12-13 years ago). I added a few pictures of my cute 5-year-old at the time.
Does it sound like all we do is work? Well, yes. Sometimes it feels that way. Summer vacation is definitely over. So here's another post about work!
My sister asked me recently how much work I expect of my five-year-old. She has a five-year-old too and wanted to know what she should expect. One of my highest priorities as a parent is teaching my children how to work. But I definitely don't have it all figured out...
My five-year-old is a little delayed because of health issues so she is not quite as capable as other 5-year-olds. She has a pretty hard time staying on task. Plus, she's the youngest. I don't need as much help from her so I really have to force myself to let her do the work and not do it for her.
So here's what I expect:
A successful morning really starts the night before. So, the night before, we lay out her clothes on the floor--we call it "making a clothing kid". I also try to make sure that she and her sister clean up their room reasonably well.
Then in the morning, after our family scripture time, she walks upstairs with her dad and he helps her make her bed, pray, and then she is supposed to get dressed by herself and clean up her room (which should be really easy). Sometimes she is super slow so we end up having to help her (I know--we're just rewarding her slowness). Then I come upstairs and brush her hair to make sure it's done well.
She comes downstairs to do her job. Currently it's to clean up the family room. One thing I like about her having this job is that she is the most likely person to have made the mess in the room. Other people might have left a few things out but she tends to be the one who plays in there. I help her a little with the big stuff and I also open all the shades and curtains because she has a hard time doing this.
She'll have this job for six months and then I'll change it to something else. I figure at least half the battle in getting work done is A. remembering what job you have and B. knowing how to do it. If the kids have the jobs for a long time, that helps a lot. Having said this, in the past, I have rotated jobs every week and it has worked moderately well. However, for my wide range of ages in my family, this works for us because I can tailor the job for each child according to their ability.
On Saturday, her family room job becomes a deep-cleaning job. I don't expect her to do it without significant help from me or my husband. She really does enjoy doing the job though. Everyone else is working at the same time and she likes to fit in and be one of the big kids. We also clean her bedroom and she helps her sister somewhat. The main challenge is staying focused.
So that's it. It actually isn't much. You could probably expect a little more from a more capable 5-year-old. But eventually she'll hopefully be a lot more capable and be able to contribute more.
My sister asked me recently how much work I expect of my five-year-old. She has a five-year-old too and wanted to know what she should expect. One of my highest priorities as a parent is teaching my children how to work. But I definitely don't have it all figured out...
My five-year-old is a little delayed because of health issues so she is not quite as capable as other 5-year-olds. She has a pretty hard time staying on task. Plus, she's the youngest. I don't need as much help from her so I really have to force myself to let her do the work and not do it for her.
So here's what I expect:
A successful morning really starts the night before. So, the night before, we lay out her clothes on the floor--we call it "making a clothing kid". I also try to make sure that she and her sister clean up their room reasonably well.
Then in the morning, after our family scripture time, she walks upstairs with her dad and he helps her make her bed, pray, and then she is supposed to get dressed by herself and clean up her room (which should be really easy). Sometimes she is super slow so we end up having to help her (I know--we're just rewarding her slowness). Then I come upstairs and brush her hair to make sure it's done well.
She comes downstairs to do her job. Currently it's to clean up the family room. One thing I like about her having this job is that she is the most likely person to have made the mess in the room. Other people might have left a few things out but she tends to be the one who plays in there. I help her a little with the big stuff and I also open all the shades and curtains because she has a hard time doing this.
She'll have this job for six months and then I'll change it to something else. I figure at least half the battle in getting work done is A. remembering what job you have and B. knowing how to do it. If the kids have the jobs for a long time, that helps a lot. Having said this, in the past, I have rotated jobs every week and it has worked moderately well. However, for my wide range of ages in my family, this works for us because I can tailor the job for each child according to their ability.
On Saturday, her family room job becomes a deep-cleaning job. I don't expect her to do it without significant help from me or my husband. She really does enjoy doing the job though. Everyone else is working at the same time and she likes to fit in and be one of the big kids. We also clean her bedroom and she helps her sister somewhat. The main challenge is staying focused.
So that's it. It actually isn't much. You could probably expect a little more from a more capable 5-year-old. But eventually she'll hopefully be a lot more capable and be able to contribute more.
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