How to Preschool at Home....(start in the laundry room)

Preschool.  It's a big step for both kids and parents.  We've chosen to keep our kids at home for preschool.  It kind of makes sense considering we homeschool.  Lot's of reasons might have you thinking about preschool at home.  Distance, cost, impressionable minds, time.  Whatever your reason for keeping your kiddos home for preschool, rest assured, you can provide an excellent repertoire of preschool skills.  And I believe it can all begin in the laundry room.

Yes, you read that right.  Preschool in the laundry room.  Let me explain.

Moms spend a lot of time in the laundry room.  Instead of pushing the youngsters away to play so the work can be done quickly and efficiently (sounds nice, doesn't it?), why not include them.  Laundry becomes a time of teaching and learning, rather than just another mom chore.  The laundry folding may take longer, but for good reason.

What can be learned in the laundry room?

--matching socks

As I pull clothes from the dryer to fold, I let all the socks fall to the floor.  Maria lines them up waiting for its match.  Then she pushes one sock inside the other and hands them to me.  I always ask, "Who wears these?"  Then I place them on the right pile. (skill learned = matching)

--naming items 

For young beginners this is a great way to start incorporating preschool into the task of laundry.  Maria loves to reach into the dryer, grab something and then tell me what it is.  She'll say things like, this is a sock, this is a underwear, this is a hoodie, this is a pants.  It's so cute, especially as she starts using the correct subject/verb agreement (skill learned = vocabulary)

--identify owner of laundry

This is a favorite of Maria's.  We call it the "Who wears this?" game.  As I fold and she looks on, I say "Who wears this?"  She looks at each item and then yells out the rightful owner.  It's amazing how observant a two year old can be.  She knows everyone's socks and underwear and shirts and pants.  Sometimes she even catches me as I place socks on the wrong pile.  "No, mom, those are Joseph's." (skill learned = observation/memory)

--name colors

Another obvious preschool skill is learning colors.  This can be as complicated or simple as you want to make it.  Socks can be grouped by colors:  white, black, multi.  Clothes come in so many shades of colors, so it's very easy to expand on the simple sort.  Try lining up all the blue clothes from light to dark.  Or how about naming the colors of the clothes like a box of crayons.  light pink=carnation pink, dark blue=midnight blue, bright green=leprechaun green.  Older preschool age children love this and can get very creative in their color naming. (skill learned = colors, adjectives)

--practice math concepts
I like to incorporate math into folding towels and washcloths.  The simplest is to count the towels and washcloths, separately.  Which is more?  Or spread out a bath towel, hand towel and washcloth.  Let your child put them order from big to small.  How about geometry?  How many hand towels does it take to fully cover a bath towel?  Separate into squares and rectangles.  Joe, Peter, and Maria all love to fold washcloths.  Kitchen washcloths are folded in half.  Bathroom washcloths are folded in fourths.  Fractions don't have to be scary. (skill learned = counting, size relationships, fractions)

--caring for your home
A favorite job is always cleaning out the lint catcher.  I like to remind my kids that a job worth doing is a job worth doing well.  And doing it well means completing the task including the cleanup.

Preschool can be done at home without any extra materials, extra cost, or extra driving.  I've found that including my kids into my daily tasks I can provide them with opportunities to learn all the necessary preschool skills.  Laundry takes longer this way, but that's ok because soon enough they'll be on a plane to Ecuador and I'll be left to do laundry alone.  That last sentence doesn't make sense to you?  Emily is in Ecuador (that's 3,155 miles from here) and I'm feeling a bit like:

Where did the time go?

Wasn't she just 3 years old and folding washcloths and matching socks along side me?

Hold those little ones tight

And teach them skills so one day they can take flight.

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Dealing With Kids Who Do Chores Slooooowly

We have 9 people living under one roof.  We homeschool (at home of course).  We own a business and work at home.  Our kids work for us (at home).  Many of our hobbies take place at home.  We eat most of our meals at home.  Some of these things happen inside and others, outside.  The bathrooms and kitchen and garage never really get a break.  No matter what, when this many people are doing this many things at home, messes are bound to happen.  Stuff needs to be picked up and put away.  Floors need to be cleaned.  Food needs to be prepared and DISHES need to be washed.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

In order to make it all work, every member of the family has to contribute what they can to the cleaning up.  We use rotating chore charts to keep everyone in the know as to who is in charge of what.  But chore charts don't make chores get done fast.  And if there's one thing that puts me over the edge it's dilly dallying while doing chores.  I know, I know when they dilly dally around it only wastes their own time.  True, sort of.  But what about when you need to use the sink for washing tomatoes or soaking cucumbers in preparation for canning and you can't get to the sink for one and a half hours.  Aargh!  It wastes my time, too.

After nearly 18 consecutive years of parenting and a combined 70 years of mothering my 7 kids I've learned a thing or two about dealing with kids who do chores sloooooowly.  First of all, I've tried all the tricks (I think).

*I've set the timer and offered a reward if they beat the time.
*I've set the timer and taken away privileges if they didn't finish in time.
*I've charged them a nickel or dime for not working diligently.
*I've sent them on time outs every time they got distracted while working.
*I've made them do extra chores thinking that they would simply work faster next time.
*I've explained the ramifications of working slowly and how it wastes their own time.
*I've explained the benefits of working diligently and the self satisfaction that comes with it.  Yeah right.
*And I've probably, maybe, sort of said that if they don't learn to work quickly and stay on task they'll probably get fired from their first job and then maybe they'll learn to just GET.  THE.  JOB.  DONE.  ALREADY.  Maybe I've said that a time or two.

Now for the tips on dealing with said kids.  The ones who work painfully slow.

#1 - Make sure they know exactly what is expected from them.  Write down the steps, draw a picture.  Do whatever you have to to ensure they know exactly what the task is.

#2 - Encourage, praise, fist bump, give a hug letting them know you believe in them and their ability to work diligently.

#3 - Walk away and let them just do the job.

Number 3 has been very effective when dealing with kids doing the lunch dishes.  Within minutes I can tell if the dishwasher is going to give me guff.  If it seems likely they will, I take the little kids outside to the trampoline or some other spot "hidden" from the kitchen window.  If I happen to go back inside and the dishes still aren't finished, I work very hard to refrain from saying anything.  I simply let them finish.  It's amazing how quickly they can get a job done when there isn't anyone to hear their complaints.

To recap, the most important thing in dealing with kids who do their chores slowly is to walk away and let them get the job done without a hovering parent or nit-picking sibling within earshot.  Sooner or later or later or later they'll learn to work quickly because it's really boring complaining to oneself and much more fun to be where the action is rather than alone doing chores.

An oldie, but a goodie post on why you should ignore your children.

Put A Stop To "I'M BORED" - Part 2

In the original Put A Stop To "I'M BORED" I shared how I dole out jobs whenever "I'm Bored" is  uttered by one of my cherubs.

Today is going to be more about preventing the phrase "I'm Bored".  There's this line in Cheaper By the Dozen where the kids are complaining that none of the other kids on the block have chores and the parents retort with:

Well, we're not like other families.

My kids always chuckle at that line because it's funny, but it also rings true.  They've definitely let me know that some of their peers don't have many chores and in fact have most things done for them.  Gasp!  That would never happen in this house.  We've expected our kids to pitch in and help out since they were able to walk.  Since Maria is our littlest, it's easy to think of examples of her helping out.  She can open the kitchen drawer and pull out a pile of forks which she will place mostly in the correct spots at the table.  She can pick up and sort toys into baskets.  She can wash down cupboard doors with a cleaning wipe or wet washcloth.  

As a parent it's so easy to want to just get it done, but it really is to your benefit to include kids in the work.  Because one day those toddlers will become teenagers.  And teenagers that can't do basic housework or home repairs can easily become an enemy, where as teenagers with skills are your allies helping the household run smoothly.

Not only does a child learn valuable skills they'll one day use in their own home, but it teaches them to use their time wisely.  Working in a diligent manner results in a job well done, quickly.  However, working slowly with lots of distractions is a waste of time and doesn't allow much time for play.

But this is supposed to be about keeping kids from uttering the words "I'm Bored" and nothing works better than real work.

Need a chicken coop door built - enlist a teen.

Need a chicken coop stained - enlist 2 teens

Need some brush cleared - enlist 2 teens and a boy

Work.  It does a body good.

So there you have it.  That's how we keep our kids from being bored.  Of course, there's still plenty of time left for fun.