Menus and Chores for Parenting and Homeschooling

"Things in space
Speak to the senses,
Changing in time.
The human soul in cognizing...
Unlimited by space,
Untouched by time...
Reaches into the Kingdom of Eternity"

I take criticism now and then that I am too organized, too rigid, on the contrary! I am fully aware and continually balancing the realms of Lucifer and Ahriman - the one that loves chaos and the one that binds. We have to find the Christ in the center - the balancing.

Over the last several years, I have a saying from our church that I ponder extensively.

"Organize yourselves;
prepare every needful thing;
and establish a house,
even a house of prayer,
a house of fasting,
a house of faith,
a house of learning,
a house of glory,
a house of order,
a house of God."
 ~ These are the things I seek.
This peace, this balance.

So with that here I am posting about menus and chores!

First menus! Now these can be CRAZY detailed or fairly lax.(Do NOT get lost on Pinterest!) I really think this depends a lot on who you are, how you shop and how much time you spend on special dietary needs for your family. Can you go with a theme like "pasta" and pull something together quickly, or do you need to have the exact recipe there? Only you know this. Ponder this and then decide what works for you.  For us, I have a menu & rhythm on the same page and it is extremely helpful.

Other things to consider:
- How old is the child(ren)? Can they be involved in the menu planning, prepping and cooking?
- Are you rotating who is doing the cooking throughout the week?
- Do you have your grocery list synced to your partner and teens for them to help with the shopping?

Menus... don't have one?  
GET ONE.  
It will make your life so much smoother!

Now chores. I often get questions about when to start kids on chores, what to expect and how to enforce it all. As a mom of a big family, I need everyone to pull their weight, but that doesn't mean I am as strict with a teen as a younger child.

Before age 6, children are doing great if they are following you around and imitating the chores you are doing. This is perfect for their age. They can help unload the dishwasher and put the clean dishes on the counter, they can help put laundry into a basket to be folded, they can put away the silverware and things within their reach. That means the counters have to be clean Mom! That means you have to model this for them. That means once the laundry is in the basket, you have to fold it. Don't expect them to do it if you aren't willing to model it. 

Ages 6-8, wipe counters down, fold laundry, help with bathroom chores, and begin sweeping.

Ages 9+, this child should be able to handle most tasks. Rotate them and let them have favorites but stretch them so they can do all things and don't over work them.

How did I do it with all 5 children in the house?
We had Harry, Ellie and Sam in the rotation. Jacob was with us part time. When he was there, he took over the kitchen chores and helped me with the cooking. Harry and Ellie traded off in the kitchen. Who ever wasn't on the kitchen was on the floors.

Harry was the laundry guy... he loved to jam out to music and fold clothes. He loved to close the door to the laundry room and be in his own little world with music. It is a huge task to do that much laundry (for 7 people) and he had to do 2-3 loads a day to keep up on it.
Ellie was my Sariah helper. While I would pay her for some babysitting, some of it was her counter help for Harry's laundry help. We had two bathrooms and Harry took one while Ellie took the other. 

Sam's chores were helping in the kitchen and helping pick up after his baby sister. Once the six year old change happened, I changed his chores to being fully in charge of unloading the dishwasher, making sure Sunbun had food, and wiping counters and table tops. His kitchen counterpart enjoyed helping.

How to make all this happen?
I over see the rhythm and hold the space.
I make sure it flows.  
I take my place in the kitchen to help with meals and dishes.  
Erik steps in with help on the floors, general clean up and device/media management with the big kids.
Erik has made sure over the years that what was being played on Netflix was not full of Disney sitcoms and other drivel I don't allow. He monitored the modem and the computer use for the big kids. We have shared the responsibilities of parenting together.

Learn more about 
Rhythm
Cleaning with Littles
Our Thinking, Feeling, Willing Program here.