MOTIVATION
Wanting To Do It
This House is a Mess - Younger
*Mathematics
*Recognizing and Creating Patterns
This activity is really ageless. I don't know anyone
who responds to the task of cleaning up with joy and
eagerness. Maybe it's because we think we have to
do everything at once, and we can't. So we feel discouraged.
Just as in teaching in the classroom, where we divide
a curriculum into parts, cleaning up a house can be
divided into parts. Then the tasks become doable,
and while children may not be whistling while they
work, they do know where to start.
For the big job of cleaning house, you might do one
room at a time or one task, like washing windows,
in several rooms. For children, putting away clothes
and toys in their rooms can be a first step. This
can be followed by dusting and then by vacuuming.
Make the job more pleasant by working with someone
else or even to music. Marches are known to be very
effective. Rock 'n' roll moves the dustcloth along.
Turn cleaning into a game. Decide how long it will
take you do the job. Then time yourself against the
clock. Set the same task for yourself and your child.
You can race each other to see who is the fastest
cleaner of them all!
Excuses Don't Count- Older
*Study Skills
*Observing and Keeping Record
This activity teaches children that work can be organized
so that it gets done and that excuses for not doing
tasks just don't count - at home or in school or on
a job. You need paper, pencil, and a ruler.
Make a chore chart for the hours between five P.M.
and bedtime. Ask children to choose a time to do each
chore. Write those times on the chart. The chart might
look like this:
| Chore |
Time |
Done |
| Setting the table |
5:30 |
______ |
| Doing homework |
7:30 |
______ |
The next day, children do the tasks at the time planned.
When they've completed the job, they put a check mark
in the Done column.
Talk about when they did the tasks. Did they do them
all? If not, did they have real reasons or excuses?
An excuse might be that they forgot to set the table
while playing ball. Talk about using excuses to avoid
doing things. Do we know when we're using them?
Look around the house. Think about the chores that
need to be done. Examples: Clean out the closet, straighten
the drawers, weed the garden. What excuses do adults
use to avoid these chores?
