Summer Chores

My kids don't have chores during the school year. It's mostly because I'm lazy and trying to keep up with them doing the chores is more work than just taking care of it myself. Or, if I'm being really honest, just not having it done at all. The school year's routine is more focused on responsibility for reading, homework, projects, organization.

In the summertime, if we were to put the kids in day camps like we used to, we would most likely have the same expectations of no chores. Or minimal chores.

But we hired a nanny.

I have zero expectation of the nanny doing housework. I know that some nannies advertise their willingness to do light housework. But I want our nanny to be focused on my kids, not my messy house.

And I want my kids to do more than spend the summer playing video games, watching TV, and playing on iPads.

So each day weekday, they are required to earn their screen time.

To earn 1 hour of screen time, you must read for 30 minutes, do 2 chores from the chore list, and do specific physical activity.

Reading for 30 minutes is easy. The kids both enjoy reading, especially in the summertime. There are plenty of reading programs they participate in - at our tae kwon do school, our local library, and various book stores, for example. And after the first hour of screen time is earned, more time can be earned for reading more.

Physical activity is pretty easy, too. This summer, the focus is on tae kwon do. The kids both need a stronger core to improve balance and strength. So a total of 40 core exercises (sit ups, for example) or practicing their poomse (form). They can do it together or on their own.

And my favorite part - chores!

Here is our list from week 1. And we will use pretty much the same list for week 2.

The kids get to choose what they want to do. No repeating what you did the day before (last year, the windows and bathroom mirror got cleaned daily and became something they fought over). And the whole list should get done over the course of the week.

After a couple of weeks with the list like this, I plan to mix it up a little. The chores will mostly be the same but I will divide them up by room. A couple of weeks after that, maybe I will assign some to be chosen and some specifically to Teagan and specifically to Zach. The idea just being that mixing it up a little makes it feel fresh and new.

They have their own cleaning supplies - a vinegar and water mix (3 parts water, 1 part vinegar, a bit of lemon juice, couple drops of lemon essential oil) in a spray bottle. This can be used on floors, counters, walls, toilets, whatever.

I'd like to say that breaking it down this way means I might be able to make this continue in the school year. Maybe. But for now, I just want to make it last through the summer!