Chores (the most exciting blog post you'll ever read!)

Almost every day, the kids and I do chores together. We don't have a specific chore chart or schedule (I am far from organized enough to keep up with one of those); we just talk about what needs to be done that day then do it. Easy, peasy.

But first (and this is probably the most important part), we put on some fun music. We dance together for a song or two and get our blood flowing before we tackle our jobs.

Everett and Ashley (and I, except when I'm taking pictures) love dancing around together.

"Let's pretend to get married, Ashley!" Everett said on this particular morning. He hasn't really seen very many princess movies, but dancing = getting married must make sense in his preschooler mind.

It wouldn't be a complete dancing session without the favored stuffed animals joining in.

Everett and Ashley are best friends, and this is something I appreciate daily.

They truly have an affinity for each other.

And they never argue or pout.

Well, after we're done dancing around and acting like a bunch of crazies, it's on to the chores. I'm always amazed at the abilities kids have. As long as I have a positive attitude, they can help in some way with any chore that I do. Mopping, laundry, or tidying are good ones, and so is cleaning the kitchen. Everett likes to rinse the dishes, and Ashley likes to help me figure out where to load them.

We try to make it fun and non-threatening. If they don't do a great job (they don't) and I have to re-wash something later, it's not a big deal. The point is that we're all working together, talking, and having fun.

Ashley, typical of a two-year-old, does not have a long attention span. On this particular day, she only stacked one cup. That's fine with me--I don't push her. She tries and that is what counts.

Everett is a machine, once he gets in the groove. Ashley wanted to show him something and I told him he could go upstairs with her for a minute, but Everett refused. He said he wanted to finish his job first. He doesn't always say this, but when he does it is music to my ears!

Ashley often likes to follow Everett's example.

One great two-year-old job is folding dishtowels. Two folds and they're done. Ashley does like to get a little creative with her folding, and that's fine. I don't care how they end up looking. Sometimes I think doing chores is one of the best kinds of learning activities a small child can do. Problem-solving, coordination, observation, taking-turns, they're all part of it.

Usually we do chores while William is down for his morning nap, otherwise he follows us around looking like this when he can't figure out how to get down the stairs. If he is already backwards he can zip down, no problem. Remembering to turn feet first is where he gets stuck.

When we're all done, we reward ourselves with an activity we do together. Usually it is a game.

Everett is thrilled that he found the first match.

Ashley is not thrilled that the match happened to be Tinkerbell, her favorite.

(I played with the timer on my camera)

Believe it or not, chores and game is the best part of our day, I think. The kids are more motivated with quality time than anything else, of course. The nice thing is, it's fun for all of us!