Work

Every once in a while we have a really fun Family Home Evening, and I just want to share it in case anyone else wants/needs a new idea. The lesson was on work and family responsbility. Everyone has jobs to do just because they're part of our family and so we all get to help out. Object lesson: I dumped out a bag of legos and timed Tyler to see how fast he could pick them all up by himself. Then we dumped them out again and had everybody help pick them up, and we timed it again. They could see how much faster it was, and how much less work they had to do when everybody pitched in and helped!

Then we went over to this poster that I had made earlier (with the help of my trusty cricut) and put finger paints on our hands. They each made their hand prints on it and really loved that.

We briefly talked about Proverbs 6:6-8 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." It would have been more effective if we had an ant hill or ants to watch, but we didn't. Tyler still loves ants though so it was a good analogy for him. Could also use D&C 42:42 "Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." That is the moral of the story for The Little Red Hen.

We also gave them their new job charts! We've never really had consistent job charts in the past because Tyler just kind of does what I ask him to and knows his jobs and does them. But Brynlee is the queen of getting out of work and avoiding it when she can. So we're really getting serious about these job charts. It's always nice to have some visual to check off or put a sticker on it when as they accomplish their tasks.

I think teaching children to work is one of the most critical things we can teach as parents, and yet it's becoming less and less of a priority. I know the real challenge is to continue to make them work when they are older (like teenagers) but hopefully if we establish good patterns and expectations from the time they're young, it will roll over and work to our advantage as they grow.