Chores at home and their implications to academic work

For Christmas, G. received a fish tank and fish from his grandparents. He is almost 7 now and attends our elementary classroom.  His mother understands the importance of his taking care of the fish all by himself.  Care, feeding and cleaning of the tank will be his responsibility.  His mother might need to remind him now and then but she will not be doing the work herself because what would that teach G.?

In our conferences at school, we often ask parents what chores the elementary children do at home because there is a direct correlation between school work and house work.  The responsibilities that a child is given at home (chores) help to establish a sense of order and peace that the child carries into more academic work.  Chores also give the child a sense of time management, the ability to prioritize tasks, as well as general organizational skills.

I am not talking about basic things like making one's own bed, putting dirty clothes in the hamper or hanging up one's jacket when coming in from outside.  I am talking about real cores - things that need to be done around the house to keep the home clean and tidy.  These might include cleaning or folding the laundry, washing the floors, vacuuming, washing the windows (inside and outside), pulling weeds from the garden, raking leaves, or shovelling snow.

There are a couple of important thing for parents to remember, however.  NEVER redo a chore that a child has completed - no matter how much you want to and DON'T nag.  Take a page out of a Montessori teacher's album - make a mental note of how well the child did the chore  and where he may need more practice.  At a later date, show him how to do the chore again so that he has another opportunity to observe the way you complete it.

Being responsible for various chores at home makes a child feel validated in his role within the family.  That confidence and validation is brought into the classroom without it being a conscious thought.  When I am in the classroom at the end of the day, it is easy to pick out the children who routinely take care of chores at home.  These are the children who begin to clean up the classroom without any fuss or reminders and are often the children who instinctively take better care of their belongings.  Literature tells us that these are the children who, when they  begin to live away from home, know how to wash their own clothes, clean their own rooms and cook their own food as well as know how to organize their studies or work requirements more effectively and easily. 

When Practical Life is internalized it often comes home to roost.

When a child is allowed to spend as much time as needed in the Practical Life area of the classroom, over time the lessons learned are internalized.  Very often, those internalized skills show up at home.

This happened to G's mother the other day when he announced that he wanted to make dinner.  I will let her tell the rest of the story.


"G. made dinner for the family tonight - in 23 steps! So I took some pictures for you.

He decided to make Pan Fried Herring (local from Port Alberni), with broccoli and snap peas, with stuffing (yuck - stuffing!! whatever... it was his choice).  It was cool because it was a bit of a science lesson - looking at the fish eyes, the gills, chopping the head off and gutting it - are those eggs inside? Wow. Ewwww, the blood, bladder, and guts!

Cleaning the fish. 

All clean.

Chopping up the veg.

Preparing a dredge for the fish.

Cutting up and arranging lemon pieces on a plate.

Preparing the pan for frying the fish.

Frying the fish.

Preparing the stuffing.

 Setting the table......

...and Voila! dinner is served!

It was fun and he was so proud of himself. He even washed & dried some dishes. Our little chef! Practical Life seems to be approached differently now by G., not so much a learning of skills as a perfecting and contributing to the family that makes it so wonderful for him (and us!)."

By the way, G. is 5 and a half!

Wow!

A Belated Christmas Wish and a Happy New Year

On behalf of all of the teachers and families who have contributed to this website we wish you a restful and loving holiday season.


M. and his Christmas tree.

G.'s gingerbread house.

C. & M. doing a Christmas dance with their grandparents.

Happy New Year!!!!!

G.'s special day

     G. celebrated his birthday a little while ago and his mother sent us some of the pictures.  If I have the story correctly (and I hope K. will correct me if I get it wrong), G.'s birthday was kept low key.  His Mom did an at-home version of the "ceremony" we use in the classroom. 

Holding the globe, G. & Mom  discussed where he was born.

Then G. and Dad looked at pictures arranged in chronological order from the day he was born until now.

G. lit a candle to represent the sun.  Then, carrying the globe, he walked around the "sun" - one orbit for each year he was born.

His Oma sent him some money in Swiss Francs and, after some discussion about what to buy, and a trip to the bank to have the money changed, his parents took him shopping.  This is what he chose.

Digging for crystals.

An eyeball kit for making and discovering all sorts of things about eyeballs.

The finished creation.

 And (drum roll, please)  the sick stomach!  Yuuuuuuuuck!

     The activities that G. chose reflect the kinds of things he is interested in right now.  The discussion beforehand prepared him for having to make choices in a small store. I know from experience that any preparatory discussion with a child will go right out the window if that child is taken into a big box toy store.  Expecting a child to stick to his decision with thousands of choices in front of him is just not fair.  Big box toy stores are waaaaay too stimulating and, in my humble opinion, are no place to take children.  

     G.'s parents took him to a smaller local toy store where he found it much easier to make his decision.  Having been in the store on other occasions, he already knew what to expect and had seen the science boxes before.  Choosing which kits to buy gave him valuable lessons in using money and critical thinking.

Happy belated birthday, G.

At G.'s house

G. is just about to finish his second year in a Montessori classroom.  He has recently turned 5 and his mother is astonished at the changes she sees in him.  G. makes his own lunches and often helps make dinner. 

Since G. is older, his bed is higher.  Notice the bedding.  It is all child-friendly.  Instead of blankets that need to be tucked in (and are challenging even to me, let alone a 5 year old) his parents have given him a small duvet.  This enables him to make his bed with ease, every morning .

Now that his body is bigger, so is his furniture.  Toys and activities are still kept to a minimun and are still on shelves to facilitate his putting things away after use. 

The window sill has been used as an impromptu nature table.  Here's a better look:

     His clothes are still kept where he can access them easily and a few choices have been laid out for him.  Two or three choices give him the independence he yearns for and allows him to get ready in the morning with no interference from an adult.  Also, he has been given a laundry hamper of his own so there is a place for dirty clothes (other than the floor ).

     Now that he is older, he will happily work at his own desk in his bedroom.  When he was younger, he prefered to be closer to his parents.  This happens with many children.  Some parents have compensated for this by having a child's table or desk in the kitchen or living room.

Even on the desktop clutter is kept to a minumum.  G.'s mother has embraced the Montessori tendency to use natural materials as much as possible (wouldn't it be cool if Lego was made out of wood?). 

     Just like in the classroom, G.'s shelves are not cluttered so he can see everything and choose what he wants.  Many parents rotate children's toys rather than give them too many.  When a child seems to be getting bored with something, the child and parent can decide if it is time to change the things on the shelf.

In the family room, there are two G. sized chairs - one for him and one for a friend.  I also appreciate that the windows are all quite low. 

G. can see outside without having to stand on a stool.

At the door, a small shelf with hooks has been placed at G.'s height so that he can take care of his outer wear without help.  The basket on top is for his mits and hats - again, just a few choices.

Since he was very small, G. has been included in every aspect of family life.

And he still is.......