I’m a firm believer in work!  I want to raise my kids to be hard working citizens.  I truly believe this starts in the home!  Because of this I have great  expectations of  my kids when it comes to chores.  I am constantly amazed at what my younger kids can do.  I often task the older kids to helping me with folding laundry.  I never really considered that my 4 year old daughter could contribute to that…well she could do washclothes.  This past week 4 of 5 came to me and asked me how do I fold a shirt.  So I showed her.  About 10 minutes later I went into her room to find that she had pulled out all her clothes from her drawer.  Oh great I thought!  Another clothing mess!  I said “4 of 5 what are u doing with all your clothes out?”  She matter of factly replied “I’m organizing my drawers!”  Sigh ok I thought I’ll come back and put everything away later.  When later came I went in and opened her drawers…. this was the part where I had to pick up my chin off the floor.  She had meticulously folder each of her shirts, pants, and laid them so neatly in her drawers.  Heehee silly 4 of 5 you should’ve never showed mommy that you can do that!  (insert evil laugh)  That is one more chore added on to her list

Today the weather was so nice that 4 of 5, 5of5, and I went out in the backyard to start a little (pre) spring clean-up.  We picked up sticks,  toys, several washcloths, a couple of my spoons,  cups, and raked up leaves.  No matter how many times I tell my kids to leave my kitchen things in my kitchen they always end up outside.  Next time I’m wondering where a certain utensil is I’m just gonna send the kids out back on a scavenger hunt and I’m sure they’ll find ….well something hopefully that I can wash and use.  Yes we were raking up leaves.  We did get a lot of leaves raked up in the fall.  We thought we were so good because we started raking  right when the first leaves were hitting the ground.  But well when you end up with like 45 bags of leaves….sometimes you get behind.  So today we gathered  enough leaves to fill 3 bags.  It felt so good to work with my kids.  Then after we tossed around the wiffle ball.  It was great fun!  Working with each other can be fun and enlightening.  We work together everyday after dinner.  We clear off the dishes, rinse and put them in the dishwasher, wipe off the table, chairs, and sweep the floor.  The kids have learned that when we do it together we get it done quickly.  We almost always have some fun music on too.  So amidst all the work we put in some moves too!

President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th President of the Church, counseled, “Children need to work with their parents—to wash dishes with them, to mop floors with them, to mow lawns, to prune trees and shrubbery, to paint and fix up and clean up and do a hundred other things where they will learn that labor is the price of cleanliness and progress and prosperity” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 707).