INDEPENDENT LEARNERS

'O Allah increase me in knowledge,
amin.'


Friday 18 April 2008

Homeschooling and house chores

Assalamu alaykum,
hot topic with homeschoolers!
Homeschooling keeps us busy. So busy, our house can quickly become a mess.
So how exactly you balance a clean home with the heavy work of teaching?
Families who home school must figure out a system for getting household chores done. Homeschooling usually means a family will be spending more time inside their home than their average public/private schooling counterparts. This often leads to a home looking more lived in and getting dirty or messy more quickly. Homeschooling and chores do not seem to go together, but they must.
Organization is the key! There is a time for homeschooling and a time for cleaning!
I am a firm believer that kids should be involved in cleaning. Those who knows me can relate to this!
Many parents are over-protective of their children, often doing every little thing for them-including thinking. One of the most obvious reasons for this is the increase in older first-time parents who want to do everything for their child when it arrives. Other parents hope to make up for all they didn't receive as children.
So how can we enable our children to be self-sufficient?
Involving kids around the house is an important part of learning.
When we finish study, we start our chores. I give the kids their task and time to complete them. Of course there is a reward for helping. The reward is that they can get a penny to put away in their money box so that they can then buy a nice book or a toy, most likely the latter! With that, another lesson comes into mind. The value of money and how hard it is to earn it, and also hygiene is a key in Islam, in fact is half of the faith.
Kids can do little chores, depends on their ages.
Let them spray and wipe. Kids love spray bottles. Let them handle all the counters and surfaces that can be sprayed and wiped with a paper towel. Let them do some easy-to-reach windows, too. You may have to go over them again, but you’ll be surprised how well a child can do windows.
Get a feather duster. Despite the myriad of cleaning products, a feather duster is all you need to remove dust from your furniture and tables. Given something fluffy, your kids will love to dust for you.
Let them wash the floor. Easy with floor wipes! My kids favourite!
Kids love charts! Make a simple chart of different chores and have your kids put a sticker under their name whenever they do a job for you.
Don’t forget thank-yous, hugs and praises. Everyone appreciates a pat on the back. They’ll be more willing to help out next time!
Cleaning must be done a little but everyday. Putting away books, toys, clothes etc once used, de-clutter when possible recycle and re-use, and keep toilet and kitchen clean and germs free!
Just 30 minutes a day can change the way your house look. It will make you feel better and re-fresh. Helps you concentrate with teaching and makes easier to find the all important worksheets, booklets, pencils and so on.

3 comments:

Happy Muslim Mama said...

Assalam-alaikam Sister
I so agree with you, every person in the house should help with keeping the house in order, including the little ones.

I htink they used to call that character-building a long time ago.

ummrashid said...

It also gets easier as the children get older, inshAllah.

Mommy Hafiy said...

Assalamualaikum...
Yes, i totally agree with you n umm salihah...house chores are not mothers-only job!everyone in the house should participate. although my son only 2yrs++ i let him do the house chores together with me, well, most of the time he mess up! but i do think it is not a good idea to let your child left alone in front of the tv while you are busy with your works. The whole idea of hs is to spend more time with your child...besides you can teach them something while doing these chores. eg sorting the laundry according to the colors!