As I pondered this topic for the TOS Crew Carnival I went through the list of all the things taught regularly. Bible, Science, History, Math, English, Social Studies, Geography, and such like I thought to myself... They aren't hard. What would I choose? Some are easier to teach than others due to the curiousity or resistance of my son, but overal they aren't hard to teach. So what is HARD for me to teach?
And then it hit me... Homemaking... THAT is the subject I struggle with the most. You see I am NOT a natural born homemaker. I was taught by my mom, and taught well, but it's not a task I appreciate or for the most part desire to even do. There are so many other things in life I would rather do... blog, take walks, read a book, play a game, care for my critters, talk with hubby/son/family/friends etc. So many more appealing things so I often neglect the house. I simply couldn't be bothered for the most part.
BUT... I married a fellow who was raised by a parent who thrives on the adage "cleanliness is next to Godliness" and he learned to thrive in a clean and tidy environment. He is not by nature a tidy fellow but he is less stressed when his environment is tidy. Reducing stress is an important part of this household and so learning homemaking skills is important. My son needs to learn how to tidy up the "untidyness" that he creates. :)
BUT... I married a fellow who was raised by a parent who thrives on the adage "cleanliness is next to Godliness" and he learned to thrive in a clean and tidy environment. He is not by nature a tidy fellow but he is less stressed when his environment is tidy. Reducing stress is an important part of this household and so learning homemaking skills is important. My son needs to learn how to tidy up the "untidyness" that he creates. :)
To that end I developed a lego organizing system to help him keep things tidy. But what does that do for other important skills? I remember teaching my replacement staff before I left my job to get married to my sweetheart... and how these 18-24 year old young woman didn't know how to sweep a floor, load a dishwasher, dust and so many other skills and I thought it was deplorable. How could they be living on their own and not know how to keep their houses in a relatively decent living condition? Not spic and span, but HOW of doing it?
And so remembering that it is important to teach my son how to do certain tasks EVEN IF he doesn't want to. But to teach HOW to and WHY it is important.
And so remembering that it is important to teach my son how to do certain tasks EVEN IF he doesn't want to. But to teach HOW to and WHY it is important.
It is so much easier for me to just quickly sweep the floor than to have to remember to say Here son, let me show you how to sweep the floor. But he is learning to use a dust pan.
So not only is he learning the how, he learns why... if you don't sweep the floor you encourage insects and rodents to help you clean it up for you. Do you like living with ants on the floor? oh.. you don't.. well then in THIS HOUSE you need to sweep the floor. if you don't you know what will happen in the spring. :)
He makes his bed in the morning as it means there is more time at night for reading stories. :) Saves him time and vexation as a tidy bed is easier to sleep in. Do I demand perfection like my mom would have? NO. :) I don't demand it of myself (unless I'm making a bed for a guest) but regular stuff??? NO WAY. :)
Folding and putting away clothes is a skill he is well on his way to mastering. WHY? Because then you know what is clean, you know what you have available, and it's a good reminder to do the laundry before you run out. :) The washing machine and operation will be learned this year.
Likewise for dishes...he'll do the task complaining because I ask him to. But if I explain WHY we do the dishes it makes sense to him and he'll help without complaining (even though he dislikes washing them). But drying and putting away... he understands why it needs to be done.
I find explanations to be important to my son. He dislikes doing stuff "JUST BECAUSE" he wants a reason. If there is no reason there is not real impetus on his part to want to learn. With reasons he gets it and it becomes more important to him. Is he going to be a stellar homemaker? I don't think so.. he's got a lot of ME in him. But he will learn the whys and hows for when he lives on his own. And that to me is important.
He learns to cook since buying ready made food is more expensive and from having our exchange student here this summer, he's learned it's a good way to impress your friends if you can bake them treats. :)
Will the scene below continue to be a part of my life and his? Most definitely. :) but at least we know how to make it go away. :)
This post was written to be part of the TOS crew carnival on "The Subject I Struggle Teaching Most". It will go live on February 12. You can find that here. :)
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