Jar Day

The house was a mess this morning, so we had "Jar Day". It's not the first time I've tried this, but the kids seem to enjoy it. We do it on days when things are really starting to fall apart (ie. the whole house needs cleaning). They help me think of "fun" activities to write on little pieces of paper (have fruit snacks, play on computer for 15 minutes, watch a movie for 15 minutes, read for 15 minutes with Mama, go outside for 15 minutes, have popsicles, etc.). We put all of these papers in one jar, the "Fun Jar". We also fill a mom-directed "Chore Jar" with slips of paper listing various chores to be done around the house (most should take about 15 minutes). Everyone does the "fun" and the "chore" together. Kaisa started by picking a task out of the "Chore Jar" which everyone worked on until it was done. Then she got to pick a "fun" thing to do. (Usually I let them choose two "fun" things and decide which one they would like best. Some kids prefer the computer to a snack, or sometimes we get two snacks in a row.) We went back and forth between the two jars all morning long. I worked on the kitchen while they had their fun, and the house is looking much better now. It helps that at least my two oldest are fairly helpful. I find that if I tackle a bedroom or the basement with them and give them ideas of what to do, the job gets done much more smoothly than if I leave them to do it themselves (which leads to tattling about who is not working, etc.).