Task list

Last night before I headed to bed I thought I would see if I could find what the book The Entitlement Trap  by Richard and Linda Eyre said about allowance.  I'm not sure why it crossed my mind other then to give me an idea (more on that later)  So then right before I went to bed I had this truly brilliant idea that I just had ti write down before I forgot.  It was one of those life changing moments that keep you awake at night if you don't do something about them.  John is rubbing off on me so I'll give you a bit of background information (20 minute explanations seem to run in the family.)  :D
Before I got pregnant with Elizabeth I totally had life under control.  Silly me, I wasn't even looking for the other shoe to drop, I just thought "Yeah, I'm awesome!"  I was going to the gym 3 times a week, had a clean house, happy kids, we did learning time every morning, and I was so patient, I figured I was doing pretty good at this whole mom thing.  Then the Lord must have seen how huge my head was getting because he humbled me pretty fast.  Being pregnant with Elizabeth was terrible hard and everything fell apart.  My house was always a disaster, I hadn't the energy or gumption to discipline or teach my kids well and patience was non-existent.  I had gone to the opposite side of things.  After she was born I thought I could get life under control again.  It would just take a couple weeks and I could get back our old schedule and everything.  Oh, how wrong I was!
So fast forward 4 1/2 months and we are still pretty much in the same boat as were were before minus the crazy emotion roller coaster.  I still couldn't keep the house clean, have happy kids, and I had no energy for any of it.  I was seriously on the verge of a break down from stress and burnout.  Then my idea came! (I told you I'd get here!)
k, so the book said- no, I need to put my thoughts, not necessarily what the book said.  What I got from it was that allowance should not be given to kids just because, it needs to be earned, just like a job.  That tiny little paragraph I read plus a pintrist idea set things in motion for this beautiful list and the one below.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Write in Journals:	garden	Gym	garden
Glen	Dust	Outside	sanitize
Benjamin	Science experiment	Library	Art
Elizabeth	teach one chore	teach one chore	teach one chore
write a note to someone	Strip bedding	Wash walls	Mop

Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Gym	garden	Gym
Organize	deep clean	Iron clothes
Geography	Math	bath kids
teach one chore	teach one chore	clip nails
Vacuum back of house	wash windows	Practice flute

The kids have their own list of daily tasks and then extras as well.
In my mind there are certain tasks that must be done every day to have a well functioning house.  I can't put them on a check list because then it makes it hugely long and I focus too much on cleaning. With this list I have learning opportunities for the kids, time for extra chores I usually neglect, and then a few extra things.  Basically, these are the extras.  I have to schedule the extras or I get too focused on the other stuff and skip time with kids, small chores and having fun.  Every one has their daily tasks and then the kids have the choice to do extra chores to earn a movie or computer time (They work for that instead of money and I work for a chapter in my book)  I really like this because I do the daily stuff anyway, like laundry, dishes, and vacuuming, and then I get extra stuff done like deep cleaning the bathroom, teaching the kids to wash dishes, playing with them and since today is Friday we all did moth together.  It also helps to to make sure I am not neglecting one area of their education to focus on reading or math.  I got tons done today, I was in a great mood, and I didn't feel bad about leaving the laundry to do the dishes.  I know it may need to be tweaked a bit, but today it worked great and I just know that I have finally found my 3 kid groove!
Feel free to steal and tweak this idea if it helps you, I share it in hopes that it will.  Have a great night!