Our “theme” for this week is doing chores with our kids, what
ways can we use chores and reoccurring daily events to teach our
children educational concepts (math, verbal skills, reasoning,
etc.) as well as instill in our kids a sense of value for work
and appreciation of effort. I love how excited my kids are to
contribute to our family. Now I only wish I were more willing to
take the time and let them help me more often! Here are some
ways we have used washing the dishes as a “teachable” moment
with our kids: - Have discussions of bigger and smaller – Which
plate is bigger? Can you find the smallest spoon? Which stack of
cups is the tallest? - Practice sorting items that have
similarities into groups. Discuss exceptions. Example: We keep
all of our forks in one location, except for our large serving
forks. - Explore Space, Child Care Aware, advises kids to “see
and explore how shapes and things fit together”. For us, this
means stacking plates and bowls in the most compact way so they
can “fit” into the cup