It seems that there is somewhat of a divide in the home schooling community on the issue of chores. I recently was talking to a mom who said, “I’d rather teach my daughter how to hire good help, than have her actually do housework.” I have to be honest and say that I was a little taken aback by that statement for numerous reasons, but she’s not the first person I’ve spoken to that seems to have that attitude.
In part, I think it stems from the fact that home schooling mothers work full time teaching. On top of that, we manage our homes. It’s a more-than-full-time work load. There also seems to be a contingency, whose homes are never neat no matter what–there simply are not enough hours in the day. And finally, there are those who feel that their time would be better spent learning.
Why We Do Chores
Let me start out by saying that my house is far from neat. If it’s neat, we didn’t home school. If we home school, not everything gets done until my husband comes home to lend a hand. (And even then, sometimes, it all doesn’t get done.) But, my kids all have chores. Every single one of them, even the two year old twins. Having chores teach several things.
Becoming Responsible–Showing up on time for work, and giving your best to a task that’s been given is quickly becoming a lost art. Don’t believe me? Talk to those who have the responsibility of hiring people. Finding someone who takes pride in what they do is becoming hard to do. By having my kids do their chores, and doing them well, they are beginning to learn to become responsible for not only themselves but for their tasks at hand. A good education won’t take my children very far if they don’t know how to work.
Money Needs to Be Earned–In our house we have chores that need to be done simply because they need to be done. Each child is responsible for their own things and they don’t get paid for it. However, if one of our children wants a toy, they must earn it. We actually give points instead of cash because of the propensity of the twins to get into everything. . .but in the end it’s the same thing. It teaches them how to save and that things are not free. . .there is a price. When they start to look at that new toy in terms of time spent having to wash walls, or scrub floors. . .they start to appreciate it, take care of it better, and work harder. No extra work, no extra toys.
Taking Away from Homeschooling?
One of the reasons that I wanted to home school was to be infinitely more influential over my children’s character. Aside from the fact that there is a lot of practical skills learned in taking care of a home, having my kids do chores builds character. I consider the molding of their character as important if not more important than their academics.
While memorizing the parts of a cell, or building a car powered by diet coke and mentos is important in molding their minds. . .doing laundry, dusting and sweeping are skills they will actually use. I simply cannot look at chores as taking away from home schooling. Rather, I think it adds to the whole picture.