Yesterday on our way to the library, I told the kids to think about what they wanted to learn about this week so we could check out books on their desired topics. Joy asked me to find her a book on housekeeping. Unprompted. I know. I started laughing and tried to direct her to something a bit more--sciencey. But she was adamant so I said okay.
I found the most picture-filled book I could and brought it over to her, figuring she'd take one look at it and change her mind. Nope. "Thank you, Mom. Thank you!" She sat right down and started pouring over the book. In the car on the way home, I hear comments coming from the backseat.
"How to clean a laptop. I think we should clean yours because it's really dirty, Mom. How to clean a mattress?? You can clean your mattress?? How to clean spots out of carpet! This book teaches you how to clean everything!"
We get home, she asks me if she can clean for her Productive Free Time. Um, yes?? She proceeds to flip through her book and find the section on window cleaning. She then cleans all the windows she can reach. She dusts. And then she is done for the day.
Today she again asked to do chores for her Productive Free Time.
"Mom, do we have any stains on our carpet?" No. "Oh, darn." That girl sure does crack me up! "Oh well, I will vacuum."
I tell her that is a great idea because our house is still full of wallpaper scraps and hole filling compound sandings. I ask her to vacuum the baseboards while she's at it.
"Mom, I'm supposed to do that after I vacuum. First, I pick up all the little things on the floor. Next, I vacuum. Then I use the hose to get the edges." Oh. Apparently I've been doing it wrong all these years. Snort.
After vacuuming, she used wood duster on the piano and then cleaned the faces of all the appliances in the kitchen.
I have decided that I love her current interest. I wish I could inspire the rest of my kids to want to pursue the art of housekeeping as part of their Productive Free Time. Though I do have to admit, today when I told the girls to sort their own laundry and put the reds/pinks/yellows/oranges in the washer, they both were very excited and had fun watching the washer fill up and soak all their clothes.
No comments:
Post a Comment