Teaching Our Kids

This time of the year used to be one of our favorite times of year. We used to pack up and go snowmobiling every chance we could. But then we started having kids and things changed. We are a family that loves the outdoors, but this time of year we can't go hiking because the mountains are full of snow, we can't really do any caching because it is either too cold or too muddy, so we have to try and come up with constructive things to do at home.

This year we are taking this time to try to teach our kids a little bit of responsibility. We have given them a few chores to do on a daily basis. The chores consist of cleaning bedrooms, cleaning the family room, living room, kitchen and taking out the trash. So they aren't difficult chores and they are only for Kylee and Ben because Brooke is still the baby. Well we have been having a hard time getting the kids to do their chores and it always feels like we are fighting with them to get to work.

So we talked and we decided to make it a real learning experience for them, we decided to watch the kids for the week and not jump down their throats about doing their chores and at the end of the week we would evaluate how they did. In our house we have a family movie night every Saturday so this week we decided to do a little consession stand for our movie night. We went and got some play money and some treats for the movie. Then we sat the kids down and explained to them what we were doing. As I was telling them what we were doing they got really excited until they found out that they didn't earn very much money. Kylee and Ben really understood what was going on and they were really sad at the way they had acted throughout the week. Brooke was so funny she kept interupting as I was talking to the others and I would ask her to be quiet and she kept saying "ok mommy teacher." After I finished talking with Kylee and Ben I was then ready to talk to Brooke. I looked at her and said ok Brooke to which she replied "wasup" which was too funny. I asked her if she made messes this week. She said yes, then I asked did you help clean them up to which she said, "no Kylee did" I then tried to tell her that she needed to keep her toys picked up in her bedroom. She said okay and then asked for some money.

After we gave the kids their money they were so excited to be able to spend it on what they wanted. Kylee even saved a little so she could buy more next week We really hope they learned something from this experience and hopefully they will be a little bit better about doing their work next week.
 Oh and by the way the movie we watched was one of my favorites growing up Ernest Goes To Camp!! They really loved it and Brooke even started cheering at the end.
The goodies.

Shopping

Ready for the movie!!