# Starting with a clean house



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Hmm. Is fall cleaning a subject for the Classroom? All my school books have shipped and should be here by Friday, and I have just one picking of beans left to can and the garden is basically done. So, I find us with a mostly free week! I want to try something novel, Fall Cleaning BEFORE we start school. Normally we spend extra time during the summer and it isn't too bad come September, but the garden took over and it is BAD, too many licks & promises all summer. Maybe I am dreaming but I am hoping that starting with a clean house will make things easier this school year.

Do you try to start new things with a clean house?


----------



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

I am not the greatest housekeeper, but yes, even I like to start with things organized and in order. Just reorganized some things in our school room yesterday. I am not yet done, but it's a start. This year, starting before school with the organization wasn't an option. :-(

Cindyc.


----------



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Well, fall cleaning may have just flown out the window. FIL called, a neighbor of his has 2 acres of sweet corn. They have all they want & we were told to come get as much as we need. 

Off to pick corn, tomorrow we process it and the last of the green beans, then I will have two days to wreck some order in the chaos before we start school on Monday.


----------



## majik (Feb 23, 2005)

I think that dealing with the corn and cleaning the house are part of homeschooling. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying use the kids as unpaid help, but part of schooling at home is being at home and learning what happens there, yes? I won't say my daughter likes the "chores" part of her school day, but she knows she's making an important contribution to the family. And she does like it when her dad needs help in the shop and she gets to use the power tools. She wouldn't learn that in ps (too shy to take shop with the boys).


----------



## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

I call that sort of learning Practical Skills and include it in my reports. Some people call it Home Ec but my son says they were calling it something else in middle school but I for one cannot remember what oh something engineering..LOL


----------



## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

Domestic engineering


----------



## reese (Jul 6, 2004)

I agree, it's part of the "life's lessons" in our home. It's a blessing of hsing that you can be flexible and change your plans for those unexpected occurrences, which is a life lesson in itself. What a blessing to have more food to put up.


----------



## Cashs Cowgirl (Jan 26, 2006)

We call it life skills on their schedules. They learn all sorts of things, then we get to perfect them with practice 

They do learn a lot and though they don't always love it, they do it because we all pitch in here.

Also I always spend about two or three days right before school starts to organize and put everything into it's place for school. It helps and I feel much better about it.


----------



## UUmom2many (Apr 21, 2009)

I too see helping around the house as home economics or life skills. Like for instance, my SIL has 3 girls in ps. While they're gone lets say she sorts through their clothes, picks out things to donate and things to consign. Packs it up with the baby and heads out before getting them from school. Her dd's come home to cleaned out closets, no idea how or why things are gone and where they went. 

In my house, my kids help me pick out clothes to donate/consign. We go through their toys this way too. We talk about how money works, how it affects peoples lives (in the case of donation how we help others), we discuss taking care of the things we have, why it's important. Marvel at how big they've gotten how they're growing, why they grow, how big they'll be when they stop growing. We might listen to music while we do it, dance and sing. We pick a day and travel to the places we need to go to donate/consign. We talk to the people there I get a tax receipt and they ask about it, what it does, why i get it, how it helps us etc. 

All that and I didn't plan a curriculum. most of the time I don't even think about what i'm doing, just being open and honest with my curious kids. 

I don't have a very clean house but it's tidy. It seems most of my cleaning life is spent running after crisis messes. 

It sounds like a great idea to have a set "deep clean" time of the year though!


----------

