Let’s recap where we’ve traveled so far in our establishing nourishing routines before we move on to delegating and creating routines for our children.
Post 1: Developing Discipline with Routines
We discussed the importance of routines in our first post and I also shared some of my favorite tips to establishing new routines. We used the printable worksheet to figure out what really needs to be accomplished during the day.
Post 2: Routines that Shape my Days
I shared with you the nitty gritty of my routines as a source of encouragement and inspiration.
Post 3: Nourishing Routines: Framing our day to feed our soul, family, and home
Using Worksheets 2,3,4, and 5, we got down to actually creating the framework of our days, weeks, and months. We also created a list of less frequent tasks that need to be accomplished.
Worksheets for Nourishing Routines Project:
Here are all the worksheets and the entire Excel document if you missed them!
- Worksheet 1: What tasks/habits?
- Worksheet 2: Tacking on to current routines
- Worksheet 3: My Routines
- Worksheet 4: Beyond Daily Routines
- Worksheet 5: More of my routines
- Worksheet 6: Delegation
- Nourishing Routines Project: editable Excel doc
So what is next on the docket? Delegation. We are going to be digging in to delegate some household tasks to our children, as well as provide them with structure and predictability.
This is fairly painless, but there are a few things to remember as we begin delegating to our children.
Tips for delegating:
- Consider not only the age, but the temperament and personality of your child.
- Take time to go over Worksheet 6 with your child so expectations are clear.
- Take time to train to the task .
- Model first, next assist, then supervise.
- Don’t expect what you aren’t willing to inspect.
- Don’t assign too much, nor too little.
- Add tasks on slowly instead of overwhelming your child from the git-go.
- Hang routines in a prominent place (bedroom, kitchen)
- Work on establishing one solid routine at a time before adding on.
The Task of Delegating:
Print out a copy of Worksheet 6 for each child you will be delegating tasks too. Slide established routines and personal care (brushing teeth, getting dress, etc.) into an appropriate slot. Using Worksheet 6, refer to Worksheet 1: What tasks/habits? and begin assigning daily duties to your child.
Step 1 – Assign personal care and responsibilities
Start by assigning personal hygiene and things that are their personal responsibilities. I like for my children above the age of 2 to keep their bed mad, room reasonably clean, laundry put away, and toys picked up on a daily basis.
Step 2 – Assign daily tasks to a specific daily routine
The number of daily tasks you slide into your child’s daily routines will depend greatly on the type of child you are dealing with. I like to assign a daily task for each routine during the day to my 9 year old. For example, in the morning I have him take care of the dog, midday he swipes one of our baths, after lunch he sweeps the kitchen, and in the evening he rounds up the laundry and brings it to the laundry room.
Step 3 – Assign weekly tasks to a specific day of the week
If something needs to be done once or twice a week, assign it to a specific day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday….).
Step 4 – Assign monthly tasks to a specific week
In our home, monthly tasks are accomplished on Saturday morning. Each weekend, our children have different tasks throughout the course of the month.
My Children’s Routines:
Did you notice I left a lot of my Worksheet 1 tasks off of my routines? The reason is because I have chosen to delegate many of the simple tasks to my children. Here are copies of my children’s task sheets with their ages at the top. You’ll notice the 9 year old has significantly more responsibilities than the other two. He is fully capable of his tasks and where the other don’t have jobs, he often recruits his “little helpers.”
| 9 Year Old’s Day | |||
| Daily | |||
| Morning Chores | |||
| Let out Scout/food/water | |||
| Get Dressed/Teeth/Bedroom | |||
| Bible Time | |||
| Pre-lunch Chores | |||
| Laundry (fold and put away) | |||
| Wipe Downstairs Bathroom | |||
| After-lunch Chores | |||
| Sweep kitchen | |||
| Bedtime Routine | |||
| Pjs/Teeth/Bedroom | |||
| Bring laundry to laundry room | |||
| Weekly | |||
| Monday | |||
| Brush Scout | |||
| Tuesday | |||
| Take out garbage and to curb | |||
| Wednesday | |||
| Windex | |||
| Kitchen Duty | |||
| Thursday | |||
| Deep clean room (use checklist) | |||
| Friday | |||
| Sweep porch/walks/patio (summer) | |||
| Saturday | |||
| Monthly tasks | |||
| Yard/patio/porch/walks | |||
| Monthly | |||
| First Saturday | |||
| Clean out/vacuum cars | |||
| Second Saturday | |||
| Sweep Garage | |||
| Third Saturday | |||
| Wipe down doors/walls | |||
| 5 Year Old’s Day | ||
| Daily Chores | ||
| Morning Chores | ||
| Get Dressed/Teeth/Bedroom | ||
| Pre-lunch Chores | ||
| Laundry (fold and put away) | ||
| After-lunch Chores | ||
| Clear table | ||
| Bedtime Routine | ||
| Pjs/Teeth/Bedroom | ||
| Pick-up | ||
| Weekly Chores | ||
| Monday | ||
| Straighten shoes | ||
| Kitchen Duty | ||
| Tuesday | ||
| Water plants | ||
| Wednesday | ||
| Straighten shoes | ||
| Thursday | ||
| Deep clean room (checklist) | ||
| Friday | ||
| Brush Scout | ||
| Waterplants | ||
| Saturday | ||
| Pick-up yard | ||
| 3 Year Old’s Day | ||
| Daily Chores | ||
| Morning Chores | ||
| Get Dressed/Teeth/Bedroom | ||
| Pre-lunch Chores | ||
| Laundry (fold and put away) | ||
| After-lunch Chores | ||
| Linens | ||
| Bedtime Routine | ||
| Pjs/Teeth/Bedroom | ||
| Pick-up | ||
Do you wish your kids had more responsibilities around the house? Or are you comfortable with where you are?
Here are all the posts in this series in one place:
- Post 1: Developing Discipline with Routines
- Post 2: Routines that Shape my Day
- Post 3: Nourishing Routines: Framing our days…. (with lots of planning printables)
- Post 4: Delegating and Creating Routines for our Children
