Chore Jar for Kids

I came across this idea on Fabulously Frugal. The can that she made is cuter than mine, but the idea is the same. (I was trying to be frugal!) On each stick is written a chore, but not the kids normal chores. Each of my kids have morning chores to complete every day, which are clearing and wiping the table, sweeping, and picking up the toys and shoes in the kitchen and living room. In the jar are extra chores that aren't regularly done, many of them are more in the "deep cleaning" category. See the picture below for a sample. The reason for the tape on one side is genius! Once a chore has been done, the stick is put in, tape side down, to signify that is has been done recently. Once all the sticks are tape side down, I will just turn them all right side up and we will start again.

How am I using this jar? Well, whenever my kids are disrespectful, fighting with each other, or just complaining, their consequence is to do a chore out of the jar. I have been surprised that they actually like doing them! (I know it's probably the honeymoon phase.) Today, they were outside playing and just kept fighting with each other until I couldn't take it anymore. I made them all come inside and pick a chore. Caleb picked "wash the garbage can", Rebekah picked the "bathroom mirrors", and Joshua picked "wash the door into the garage". They actually cheerfully did their chore. Matthew was jealous, so I had to go get him a rag too, and he helped Joshua. Once they were done with the door, they moved on to the front door, the stair railing, and the closet doors just for fun! Rebekah did about 5 extra chores because she was having fun too! To reward them, we made brownies, yum!

How did I keep this frugal? I went to Dollar Tree to buy the sticks, but they only had the small ones. A bit disappointing, but they will work. Then, instead of spending money on cute washi tape, I just bought a roll of colored duct tape, also from Dollar Tree. Lastly, I used a cleaned out peanut butter jar instead of a can, just because that's what I had. I just wrapped it with the tape so they can't see through it. Please check out Fabulously Frugal's site to see her can and how she uses hers.

Antarctica - MFW ECC & 1st, Weeks 33 & 34

We finished our school year with Antarctica!  This has been a good year, but I'm ready for our summer break!  On of the activities for Antarctica was to design a flag.  Caleb's is above.  He loved learning about the explorer Shackleton.  Rebekah's is below.

Speaking of Shackleton, his story was amazing. Caleb read several books about him, and then we all watched the documentary, Endurance. I highly recommend it, although it was a bit boring for the younger ones. 

We also did a few ice berg experiments, including making a blubber glove to show how penguins fat keeps them warm. (It was shortening between two baggies.)

We also tried to make a glacier and see how it would move down a sand mountain. Unfortunately, it didn't go very far. I think the sand was too wet. The first picture is our glacier still in the bag, then the second one is after is mostly melted.

Below is a picture of our Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Antarctica to the Arctic.

Here is Caleb's geography test. In the beginning of the year, he knew 15 countries, now he got 42 right! I was actually a bit disappointed that he didn't get a few more, but I know I got lazy with playing the geography game at the end. Rebekah had only 1 right on her first test, and 23 correct at the end. They were supposed to label the continents and the oceans too, but they didn't want to, and since it was the last day, I just decided to be done.

Rebekah wanted to do an end of the year project, and Caleb had to get in on the fun too. It was supposed to be a poster of their favorite country, but it ended up a collage of pictures and flags from everywhere. They used the rest of the flags from their sticker books. Rebekah's is first.

Here are Rebekah's last two bible notebook pages!

And her completed timeline!

Lastly, here are a few pictures from our life.  Below, all the kids were helping to clean and cut asparagus for our freezer.

Our first family selfie! Just having fun with some silly glasses.

Enjoy your summer break!

Australia - MFW ECC & 1st, Weeks 31 & 32

Australia was a very fun country to study! Above is our feast: egg and ham pie from Cooking the Australian Way, fruit salad with mango, pineapple, kiwi, and banana, and anzac biscuits (cookies) from The Kids' Multicultural Cookbook.

Here are a few papers from Australia. I have to admit, I have burned out on playing the geography game, and have skipped most of the art. With Joshua awake during the afternoon, it's much harder to get these things out. I'll have to come up with a better plan for next year.

In science, we learned about Australian animals and also coral reefs.

We read The 21 Balloons as our read aloud, which is more about a pacific island. I found it a bit boring, but the kids seemed to really enjoy it, especially Caleb.

Lastly, here are a few of Rebekah's bible notebook pages: