What Does a Hanger Do?
That was the first question Don Aslett, the cleaning expert, asked at the seminar he gave for our local homeschooling group this week. Of course all the kids yelled out, "It hangs up clothes!""No!" he replied as he let go of it and it fell to the floor. "It doesn't do anything! Who hangs up clothes? You do!"
The kids were absolutely mesmerized during the entire presentation. He showed them how to make their bed while they were still in it, how to clean a toilet, how to dust, vacuum, clean walls, etc. He was handing out toilet erasers and key chains left and right. He made it all look so fun and continually emphasized how it was the kids' job to clean up after themselves, not their Mother's. Yay Don!!!If you click on Don's link above and scroll down In The News, you can see a video clip of him on a news show and how fun he is. He gave me a stack of his books that I will be giving away at my presentation this Saturday at the Forum. If you come to my class you may win one!
Speaking of teaching kids to work, Bonnie took my advice to heart last week and has been working with her kids ever since. She's turned some frustrating after school hours into a fun and productive family time. Go read her post, Change Is Good, for yourself. I loved it!
Here was my post last week on teaching kids to work, They Grow Up Fast Around Here.
Labels: Teach Your Kids to Work
posted by The Lazy Organizer @ 12:01 PM
20 Comments
20 Comments:
I've always enjoyed his books. How cool that you got to see him in person!!
Thanks for the link to his website! I checked it out and his books look so great -- but there are SO many of them! Any you recommend more than others?
You should give one away on your blog for those of us who aren't close enough to go to your presentation! I'd sure be there if I lived around yoU!
Oooh, I am jealous! (Can I say that about a cleaning seminar?) I've been a Don Aslett fan since I was a kid and my mother read his books. Looks like it was fun!
Katie, yes he has written a LOT of books. He's even written books about writing books! It's been years since I have read them so I don't know where to tell you to start. If it were me I would start at the Library with what they have!
I so wish I would have gone! Oh, well! Maybe next time.
Oh the brilliance! I can hardly stand it!
How did your home school group manage to have him, I have to know!!! That is amazing that he would come do that for you all! Thanks for the great links
Shorty
Oh, I so need to learn how to make my bed while still in it!
Shorty, he lives in Southern Idaho and I guess frequently comes through this way to Salt Lake on business. One of the Moms in our group contacted his office and he said he would be happy to come! What a treat!
What a fantastic thing, to have him come speak! Like one of the posts above, I have loved him since I was a kid and found one of his books in the house and read it. It's so wonderful that you're giving your kids these experiences!
I love Don Aslett as well!!! Thanks for sharing!
goodness, i really need to get working on getting my kids to work. at least my 7yr old. my other is only 2. but i have the problem that my 7yr is beyond difficult when it comes to expecting her to do something she doesn't want to do. i hate the battle. i would love to know how you handled the battles that inevitably come when you are trying to change bad habits. i don't want to give in but at the same time i have a child that digs her heels in when you fight her on something and so it just gets so ugly. not saying that i always give in to her, because i certainly don't...but i'm so tired of the fighting...and one of my biggest problems is that i am seriously routine challenged...i get so offtrack constantly that the consistency that would inevitably put an end to her fighting just isn't there because i can't seem to keep it up! i don't know what's wrong with me but anything and everything gets me offtrack...i should be doing dishes right now!!! argh! back to work.
(on a positive note, my dd actually did do a couple chores this morning, including cleaning her room which was only a little mess, without argument this morning. holy cow!)
Hey ... that's me !! Glad you stopped by ! I'm so excited about how much this has changed our afternoons, and mornings ! It's wonderful !! And it has me thinking about other little things that may need to change as well ... but, one step at a time !!
I'm going to check my library for Don's books ...
Tina, my daughter was the same way. That's why I had to make her my personal assistant. She could not work unsupervised. Now that she is eight she has been able to work more and more by herself but I still like to work with her because it's more fun! When we work together I let her help decide what each of us are going to do and she takes over like a little foreman.
You do want to try to be more consistant though. Working every day lets them know what to expect and it really eliminates complaining. If she's not cleaning she could be helping you with meals and all sorts of things. You'll find a system that works for you!
lara, i'm really glad to hear that. (misery loves company, LOL!) because maybe there's hope for my daughter.
i do know that consistency is important. unfortunately, no matter what i do, *I* seem absolutely incapable of it! i mean, i've tried a LOT of things! i've been creating and recreating schedules and routines for years now and i still cannot seem to get any of them to stick. having a 2yr old definitely is a factor. but mommy is just EXTREMELY routine challenged! i've tried everything from diving in cold turkey to just taking baby steps. nothing seems to work for very long. just 2 weeks ago i started to try again and only lasted a couple days! ARGH!! well, i'm not giving up though! i'll keep trying! and i figure once i can get ME into a routine, then the kids will fall in line (i'll include them in it of course).
any suggestions for routine challenged mamas like me? i think i'm A.D.D... seriously!
I'm jealous. I love Don Aslett. I gave my mom Clutter's Last Stand for her birthday one year. She was thrilled. But I think it's a bad sign that when I asked to borrow her copy, she had lost it somewhere in her highly cluttered house. Hmmm.
I just wanted to say that I have ordered the book about children working (thanks for the tip!) and am anxiously waiting for it to come. We are expecting our 3rd babe the end of the summer and I know there are things that my 4 year (and probably the 2 year old too) can be doing that I'm blind to. I'd like to find a way to inspire my 4 year old to get dressed on his own. He can do it when he wants to he just gets SO distracted by everything I end up helping just to get it done - I guess I probably just need to step back. Grrr. Thanks for all the inspiration - other blogs come and go but yours is a keeper.
Tina, It takes a lot of work to establish new habits. That's why I love SHS so much. I have developed some amazing new habits over the last year. Some of them are things I worked on for years and now I finally have them as habits!
SHS???
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