A New System

So...it's pretty funny how you can blog about "unknowns" in life and talk about how cool they are, and how excited you are about them. And, how it's so obvious that God is bringing you into a whole YEAR of unknowns, for which you will be very grateful.

And, then, you know, ONE day later, when the unknowns start happening FULL FORCE, and all of a sudden, I'm praying and begging God to just WAIT a minute and let me get a breath!! :)

It's all SUCH great stuff. All stuff that Mark and I have been praying for. And, some of it is has served as a good kick in the pants from God.

And, yes, I know I'm talking in code. Sorry. It is all His Chase and orphan related. That narrows it down for you, I know.

MEANWHILE...

While some of the exciting unknowns continue to play out in our lives, I am just going to share something easy and mindless and predictable:

OUR NEW RESPONSIBILITY STATIONS!!

It's a new year, and a new system is in place at our house: Responsibility Stations from Fisher Kids! What's funny is I actually bought the kits in September. Then, they sat at the pickup location for three months.

Fall was busy, what can I say.

But, even though it took me months to get going on it, it has been an awesome fit for our family.

Before this station idea came about, we were doing our own version of this, using Chore Charts from Homeschool Creations, which are also WONDERFUL (and easy to just print out!)

The concepts behind the two versions are very similar, and are definitely lessons we want our kids to learn:

1) They have responsibilities in our home because they live in our home. Not because they get paid for them, or because they get rewards for doing them. They help with chores because we are a family and we all contribute to taking care of what God has given us. (I believe it also gives children VALUE to be included even in work. They know they are important and they are needed in the family and they learn that they are hardworking, dependable, etc.)

2) We should be happy and thankful to work together, and we honor God for what He has given us and for how He takes care of us, whether that is by helping make drinks at dinner or making our bed in the morning or picking up the crayons for the sixteenth time that day.

3) I want my girls to run their own homes someday with joy, discipline, and knowledge of how to do things! So, I really like seeing them learning to do laundry, clean a toilet, or cook a meal! I jokingly tell them all the time that they'll get to do these things their whole life long! Isn't that exciting?!!

3) We also want our kids learning about how to manage the money God gives us, believing first and foremost that it is ALL HIS. And, every dollar we spend or save or give matters. (I'm learning this lesson alongside them, actually!!!)

So, basically, I just want to say that the responsibility station is SO COOL. And, the kids agree!!!

They each have their own board, which has a list of expected responsibilities for each child.

They also have a specific number of chores to complete each day, which are drawn from their chore stick bucket each morning before breakfast.

Each night they turn their sticks in, and write down their "commission" for doing their work on the attached notepad. (Have I mentioned that I LOVE that everything is attached and included on one little board? It is SO NICE.)

And, I love that this is all their responsibility to complete. There is no nagging or reminding (after the first week or so) and it takes my emotion out of it.

At the end of the week, they total their amounts from each day and bring it to us for their paycheck.

Then, they place the money they have earned in the three bags: Give It, Save It, Spend It.

Another thing I love about Fisher Kids is the idea that "save it" is not saving for a big item they want for themselves. It's saving for college, or a mission trip someday, or to help with the expense of a car when they start to drive. These are BIG things that they should already begin contributing toward!

Mark has been really wanting to get all of them personal savings accounts, which he did with them the week after Christmas. So, now their favorite thing to do is fill out their little deposit form and take their "save it" money to the bank.

And, the "Give It" bag gives them some ownership in what organizations they would like to support. They give some of it to church, and then get to decide where the rest goes. So far, His Chase is winning, but Kendyll has also chosen to give extra amounts to our Compassion kids too.

I love that this whole system works to teach them life long lessons about managing your time, taking care of what you've been given, and being responsible for your money.

And, by having their own little "stations", they are THRILLED to do the tasks and feel like it's fun!

And, honestly, the best part of all? I didn't have to prepare any of this. It came as an entire KIT, even down to the sharpie pen to write it with!

So, even though I really don't usually do "product review" blogs, I just had to share these new systems with my friends. They really are worth the investment and will WORK with very little arm-twisting or lecturing needed! :)