Letting Children Help

From the Montessori Education Facebook Page

Helping the family with chores in one form or another is vital for all children. This probably isn't the time to institute a really complex chore chart for each child, but it is a good time to teach some new skills, cooking or cleaning up after meals together, having children set and clear the table, etc. Hint: Cleaning up as a family  - especially with the bigger kids - is often more fun with some loud music playing.

The youngest children, especially, will often find great peace and joy in helping. One of my children's favorite things to do, when they were in the 3-5 year old range, was to stand on a chair at the full-of-warm-soapy-water kitchen sink and help scrub dishes. Peace and joy would generally come about from this invitation rather quickly, even if they were cranky to start with.