Cavemen can clean caves too it seems...

Today we spent our day focused on some aspects of home economics from learning about adjusting the fire on the gas stove to make pancakes without burning the house down to cleaning...yes cleaning, it's a dreaded word in this house as the boys fully view this as beneath them and complain and grumble when asked to help, so it's been incorporated into their home economic lessons even outside the kitchen, as I've determined that if they are to marry, their wives would be ever greatful when the babies start coming or she's down sick herself if their hubby knew how to clean and take care of the cave (I mean home here)

Nick has proved the most promising, taking care to make sure he's gotten into every reachable crevice he can fit his fingers and a paper towel or rag into when he's cleaning, and he's also learned the settings of the washer and dryer along with how to seperate clothes so his tee-shirts don't come out so girly...

JJ - Brad's prodigy likes to sweep but forgets that it won't magically jump into the trash can or the dust pan so he still needs work, and the cat's happy as we've also included a session on animal health as the litter box doesn't get cleaned by itself either and a dirty litter box is good for noone specially the noses of us.

Annie has decided she likes doing dishes even if for me it does mean a potential monsoon in the kitchen, but at the same time it's actually not so bad she kills two birds with one stone as my floor miraculously gets mopped at the end.

Matthew, well he's not had a good day, the only thing he's done is gotten up and grumbled around like an old man and listened to the classes along with his brothers and sister, but nonetheless he's not done anything, he isn't into this at all, thus he's the classic caveman and sooner or later he'll have to come out of this cycle lest his clothes and room suddenly are condemned by the health dept...

Eric pulled the same stunt as Matthew in regards to listening, but actually yelled out "Hey I do help when I'm asked"...I just looked at him as he's our oldest but rarely home and in fact mostly lives with Grandma and Grandpa and that's a whole other blog post by itself.  However, I will give him credit for the class and credit that he will do whatever I ask of him if it's not too complicated....maybe he's an inner caveman too secretly wishing for some cavewoman to come along so he'll have an escape.  He isn't into it you can tell.  But, his inner caveman loves fire and cooking hamburgers, I think he's going to have that one downpat and in spring I know he'll be hovering over the grill just waiting to throw the raw meat on.

They looked at me today though as if they were shocked I would propose learning more on top of all their other subjects they are to keep up with and that it must be a crime or cruel joke, but it's not.  This is good for them and besides us mothers tend so much to them when they're littler that it is good for them to take part, it not only shows them how to clean things and help others but it gives them responsibility and as I explained a couple of them are old enough to work this year, that is responsibility also, and if you can't learn responsibility and maintain it at home of what's expected of you or asked of you by others what really would an employer want with a young adult like that? But what really got to them was that many people I explained choose a career in the field of home ec, such as cooking (there are good Culinary Schools out there and one could end up famous like Emeril if they tried), and also cleaning as many people start their own cleaning businesses up and there's lots of money to made there.  Instantly $$ lit up their eyes...and Annie immediately was asking, "So this means every time I do dishes I get paid now?"  thus allowance schedules are underway and being prepared now, but the boys, oh the boys, they looked at me and I knew it was the same question coming that she'd asked and probably one of how much? so I just looked at them and said now for cavemen they're usually paid with meat!  They're expression was priceless and they knew I was joking, but time will tell if my little cavemen leave out of the cave and develop into modern men.