Updated lists

As an ongoing process of finding a system that works for family responsibilities, I've decided that we're going to "pass jobs down" primarily at birthdays and half-birthdays. Well, at least the Big Three's birthdays and half-birthdays, because it's convenient. :-/

MA & MS have birthdays in early February. JW's is in early July. So, they're exactly six months from each other. Thus, we'll "pass jobs down" in February and July.

So, the week of MA & MS's birthdays, I took a good look at the lists and determined what MS could take on new and what he and everyone else could pass down to the next youngest (MA had several empty slots to fill; don't know what I'm going to do with the jobs she "outgrows" in July, since ZL will probably not be ready to take them on).

For example, MA added putting away dishes (which she was excited about) and an allowance deposit, since she's now five, and several other odd jobs. Since JW was taking on the play area (which he does a meticulous, albeit slow, job of) as well as the family area, I dropped putting away dishes from his list and kept it on MS's, instead of passing that on to JW as I'd intended. MS is a very detail-oriented by nature (as is MA), and so, learning the homes for all of the miscellaneous kitchen items that go in the right-hand dish drainer was not a problem for him (mostly). It would be a great challenge for JW, so I chose to wait until he's older to train him in that. Just an example of how I hope to train all of the kids in doing all of the jobs around the house, but I want to take into consideration their giftings and preferences in how soon they learn certain things and how long they're responsible for them.

Bedtimes had been a particular challenge for a while, so we moved the boys from reading in the living areas at bedtime (which had kept them out of the communal bedroom and let the others settle in) to their beds with reading lights. For now, ML and I take turns sitting outside the door to their room (usually doing stuff on a laptop) while they settle in, which they have come to really like. This keeps the popping out of bed and training away from such limited to a shorter period of time, rather than dragging it out over two hours. So, they boys' bedtime lists reflect this. Also, to help with bedtime, we've been more consistent about getting the kids (and ourselves) up earlier in the mornings. So now, MS turns the alarm on each evening and off each morning along with turning off their sound machine and on the light.

So, here are the adjusted lists.
- morning lists
- bedtime lists
- MS daily & weekly
- JW daily & weekly
- MA daily & weekly