It's MY Day!

It has been months in the making... and finally Emma understands which day is hers - Friday!

Today, Thursday, we are all gathered at the breakfast table ready to eat, ready for someone to bless the food, and Dad asks, "Ok, whose day is it?"

The normal reply would be from Emma, every day, she thinks that it is her day. However, today - Thursday - some how she knew it wasn't her day, probably because the day before had been Kimberly's, making today Tyler's day, and her day tomorrow. And today, her reponse wasn't the typical, "It's my day!" But, rather, "Not my day, Dad. It's my day tomorrow." Wahoo! She finally gets it!

Days of the week around here come with ownership. Each member of the family has a designated day of the week. On their day, they are my special helper around the house. This has become such a valuable addition to the organization and function of our home... everyone gets a turn, everyone gets a voice, everyone gets to help, everyone gets to pick, everyone is included!

Currently, the days of our week are as follows:

Sunday - My day (however eventually it will be Jason's day, because as a mother, we are always in the kitchen cooking and cleaning, and always doing things around the house, so really we don't need our own day, but since Eli is still too little to have his own day, Jason is taking care of his day for now)
Monday - Bryson
Tuesday - Megan
Wednesday - Kimberly
Thursday - Tyler
Friday - Emma
Saturday - Jason (for now, but when Eli is old enough, it will become his day)

As the helper of the day, the responsibilities are as follows:

• Help plan, prepare, and clean up all meals (this means that they get to pick what we eat for the day, for ALL meals, they help me fix it - meaning that they are learning how to cook, and to read and follow recipes, and they help clear the table and clean up all dinner dishes)
• Empty the dishwasher


• Restock any items that need refilling that day (toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, light bulbs, etc) If we run out on their day, they go down to the storage room in the basement to get a replacement


• Get to say ALL blessings and prayers for the day (family prayers morning and night, and at mealtimes) or invite someone to say them if we have a guest or someone else is begging to do it


• Get scripture squares and scriptures out for family scripture study


• During breakfast, we go around the table and each say something nice about the person of the day - beginning with the person sitting next to the person of the day and going around the table clockwise


• During dinner - we go around the table and each share our highs and lows for the day (or what we liked best and worst of the day) and we always start with the person of the day


• If we are doing something special that involves picking things, the person of the day gets first pick of what we are doing that day and then we go in order of age

Right now it is working well in our home. It has been a peaceful answer to problems and conflicts (namely over who gets to say the prayer every time), it has been a route for the little ones to feel included and capable of doing things that the big kids do (boy, when it's Tyler's day, don't bother asking to help him bring up the canned food from the basement or pour in the ingredients, he is all over that!), and it has been a way for me to teach my children, individually, about responsibility, accountability, and prepare them for being a mother/father some day!

I might add a comment about the look on Emma's face... Emma loves her day, so don't let the grimmace on her face fool anyone. She had been diligently working in the kitchen to empty the dishwasher by herself, when I came along and said, "Emma". She looks up... and Snap, I took the picture. Much like myself, she was rather deep in conversation with herself, and I can only slightly fathom what imaginations were running through her little mind at the moment I snapped a picture and interupted her groove.