The road to independance

I had decided that it was time for my kids to learn to do a few new chores - ones that I prefer to not do ;). I figured at 2 and 4, they are old enough to set the table, do the dishes, empty the dishwasher, and put away their own laundry. However, doing so DID require some adjustments. First, I purchased several sets of these melamine dishes from Costco to replace all glass dishes - they aren't quite ready for the real glass stuff yet. I moved all of the glass to a high cabinet, so we only use these dishes (most of the time). Then I rearranged our cabinets - if you come to my house, don't expect anything to be in a normal place! How could I expect the kids to empty the dishwasher and set the table if they couldn't reach anything? :) I put all of the cups in the lazy susan, the dishes under the sink, and I even moved the silverware down to the second drawer so they could reach easier and so they could make sure that all of the utensils go into the right compartment. I got on photoshop and made some cute 12 x 18 placemats (this is just one side, they are double sided, the back sides all coordinate, the front sides are all different). I printed them at Costco (they print 12 x 18 prints), glued them back to back, then laminated them. Now the kids know exactly how I want the table set (no more piles of cups, plates at random, and missing silverware! By the way, I KNOW this is not a proper table setting, but I had to simplify it to make it easier for the kids, and it works for us!)My hard-working girl! She did great scrubbing the dishes while I helped to load them into the dishwasher - Mason helped too! They loved it! Yes, I know that won't last!This was after dinner, but you get the idea, the kids were able to set the table and put everything in it's place - they even learned how to fold the napkins into triangles ;)And finally, the laundry issue. I know they can't quite fold everything nicely yet, so everything that would go in drawers is in these bins, so they can just be tossed in, they don't need to be folded. All of their church clothes are on the top racks, I help hang those up. Their everyday clothes are on the bottom racks where they can reach them to get themselves dressed every morning (no, I did not dress Mason in cowboy boots, brown plaid shorts, and a bright blue football shirt!), and they can reach everything to put their own clothes away. Their bins are color coordinated, Mason's are navy and McKinley's are beige. McKinley does have to use a chair to reach hers, but she manages just fine!Nothing wears kids out like a day of hard work! :)