Caring for our homes is a basic life skill we all have to learn. The purpose of the Helping at Home Award is to give Eager Beavers new skills for caring for their homes and helping their families. This award does have a homework component. This is an excellent opportunity for our young adventurer to learn a new responsibility at home. While doing this award, my Eager Beaver learned she enjoys wiping the kitchen table after lunch each day. And I “learned” I enjoy having one less job in the kitchen! Helping at Home is a required award for Eager Beaver Investiture Achievement.
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Story: Oliver Powers Through
Fulfills Requirement #1
We all know caring for our home is important, but a messy space is overwhelming for both adults and kids. “Why do I have to clean my room? Where do I even begin? What do I do when I get bored?”
I love Oliver Powers Through: Helping Out at Home by JaNay Brown-Wood. It’s easy for a book about cleaning your room to get preachy, but this book doesn’t. It’s a story about a boy with a messy room. He learns why a messy room is problematic (it’s hard to find things), and, with the help of his wonderful group of friends, he learns a variety of methods of how to get started with a messy space and clean it up. In addition to learning the hows and whys of cleaning, we also get to see community working together. The pictures are great with a multi-ethnic cast of characters. This is a great book for the Eager Beaver crowd.
Bible Verse: Exodus 20:12
Fulfills Investiture Achievement Requirement: My Family #1
This Bible verse is not a requirement to complete the Helping at Home Award. However, it is an Investiture Achievement Requirement, and it fits into this meeting well. This is a short verse, so reading through it a few times at the beginning and end of your meeting should be sufficient. There is a mini poster in the printable back (bottom of the post) for you and the adults to use.
Discussion
Fulfills Requirements #1 & 2
There are two discussion questions for Helping at Home. If you have a beaver (puppet) co-teacher, your beaver buddy could ask the questions.
What are some ways you can help at home?
What body parts do you use to take care of your home?
Craft: I Help Take Care of My Home
The craft is optional for this award. As my Eager Beavers expect a craft, I added this simple coloring activity to our meeting. The printable pack has a number of options for the kids (or you!) to choose between. All of the pictures are of kids taking care of their home.
Game: Race Against the Clock: Cleanup Game
Need to learn a new method to make cleaning up toys a little less..miserable? Grab a stopwatch, and turn it into a game! The purpose of this optional game is to equip kids and parents with another tool for putting away toys. It’s fun to watch kids who usually complain about cleaning get into this game and clean the room up in only minutes!
We used dolls, blocks, and cars for our cleanup game. Spread toys around the room. (Smaller spread = easier cleanup. Larger area = higher challenge.) We had three bins with picture and word labels (in the printable pack). Ready? Set? Go! Use the stopwatch (on your phone..) to time the kids. Can they beat their time the second time through? Spread out those toys (I bet the kids will be happy to help!), and try to beat your first time.
Story: A Little Servant Girl and the Proud General
Fulfills Requirement # 5
Eager Beavers need to name one Bible character who was a helper. For this requirement, you could read a Bible story or the kids could brainstorm together to think of all of the people in the Bible who were helpers. We read the story of Naaman’s servant girl from the Jesus Storybook Bible (page 136). Samuel would also be a great choice if you are looking for stories about children in the Bible.
Song: This is the Way We Help at Home
Fulfills Requirement # 4
This is the Way We Help at Home is sung to the tune of Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush. The lyrics are in the printable file. Sing while acting out the various jobs.
Homework: Help at home by doing one chore for a week.
Fulfills Requirement # 3
I avoid sending work home whenever possible, but for Helping at Home, it’s important. This is the place where kids learn new skills, new routines, and new habits. I send home a sticker chart and stickers to make this requirement more fun and create accountability. On the back of the chart, I include chore ideas for parents looking for ideas outside of “make your bed.”
I appreciate this requirement because it made me, the parent, accountable. Kindergarteners enjoy cleaning. Parents? We enjoy getting the thing done as quickly as possible, and teaching a child to do a quick job means it’s no longer a quick job! So, the sticker chart was useful to me too. My beaver came to me each day asking when she could do her jobs! The requirement is for one job, but there is space for five options, so my kid aimed for three. Awesome.
There are cut files for stickers for those of you who have the equipment to use them. You could purchase small stickers, use them as check boxes, or color the box in each day.
Story: Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family
Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family by Lori Sugarman-Li is a delightful book. This would be a delightful introduction to Helping at Home or an addition if you had extra time to fill. I struggled to pick only one book with such great options available! Our Home describes many of the jobs that must be done to keep a home running well and then suggests jobs kids can take on to take care of their home. The pictures are wonderful. The book is a bit on the longer side, but very appropriate for Eager Beavers.
One word of caution” The word “gosh,” appears once about halfway through on the page with the mother and baby. I would just change the word to “wow” or something similar if I were reading aloud.
Printables and Cut Files
What is your favorite way to motivate yourself or your kids to clean and care for your home? Tell me about it in the comments. I love hearing from you!