Home Basic Skills Test

When my kids school did the Basic Skills test I thought, why not do one for home? To make sure that my girls know how to wash their hair, sweep the floor, put on their socks and shoes, use the telephone, wash the dishes, make a sandwich - those kind of personal grooming and basic household tasks.

So, I made our own chart, and, this week, (after talking about it for ages) we did it. I carried around a clipboard and tested the kids as they cleaned their teeth, tidied up their room, sprayed and wiped etc. It was fun. They could all do most things pretty well. Some could do with practise in household cleaning, and the one with the most hair has the most trouble taking care of it, and someone is still a bit wary of the phone, but we plan to test again in a few weeks, so they have time to practise.

So, now I know if I ask one of them to sweep the floor or to tie their own ponytail, they can do it themselves. I figure it would be remiss of me to not make sure they have these basic skills. And I need to remind myself to stop doing so much for them. Especially as we are about to start the school year, and I shouldn't have to clean up after three kids, and get them all ready for school every day. Which reminds me, we should practice packing their school bags.

And no, I don't expect a website where parents can compare their household's scores!