Week Two of Spring Break

Last week we took a break from the books and declared Spring break. After Chrysalis I needed some time to relax. We watched a lot of TV, went to the park, played around the house and rode bikes. Nothing fancy but relaxing.
So Monday rolled around and I was faced with a decision, school or no school. Public school is currently on break and while I don't follow public school schedule, I knew the kids would enjoy spending some time with their cousins who do. First thing Monday morning I held a meeting. And presented the kids with an option to have one more week of Spring break. Of course they were all over it. However, it did have a stipulation. This week would be considered spring cleaning week. Everyday a room or two would be designated for thorough cleaning. Only after the room(s) were done would we watch TV or hit the road for fun. The kids thought this was a great idea, choosing cleaning over school. Day 1 we did the kids rooms, which were yet again disaster zones. They did great. Especially little girl who stayed on task and kept asking, what next. Day 2 I chose the living room and bathroom. Now my house has been severely neglected in the last month or so as I focused on other things. The kids went to work hanging up coats and organizing shoes. They put their things in their own rooms and kept at it. There was a stack of laundry in the living room so I set to sorting and folding. When I gave DS the job of matching his socks, he baulked. That was when I adopted the cheerful heart attitude or the chores get harder. I assigned him the job of scrubbing out the shower. We sprayed it with kid friendly cleaner and I handed him the brush. He was less than thrilled. He decided to fold the socks and put them away, which he did. Then I insisted he do the shower, which he did. I handed little girl the magic eraser and set her on the job of washing walls. Seeing that most of the dirty spots were caused by them she could reach all the areas in need of washing. Brilliant. I finished folding, then went to help in the shower. Rinsing it down and asking him to do a couple spots that he missed. Then it was time for a job that was a little more fun. Window washing. He have a wand similar to those used at the gas station to wash windows. I taught my son how to do it and off he went. He loved it. Little girl continued around the room scrubbing walls. She by the way was enjoying that as well. Next, it was time for the toilet and surrounding the bowl. Disgusting! After I had the boy move the pile of magazines that always stack up next to the toilet, I had him go find the yellow rubber gloves. I decided that since it was the boys that made it so disgusting I wanted him to learn how to clean it up. Which he did, less than thrilled I might add. I think at some point he exclaimed that this was the worst day ever. To which I responded you get that done and you are done. I cleaned off the counter and put things away as he scrub-a -dubbed around the base of the toilet. He was making good progress but I could tell I was going to have to finish it after he was done. He called for an inspection and he had done a pretty good job. I took the cleaning supplies from him and finished it up. Calling him over to take a look at how clean it can be. With son done with his duties I called in the little girl to help wash the mirror, she loved it. She watched as I cleaned up the counter and took it from mud splatter to clean in just a couple swipes. After lunch I finished up the rooms and it felt good to have things looking so nice. As a reward for their work we went to see the movie Meet the Robinson's.
Now it is time to see what room we will tackle today. Yes, I like this little spring cleaning plan. It may just be a part of our school year every year.