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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 10:02am | IP Logged
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Since my dh is traveling more, the kids need to step-it-up with yard work chores. He used to do it with them on the weekends....supervising, directing, etc. But, that isn't happening anymore, so we need a new system.
What jobs do your kids do outside? And, how old are they?
How often?
Are they independent with that job or need help?
And, any other tips, ideas, etc.....for managing yard work kiddos!
Thank you!
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 10:15am | IP Logged
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Lawnmower - dh's rule is when you're big enough to start it you're big enough to run it.. it's a pull start.. my older 3 can usually start it.. And my oldest boy could start it when he was 10 I think it was. Younger kids can help but they're supervised. So you can train them in being careful before they "pass the test" of doing it on their own.
Everyone can help pick up for the lawnmower.. and that starts the training of being careful with it.. you pick up.. you don't hang around the lawnmower because it can pick something up and throw it and really hurt you.. and no messing around near it.. too easy to run over a foot etc.
Weed eater is usually after the lawnmower.. and they've proven their ability to behave and be careful. Plus it's a heavy gas one so the child has to be able to hold it. DH took our oldest boy with him when he bought it so that they could find one that would balance well for the smaller person.
Pulling weeds.. depending on how critical you find this.. I offer 5 cents for every 3 weeds pulled from the lawn. And I give the girls or anyone who wants it.. a flower bed to take care of.. then they also get to choose some new flowers as well as care for the bed. The girls especially like having their own flower bed. I just gave my oldest girl one that needed a lot of redoing permission to pull everything and start an herb garden in it.
How often just depends.. how often we get to water.. how often it needs it etc... so the jobs are really at need. And while they can mostly do the work independently, it requires enough supervision to keep them at the job 
ETA - Oh.. we're just getting to watering season here so I haven't worked that out yet.. but I'm also trying out having two of the oldest in charge of lawns and two in charge of the garden.. so I'm also going to be having the kids in charge of the watering.. I'm thinking I need a timer on a lanyard so that they'll be reminded without me, to move the water around. We don't have a sprinkler system (most people here don't because of the extreme temps)
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 10:28am | IP Logged
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I should say that dh and I both help with yard work to some extent.. but we've also been teaching the kids boys and girls to do everything as well. But I must say that my oldest boy loves doing the more "manly" jobs outside.. it's soooooo much easier to get the lawn mowed or the wood split vs dishes washed or bedroom picked up But really he'll be 13 soon and he can use the little rototiller in the garden, any hand tools, split wood and chop kindling, use the mower and weed eater. AND my 11 yr old girl isn't far behind him in doing those things. She's not big enough to handle the splitting maul but she can chop kindling. And I'm not sure if she's learned the rototiller or not.. but she could probably do so.. she also uses the mower and weed eater.
My oldest girl is less interested in those outside things.. and as long as she learns that she can do them.. and she does help with the mowing more often. I try and let those that WANT to do those things do them.
And my 9 yr old is actually one of my better ones for using the weed eater (this is our exception to being able to use the weed eater after the lawn mower) because she is very careful.. more so than her older siblings at times.. so sometimes personality will trump the rule.
And my 8 yr old boy loves to help with the lawn mower.. he just needs me or an older sibling keeping an eye on him and helping start it.
So I would think you're older girls should be capable of doing most of the actual work.. just might need some supervision still for a while.. just depends on their personalities and size and strength.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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stefoodie
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My 9-year-old helps with planting, weeding and watering. Sometimes I pay her, sometimes I don't. When planting I do have to supervise a bit, 'cause sometimes she won't plant them deep enough.
The 12-year-old and the 14-year-old mow and weed-whack, though the 12-year-old needs more of an incentive (usually $$ or more time playing video games). The 14-year-old has it "internalized" that the lawn needs work and will usually work it into his schedule if he notices that it's not "up-to-par".
When they weed, the 9-yo and 12-yo can only count them if they get the roots out. We pay 1-2 cents per weed, but at the beginning of spring the dandelions took over the lawn like crazy and hubby got a bit desperate  so he paid them 5 cents per weed.
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stef
mom to five
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MichelleW
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 12:40pm | IP Logged
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My kids weed a three foot section (which rotates) everyday. My sons mow, my daughter plants. Everyone waters, rakes, cleans up and hauls stuff. They have been doing this for at least five years. Dh bought an old mechanical push mower to start them off, and then they graduated to the gas mower and now they use the lawn tractor.
I don't pay anything for outdoor chores. Come to think of it, I don't pay anything for indoor chores either. We just all do it together. I am usually outside with them while we work out there. Oh, and all can hang laundry on the line as soon as they can reach the line.
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Michelle
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stacykay
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 1:13pm | IP Logged
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Suzanne,
Our experience with our boys may be different as you have girls as the "olders." My boys have begun lawn-mowing with supervision (ie. dh walking alongside them) when they are 10. At 13, they are allowed to mow without supervision. (I don't know if the size of a child matters, but my boys all tend to the taller side, and my just-turned 13yods is 5'10".)
Oh, our neighbor a couple houses down has begun teaching her 10yodd to mow the yard. Much like dh, she walks alongside her dd while she mows. Her dh isn't a mower.
I, however, have never ever mowed a yard.  My dad was very traditional and that was a job that only he did. It was off-limits to my mum, my sisters, and me. Dh won't let me mow, either.
Picking up sticks and other debris is done by all (our youngest is now 7-just turned!, but he has been helping out since he could walk.)
Edging is done by the 13yo and up, simply because the edger is a tough machine to keep straight.
From about 8 and up, I let the boys use the garden clippers (those triangle-bladed cutters that look like scissors) to get around fence lines and the edge of garden beds. I think most folks use weed-whackers nowadays, but I used them when I was little and that's what I am used to!
My boys have all been planting seeds and weeding since age 6 or so.
Watering is favorite thing to do, especially by the littles.
All of the boys shovel in winter.
We don't usually pay them for the garden work. The only thing I pay for is "poop patrol." 
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
oops, forgot frequency- mowing is usually once a week, maybe twice if it has rained alot, but usually it's too wet, in that case and we just have really longish grass.
Watering is everyday in the morning. If we are on a every other day schedule for grass, then we go with that. Plants are everyday. And, honestly, we haven't watered the grass once this year, so far, due to huge and frequent amounts of rainfall.
Weeding is once a week, but could stand to be done twice.
Edging is all done after mowing.
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: June 24 2011 at 6:28pm | IP Logged
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We've included yardwork (weekly), gardening (as needed), harvesting (as needed), and winter shoveling (as needed) as part of our family chore lists for several years. Our dc don't get paid for those jobs, but we sometimes allow them an extra privilege (like computer time or watching a movie), to encourage them for a job well done! In the beginning they needed supervision and training ~ the older they get, the more they become self-motivated, especially now that our youngest are all teens! We find that being responsible for larger aspects of caring for our home and property helps dc develop a good work ethic.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 25 2011 at 5:58am | IP Logged
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Raking is something my boys have done from a young age, and dh has found a variety of "specialty rakes" over the years that are their size. Most recently, he found a collapsable rake at Lowes. The teeth go in and out and the handle telescopes, so while collapsed, the two year old can use it, and with the teeth out but the handle still collapsed, the older two can use it (it wasn't expensive, so we now have three).
Now that we have tons of trees, picking up sticks is something the boys will do.
Dh is in charge of this stuff as you described yours used to be. However, sometimes he will say he wants to mow in the evening and tell they boys they need to pick up sticks today before he gets home.
Do you think that your dh could help make the list of stuff to do before he leaves as a "do this while I'm gone" sort of thing. I like that these chores are one less thing "mom" is asking them to do, yk? I remind them, but it's subtly different.
Dh is really good too at finding jobs for them and making it a game of sorts. For example, there are all of these big rocks where our septic was put in where they still haven't planted grass. Dh want them moved while we could, so he put an old broker pan between two poles so the boys could carry heavy rocks between them And tied a rope to the other pan so the 2 year old could drag some.
So, in our experience, they are capable of doing many things young, but sometimes we have to rethink how they might do it or modify tools and such to help them do it.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Oh, and a side note, my oldest, 7, is a more responsible gardener than either myself or my husband. He took it upon himself to start watering the dying pansies. He brought them back single handedly!  So, it's now a chore of his to make sure the window boxes and potted plants get water. It's also a tribute to why Iove pansies. They are the heartiest little fellows!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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leanne maree
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| Posted: June 25 2011 at 6:23am | IP Logged
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My dh and I have always done the yard work together, so it seemed only natural for the kids to join in.
we have always had our children helping in the yard.
my dh taught our ds to mow when he was in his teens.
our dds helped me out in all the clearing up afterwards.
I love Planting so the kids worked along side me.
We now only have our youngest dd=13 at home so She helps enormously.
She is a wonderful help in with weeding. We weed together.
She picks up the sticks for the fire.
She also helps me clean the mess the mower and the yard tools make.
Today for example, my dh was away, so she helped me get the firewood sorted, weed the gardens and generally tidied up, as I was using the outside blower vacuum. She uses this as well.
I would have a list made up and have the children do what they can.
Does that help at all
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Leanne
Loving wife to Dermot and Adoring mother to Louise, Kristie, Kieran & Brid
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JodieLyn
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Quote:
Dh is really good too at finding jobs for them and making it a game of sorts. For example, there are all of these big rocks where our septic was put in where they still haven't planted grass. Dh want them moved while we could, so he put an old broker pan between two poles so the boys could carry heavy rocks between them And tied a rope to the other pan so the 2 year old could drag some.
So, in our experience, they are capable of doing many things young, but sometimes we have to rethink how they might do it or modify tools and such to help them do it.
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oh yes definately this.. kid power is great if you can break down a task for them.. so bricks get moved one at a time instead of in big stacks.. or .. this one was fun.. dirt is moved by the tonka dump truck full and not the wheelbarrow full.. one shovel of dirt fits in the truck and I had two boys running with two trucks.. they thought it was the best game ever and dirt got moved only slightly slower than being able to use the wheelbarrow
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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CrunchyMom
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Um, I meant old *broiler* pan. Auto-correct is a blessing and a curse, but mostly a curse. I think I'd rather live with my own typos rather than someone else's
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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cornomama4
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| Posted: June 25 2011 at 8:51pm | IP Logged
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Sometimes I'd rather that the older ones would mind the littles so I could do some outdoor work without so many interuptions
That being said, my ds11 and ds10 feed and water chickens, rabbits, dogs and cat, cattle and pigs (when we have them). They can do this without supervision, but I always check their work at some point during the day. They can use the zero turn mower on the flat parts, with an adult around. When I haul stuff (hay, manure, weeds piles) they help. DS 10 is all about the weed eater and my beloved scythe, but has to wear safety glasses and real shoes. They also help me herd the cattle (usually only about 5 or 6) from one pasture to another, bottle feed calves, and chase down runaway chickens! In winter they chop ice from water tanks and help me move the round bale holder.
This is probably a little extreme compared to what you want your kids to do, but I'll say that even when we lived in the burbs I have always been blessed with boys who will work with no grumbling and usually do their best. I take no credit, this is just their nature. We do give them $15 a month allowance and 2 hours a week of computer game time, but I don't think that's the motivation. It's weird, I was so lazy as a kid for outdoor work my parents couldn't PAY me enough to pick beans or strawberries (and now I'm farming  ) but I think they want to do what they can to help the family.
I will say weeding is last on everyone's list. If I can locate the veggies in the garden, it's a good year
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 29 2011 at 7:02pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, everyone! Good ideas and things to consider.
We had a "yard day" a couple days ago, when dad was gone, so that I could watch and note what they could do, how long, etc.
Here is what else is in-the-works:
:: I'm in the process of re-organizing our shed, to make it more child-friendly.
:: Putting together a moveable-bin with their tools, so it can be moved easily, eliminating multiple trips to the shed carrying sharp objects 
:: Ordering a Reel Mower, so that we can keep on top of the grass better without a teen-boy or hubby being around. They older two will continue to "train" on the regular mower.
:: Ordering a few additional tools, since they seemed to "last longer" at a job when partnered up.
:: And, of course....coming up with the always-needed-CHECKLIST and PLAN!!!!!
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Suzanne in ID
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Servant2theKing
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Suzanne, we had a new reel mower ~ it didn't cut the grass very well at all. You would probably need to invest in a pretty heavy-duty expensive one. It might be worthwhile to scour craigslist or estate sales for an older one, with heavy duty blades that can be sharpened. Manual grass shears actually worked better than our reel mower.
We rigged our own portable yard tool "cart" using a rolling cart (the kind used for suitcases) and a five gallon bucket (held on with a bungy cord). We put oiled sand inside the bottom of the bucket (it's supposed to keep tools from rusting), then added a garden organizer with pockets that's designed to fit around the outside of a five gallon bucket (we found it on clearance at the end of the season one year and had never used it). Our cart holds quite a lot of tools and is surprisingly easy to use.
I forgot to mention earlier that hats, water bottles, wet bandanas (for cooling off), sunscreen and a good supply of cold treats can make yard work more pleasant for everyone. Of course it's always fun to run through the sprinkler or have a water fight after watering the lawn or garden, too!
Good luck with your child-friendly yard days!
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Erin
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We have a huge paddock to mow, probably about 5 acres all up. Once our boys turn 10 they go on the mowing roster, girls do learn but don't seem to make it to the roster. They mow independently once Dad is happy with their capability. The boys mow in a tag team mow with a pushie. Sometimes Dad gets out the tractorand mows as it gets hot in summer.(this pic cracks me up) they finish off with the push mower.
Before mowing time everyone from the littlest (2 yrs) up goes out and clears debris etc.
Daily there is meant to be a yard clean up of toys etc. this is done by the 'team' on the job for the week. All children are officially on a team once they turn 5.
Occasionally the trees in the orchard and the hedges need trimming, usually my ds14 does this as the secateurs are sharp. Oh and ds 16 does any whipper snipping, that tool makes me rather nervous. Only dad uses the chainsaw (I'm nervous about that too)
Moving dirt, gravel, digging holes they are all capable of doing and work as a team. Actually most big jobs involve getting everyone out to work as a team.
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Erin
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SuzanneG
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We've turned it up a notch with the mower-training and dd-10 is mowing by herself with dh weed-whacking in the same part of the yard!!!!  (as opposed to walking alongside of her while she mows)
Which, doesn't solve anything when he's not here.....but it STILL makes my heart go all-a-flutter!!!!!   Cuz.....it's still progress, right???!!!!!
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Suzanne in ID
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: What YARD WORK do your children do?
