"helping" around the house

recently i ordered some stuff from this montessori online store as sort of a birthday present for aidan. it's hard to find good quality, child-sized household items that aren't simply toys, y'know? a kid can feel good about himself when he has the proper-sized tools for the job-- that actually work. and my kids like to "help" with housework (which usually means more work for me). anyway, we're so happy with the things we ordered (oh the excitement of receiving something in the mail!), which include a sturdy broom, dustpan and whisk broom, gardening gloves (sword-fighting gloves if you're aidan), a window cleaning set, small pitchers and glasses, a tiny glass juicer, a vegetable chopper, an apple slicer... i believe that's the bulk of it.

anyway, in the catalogue aidan saw this clothesline stand and proclaimed that he needed one. i remembered that i had a folding stool from the olden days that never got used anymore-- it now has a new life as a clothesline. ivy wanted to use it too, so fighting ensued-- good thing there were two of those old stools. since that was too easy, i had to make a couple goofy little bags to house the mini clothespins previously purchased at the craftstore (when you see them, you really just buy them without a second thought because that's how cute they are). so here are some pics of the kids helping with some of the daily work--hanging out the diapers--and enjoying it.

deep concentration.

ivy, always watching her brother.

ivy puts the clothespins on upside-down. and takes them all off. and takes the items off the clothesline. and puts it back. etc.

the quickly-made clothespin bags. they tie on to the wooden frame of the reincarnated stools. ah, there's nothing like an easy, pleasing, home-made thingamabob for which you have all the materials right at home. my only regret is the hideous florescent yellow twine i had to use for the clotheslines.