American Gothic Work(er) Bees.

When kids are young, they ought to learn to do chores because...it's just a beautiful reality of life you're never too young to learn: that you are a valued part of your environment and you can become a beneficial part of it by pitching in with whatever abilities or skills you have at that particular stage.

But of course, the other reality is that it usually takes a lot longer to have little ones help out as they're learning; it's more for philosophical, relational, existential, and developmental reasons than practical ones. Teaching someone how to do something is a great deal more challenging and time-consuming than simply doing it yourself. But totally worth it to see satisfaction, accomplishment, and a bit of pride in a task completed. And possibly even completed...well.

AND...then they get older and at a certain point become

ACTUALLY HELPFUL in an efficient and concrete way.

That's pretty cool too. I love seeing kids get excited about work.

Of course, everyone should re-read Tom Sawyer* at least once every couple years.* Some of the best parenting advice ever to be extrapolated from it.

Happy weekend, universe! :)

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*or anything Mark Twain