Tuesday 25 June 2013

Holiday Jobs.




Every young man needs a holiday job, and last year Harvey J's was to gather the eggs each morning.

With 4 grandsons coming this Summer, I'm trying to think of daily tasks (useful or not) to ascribe to each small boy

They need to be completed in about 5/10 mins, be easy enough for a 6/7 year old to do well, and be something of which they can be proud.

Any (non chimney related) suggestions would be gratefully received.


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25 comments:

  1. Sweeping up leaves?(A fairly pointless exercise as there are just as many, moments after you have finished.....)
    One of my favourite jobs as a nipper was podding peas. Not all of them made it to the saucepan of course!

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    Replies
    1. General preparing of vegs is a good one... just 2 more to go.

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  2. Now all I can think of is chimneys.

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  3. Make them sit and watch Granddad working.....

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  4. Cro, Bob made a little long handled tray and a little long handled spade and the kids love doing poop patrol from Molly,it may sound a yukky job for a child but they love doing it,I think it is the tools.
    Also you have pots under your pagola and a watering can kids love watering cans so ine could be in charge of that,it is always fun to do the jobs at Grampy's that you hate doing at home.

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    Replies
    1. Watering is a great idea. Egg collecting, veg' gathering, and flower watering... I need just one more.

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  5. I used to get a couple of little neighbor kids to check my tomato plants for hornworms. They were finicky little girls that wouldn't touch a worm, but they would alert me to their presence and I would take care of the removal. I paid them a quarter per hornworm...those buggers are so very hard to see that you need to examine each leaf personally to find them all while they're still small. The kids loved it. :)

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  6. When I visited my grandmother's in the summertime, one of my jobs was to pluck Japanese beetles from her plants and plunk them into a coffee can. (There was a bit of liquid in the can... turpentine, maybe?)

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    Replies
    1. I like both of these similar ideas above. Maybe butterfly egg spotting, or Colorado beetles even. Yes, I think we've got them occupied.

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  7. Our Little Terrorists think it is great fun to measure out the dog kibble (each one gets a different amount) and then set the dishes down as each dog has its special spot to eat.

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  8. I am watching my granddaughters today. During the past two hours, we have prepared the lemonade stand they want to set up, have made the lemonade and are now preparing lemonade cookies. Two are already bored and want to do something else. I have told them to find a craft to do or maybe read a book.

    Only six more hours to keep them busy.

    You might want more than three ideas.

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    Replies
    1. The more ideas the better, just in case some don't appeal.

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  9. Four boys!! Wonderful!You already have lots of great ideas! An indoor job could be empty the trash or recycleables. Have fun!

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  10. What about swabbing the deck of the treehouse? There might be other tasks involved making sure it's all ship-shape and Bristol fashion.

    As a child, i liked to help and even when i was considered too young to wield a knife, i'd help with making salads. I could tear lettuce or help harvest the vegs to be used in the salad.

    And we all liked to help with baking. I'm sure we were more work than help. When we were quite young, my aunt mixed cookie (biscuit) dough and separated it into four bowls where each of us cousins had our own spoons and cookie sheets so we could put spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheets. As we got older, we helped with measuring and mixing. We'd also decorate the cookies, each with his own sense of style.

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    Replies
    1. I'd completely forgotten about the tree house.... brilliant.

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  11. My grandparents used to send us out to catch a rabbit for dinner. We were armed with a salt shaker and told to sprinkle some on their tails - if we got close enough. Of course we never did. 55 years later I still remember the disappointment! On second thoughts, scratch that idea. Have fun with the grands!

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  12. Shadypinesqltr: it's funny, your comment reminded me of something I haven't thought about in years. When I was a small girl my family told me that you could catch birds that way (sprinkling salt on their tails). I wonder where such a notion originated?! I used to wait in the yard armed with a fistful of salt. I never managed to get close enough, either :)

    Thanks for the memory!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I too remember it being the way to catch hens. Wasn't it the Cerebos Salt packet that featured a small boy chasing a hen with a packet of salt?

      Thanks everyone. I shall make a list, and each boy can chose his own task.

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  13. All lovely ideas! What ever they do, it will be memorable. You are such a good Grumpy!

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  14. Goodness me - forgetting the tree house?

    Swabbing the decks, hoisting the Jolly Roger and doing all those other Piraty things with Grampy.

    Have a wonderful summer with your little Pirates, Cro. :)

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  15. Spying on the neighbours...hunting for magic mushrooms and fairy rings....fossil hunting....drawing floor plans of the house and showing the location of the secret room...

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