Harvard: Key to Happy, Successful Kids? Chores.
An 85-year ongoing study conducted by Harvard Research has found a strong connection between doing chores and later professional success and happiness. The findings showed that shared responsibilities help children develop greater self-worth, confidence, work ethic, and empathy for others. Waldorf Education encourages parents to have children help with household chores at home and incorporates chores into daily life at school. Starting in our early childhood program, students engage in practical meaningful work including cooking, gardening, and maintaining their classroom and play areas. Waldorf Education aims to guide each student to a life of creativity, compassion, and confidence.
Walking down the halls of our school as dismissal time approaches, you might see something that surprises you. While some students are gathering their backpacks, instruments, and sporting equipment, classmates whose day it is to do classroom chores can be seen vacuuming and emptying trash and recycling.
Like so many aspects of Waldorf education, there is intentionality and deep thought behind the practice of having students do chores.
More than just fulfilling the adage to “always leave a campsite better than you found it,” chores spark learning and grow capacities alongside a connection to your community and learning space. They teach accountability and self-efficacy as children learn what it means to be part of a community and a team that supports and does for others. Small tasks, such as tidying up shoes in the cubby, or emptying the trash at the end of the day, instill a belief in children that they can do things they may not like, and manage having responsibility within the community. They learn that the delicious buns on Monday do not just materialize magically, but rather are the result of effort, care, and love.
There is also other learning happening. For instance, in our preschool and kindergarten classrooms, cooking, setting the table, sewing, and sorting and putting away classroom materials build counting skills that lay a foundation for number sense. In engaging in these activities and others, such as dressing themselves, the children learn sequencing which plays a crucial role in both reading and math as it helps to develop and enhance important cognitive skills needed for learning.
Chores like vacuuming and raking are activities that provide opportunities for children to cross the midline and reinforce pathways between the hemispheres enhancing a child’s learning (i.e. the ability to track letters for reading).
As parents, one of our main concerns is the happiness of our children. We want them to grow up to realize success in whatever way they define it, to be confident in the person they are, and content with the life they create for themselves. Along this journey, it is easy for parents to fall into the trap of overparenting as we seek to remove challenges and obstacles in our children’s path. This desire to help can lead to young adults who lack the capacity to recognize failure as a prerequisite for success and who are unable to navigate through life challenges. At the Upper Valley Waldorf School, we build those capacities so that our children can grow into strong, independent adults who are confident in their abilities and armed with the knowledge that they can achieve their goals and be the person they want to be through hard work, accountability, and self-efficacy.