Have you ever heard the saying: “Home, sweet home”? This is just another way of saying that it’s nice to be home!     1    

What do you like best about being at home? Maybe you like to play with your brothers and sisters. Maybe you enjoy staying with your mum and dad.     2     Spending time with them is one thing that makes being at home special.

Your bedroom is another thing that makes home special. Your toys, your books, and your favorite things are in your bedroom.     3     Maybe you like to have a quiet place to read a book or to think about your day.     4     Families sit around the table to eat the food mum or dad has prepared. It’s a time to share interesting stories about your day.

There are a lot of things to do to make home a special piece. Who does the chores like cleaning, cooking, and doing yardwork? When families work together to do the chores, it makes them easier and more fun for everyone.     5     Or maybe you can pull weeds (草) out of the flower garden. Maybe you can water the vegetable garden or the houseplants. Think about what you can do, so that when you come home every day, you can say, “Home, sweet home!”

Today I’d like to say something about my mother.

I often asked my mother for help when I had     1     (difficult). But she always said, “Do it yourself, dear.” I thought she     2     (seem) to be the laziest mother in the world.

One day, I decided to     3     some friends to my home. My room was not tidy (整洁的). Books were     4     /ˈevriweə(r)/, and I didn’t make the bed. I asked my mother to help me clean it, but she     5     me and said “Do it yourself, girl.” again.

Because of my “lazy mother”, I had to     6     (wash) my clothes and clean my room. I had to help my parents deal     7     the housework. It was really hard for me to do everything well,     8     I learned a lot.

Now, I know     9     my mother always said that. Because of her “laziness”, I became     10     (help) and diligent (勤奋的). What a great mother!

8 . Many parents think that it is very difficult to get their children to do chores. But I think it’s easy to get the children to do chores and I think it’s necessary.

My daughter is ten years old. At night, I make her a chore list for the following days. Then I stick (贴) the paper with chores on her door. Usually she gets three to eight chores a day. It depends on how she does chores. If she does all of her chores well, she can get fewer chores the next day. The chore are some easy ones, such as sweeping the floor, folding the clothes and cleaning the table after dinner.

For my other two children, the chores are different because they are very young. They both know how to put their empty dinner plates in the dishwasher. My 19-month-old son helps me put the dirty clothes in the washing machine when i am doing the washing. They can also help me when I’m working in the yard. They help me pick up the sticks (枝条) and throw them away.

9 . Many parents make their children do chores around the house. For some families, teaching children what to do and how to do chores is easy. But in other families, getting children to do some housework can be a very big problem.

It is a good idea for parents to teach their children at an early age that all family members must work together to make the house clean, and each person must do his or her share (份) of the work. We can do this by starting a plan for chores and responsibilities when children are young.

Chores are good for children—even very young ones. Doing chores teaches children many important skills (技能) such as working together and being responsible. Doing chores also teaches children what fairness (公平) is. The skills and values (价值) from doing chores will do good to children all their lives.