Haven · Field notes
Notes from the household.
Practical guides for running a family — chore systems, meal planning, routines, and honest reviews of the tools we test.
- ·9 min read
The summer schedule problem: what to do with kids out of school for 10 weeks
Ten weeks is a long time. Here's a practical summer schedule framework for kids — how to balance camp, family time, free play, and just enough structure to keep everyone sane.
summerkids-routinesschedulingRead - ·9 min read
How much allowance should you give kids? (And should you tie it to chores?)
A practical guide to kids' allowance — typical amounts by age, the four most common payout structures, and the chore question that splits every family.
allowancekids-moneyrewardsRead - ·9 min read
Age-appropriate chores: a list for every age group from 3 to 17
What chores can a 4-year-old actually do? What about a 12-year-old? A real-world list by age, with copy-paste templates for each tier and the rule that decides what belongs where.
choresparentingage-appropriateRead - ·7 min read
Five chore rotation systems for families (and the math that makes them actually fair)
Round-robin, fixed-day, weekly shift, point-weighted, ability-based. Pick the one that matches your house, copy the template, ignore the rest.
choresfamily-systemstemplatesRead - ·5 min read
The 30-minute Sunday meal plan that survives a real week
A five-step Sunday system for planning the week's meals. Built around the kind of week where soccer runs late, somebody forgets the chicken, and the plan has to bend without breaking.
meal-planningweekly-routinestemplatesRead