Emily Does the Laundry

I have wondered why some parents refuse to give their children chores and help them to learn the necessary life skills they will need upon leaving home. Emily has always been helpful with the laundry. It's the first "chore" she has helped me with. I'd dump the clothes on the dryer door, as it folds downward and makes a platform, and she would push them in and then shut the door. I thought it was a pretty good start to learning this chore.
She surprised me today, though! I put a load of clothes in the washer and added the detergent. I stepped away to go check the bathroom to make sure I wasn't missing any items that needed to go in and in that moment, Emily reached up, pushed the power button, turned the knob (randomly selecting a setting) and then pushed the start button as if she does this everyday. I couldn't believe it! This new washer has all the buttons within reach of my little toddler and she has already learned the sequence to get the washer going. I even checked a second time to verify that it wasn't a fluke. Now...if I could just get her to select the correct setting, she could do the laundry from start to dryer! (She's not exactly what I call "helpful" with the folding yet.) =)