Musings along the Way
Sep. 8, 2006
Our chore system (long)

Posted in Family Life

OK, the first thing I did was make a list of all the chores that the dc should be doing - Daily, Weekly and As Needed.  I then divided them up, having the YOUNGEST possible do each chore.  They each have 3 Daily, 2 Weekly & 1 As Needed chore.  They rotate every 3 mos., though if someone complains a lot or doesn't have the skills down yet, they keep that chore for the next rotation.  Obviously do what works best for you!

 

I got colored 3x5 index cards, colored library pockets and posterboard at the school supply store (Wal-mart didn't have the pockets).  If you can't find the pockets, you could always cut envelopes in half I would think.

I surfed Google Images for "kids chores" or something like that and saved the images I liked to a Word doc.  I copied each as many times as I needed it (sweeping & clearing the table are done 3x/day, for ex).  I printed these out and glued each one to a color coded card (Daily - pink, Weekly - yellow, etc)

 

I cut the poster boards in half through the short sides.  They now fit 12 pockets (3 columns of 4).  The colums are Daily, Weekly & As Needed with three chore pockets labeled 1,2,3 and the fourth bottom pocket in each is labeled "DONE!" with a big smiley face.

 

Every night (or morning) I make sure all the cards are in the right pockets.  The Weekly and As Needed stay in the "Done" pocket until Sunday if they are done. 

The dc can do the chores in whatever order they want, though I recommend they follow the order set.  One of each of the 3 Daily chores must be done before school time.  When they finish a chore, they move the card to the Done pocket. 

 

I can tell at a glance (younger dc) or with a quick look through the cards (olders) what has been done so I can spot inspect.  I can tell who is slacking.  I can simply say, "Look at your chart" if they ask to do something fun and not nag about the chores that need doing.

 

This has been working BEAUTIFULLY and even though it SOUNDS like a lot of set-up, it really only took a couple of hours (mostly finding the clip art).

 

I would suggest laminating the cards with clear contact paper, OR covering the chore pics with packing tape to prevent them peeling.

 




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