Well, we are instituting our new ChorePacks today. We bought the book and began chores last summer after I came home. Honestly, my children had never had chores before then other than the obvious "pick up your toys" and "put your dirty clothes away." So, we started small. Their morning chores were mostly self-care and bedroom cleaning chores. (get dressed, brush hair, etc.) This summer, we are raising the bar a bit.
Both girls have been on auto-pilot for a long time regarding their morning routine, so those chores have been condensed into fewer steps and more helping around the house has been added. Also, somewhere along the way their afternoon chores got changed dramatically, with no really set chore per day...but the house got cleaned anyway.
Here are this summer's chores:
Morning Chores
Sweetheart (Age 8)
1. Self-care (get dressed, brush hair, brush teeth, wash face)
2. Room-care (make bed, straighten room)
3. Fold clothes in dryer (from the night before)
4. Clean off side table in living room (junk collects there)
Little Bit (Age 4)
1. Get dressed/put pajamas away
2. Brush hair/teeth
3. Make bed/tidy bedroom
4. Dust one room with feather duster
Afternoon Chores
Sweetheart (Age 8)
1. Tidy fireplace
2. Clean bathroom (pick trash/clothes off of floor, wipe down cabinet and sink)
3. Clean off/wipe dining room table
Little Bit (Age 4)
1. Clear off couch
2. Clean front room (there isn't much in there so it's mostly picking stuff up from the floor)
3. Pick up hallways (why is there always stuff in our hallways?)
We do plan to pay them for the afternoon chores. (I'm not paying my kids to brush their teeth, ok?) I'm not sure how much just yet, but payday will be on Fridays. The only catch is they are not allowed to spend the money yet. They have to learn to save for something they want so I'm going to help them do that.
They just finished their new morning chores and they did a great job! Now...mama has chores to do so I'm off!
Great idea. I love it!! And no, you shouldn't be paying your kids to brush their teeth, I agree. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you! Trying to find the time to list things. The girls have loved it when I have in the past.
ReplyDeleteOnce, before my youngest read very well, I made up dozens of google-pictured icons, glued magnets to the back and stuck them on the fridge. Each girl had their own half-sheet magnetic square with their name, and I would place the icon on that. It hadn't been up for a whole before my youngest, aka the "can-do kid" had moved every single icon onto her square, leaving her gleeful sisters with nothing to do! It still cracks to think about it. I think I even took a picture.
Anyway...something tells me that the $$$ for chores is going to cost Mom a trip to the Build a Bear store! lol!
Great idea. Can I just share that when mt children where little we had chore charts and responsibility charts and they were paid for some and some things needed to be done out of responsibility for living in a family etc etc. Worked really well. So I thought. They are now older and I am flat out threatening them that the charts will come out again if they don't lift their game.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I was a bit obsessive? My kids say yes, I am not so sure!