the "old" chore system worked for years. seriously. i think it was 2 years! you can read about it
here.
it worked for a long time. but in january, i decided to change it up. now i don't have to dish out money EVERYday. that was tedious. (but, again, it WORKED! and i think it was GOOD with younger kids!)
this chore system is just for the older 3 kids. i came up with it pretty quickly so it's not beautiful or amazing to look at. but, it's worked for 3 months so i'm happy with it!
we have 2 jars.
one holds the sticks of the chores that still need to be done, the other holds the sticks of the chores that are done.
rebekah's chores are in purple, bailey's in pink, joshua's in blue.
all the sticks start in the "to be done" jar on monday. it's up to them when they do their chores. they have until thursday to do them. if they don't, they don't get to participate/enjoy "friend friday" and they spend their friday afternoon doing their chores (they've NEVER ever done this!) usually they all do ALL their chores on monday!
i never remind them. they remind each other.
i spend an ENTIRE day in january (a teacher workday or something. they were home from school, but pat was at work) going through EACH chore and showing them what i expect.
then, on sunday morning, they each get $1.50. this is probably VERY cheap. but, it's what we give them. they decide what to put in their wallet and what to bring to church. bailey almost always brings her dollar. if not, then both quarters. the other 2 bring a quarter. we let them decide.
and there is a very professional looking list next to the jars of the things they always have to do daily - these are kind of the "old" chores that they just automatically do now.
thanks to all of this (which really isn't THAT much work/organization on my part!) our home truly stays pretty picked up and clean! AND my kids know that it doesn't just happen on it's own!
i think one of the keys to this is starting it EARLY - with little things. levi already puts his toys in the basket in the family room and his shoes away in a basket when we walk in the house. sawyer and lincoln make their beds and rebekah and joshua help them put their clean laundry away. every (except levi) clears the table after every meal. all those little things add up! AND teach them that it's ok to WORK!
i'd be glad to answer any questions! just let me know!
12 comments:
love this idea, Courtney! And all of your others from the other post. thanks so much for sharing. So thankful for the ideas of others (though we're not there yet for "older kid chores" yet).
this is fantastic! I am SO bad at teaching Berkley to do chores. Not 'cause I don't want him to, but because I don't know what he's capable of. Any chance you want to write a post about what age kids start doing what?! :)
Sounds like a good system that really works for you - and allows them to see the progress of their work.
I'm getting ready to rework mine a little bit - adding some more chores, leaving out some others. I have mine printed out but have yet to blog about it - maybe after this next re-do.
One idea that I use - that I got from somewhere else in blogland (sorry I can't remember where and can't give credit) is our ZONES. Each week (our chores rotate each week), the kids have a zone that they are responsible for picking up. This includes anything that does not belong in that room or is just out and needs to be put away. No matter who got it out, "who played with it last, etc". All the little arguments that are hard to resolve are done with - single best part. If something belongs to someone, they have to deliver it to that person's bed - neatly/kindly. :)
Have fun with it all, you're doing a good job and YES it is so helpful to start when they are young - they are never to young for some chores.
Re-reading my comment I wasn't clear on a few things...
1) my chore chart is printed out and in a sheet protector on the fridge. I have little post-it flags with each kid's initial - I move these flags each Mon. so that the kids don't have the same chores each week - some chores like their room, etc don't change.
2) Zones, they make sure their zone is picked up everyday - before they are free to play.
Someday, your boys' future wives are going to thank you!My 30 year old boyfriend lived with his parents until he was 29, and they had a weekly cleaning service. Now, as a grown-up, I'm having to teach him that the house doesn't magically clean itself, that it's not "un-manly" to help with the chores, and the basic ins and outs of how to clean. Kudos to you!
That is awesome, Courtney! Both old and new systems. My brain is working overtime thinking how I can start using this in our house. One question, mostly out of curiosity, is how much bathroom cleaning the kids can do (and how old were they when they started)? Do they clean toilets and tubs? Thanks for sharing such great ideas!
there's a word there i don't understand...dusting. so that's like a real thing? i had no idea...
I like this system. i think we might need some version of this. my kids don't get allowance (these days), and i can't have friend friday every week (i wish i could!), so i'll have to think of some fun trade-offs. and some way to deal with belle doing all of hers first and jax feeling like he'll never keep up with her and so giving up completely...but i like it.
Good timing. I was just saying to Henry the other day I want to get the kids in the routine of helping clean the house (our daily list looks a lot like yours). I've been having them help randomly but want to delegate it totally to them. I like your system.
BTW, Ryan at three, helps me fold laundry, unloads the silverware from the dishwasher, and helps put laundry on the big kids' beds. He put his own laundry away. I love teaching kids we're all one big unit working together.
@Megan: Natalie is responsible enough at 7 to clean toilets. Ainsley at 5 is responsible enough to scour the sinks. Both can do tubs, showers, floors and streaky mirrors(!). The big thing is to show them how to do it and check afterward to show them anything that needs improvement.
Hey, Courtney, what are your thoughts on the age of kids to start? I mean, Eliott does help put his toys away before bed (at age two). But when did you start having a routine for your kiddos?
love this! thanks for sharing your awesome ideas!
love it what a good idea is great.
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