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Chores, Charts and How To Begin

Chores, Charts and How To Begin

Who likes to do chores? Guess that is why they named the monotonous daily things we do around the house chores. My oldest daughter turns 7 this weekend and my husband and I decided it was time to get serious about chores. The girls have always had chores, but it was sorta here and there and nothing was really ever expected of them. If chores were done, praise was given; if they didn’t happen, then lots of arguments would occur.

The arguments were really our own fault. Sometimes we (husband and I) would over look things, and then other times, we wouldn’t. How are the kids suppose to know when we were getting tired of the mess? The other problem I see in this household is … well… um… the example we’ve set as parents. I’ll be honest. I am not the best housekeeper in the world. If you come to my house, you will probably find dishes in the sink, a load (or 6) in baskets, and stuff on every horizontal surface there is. I am aware that this needs to stop. But to make it actually happen, I need to enlist the help of the WHOLE family.

My Plan

Allowances and Chore charts. I started researching chores and people’s family systems about a month ago. (Yes, I know I am a geek.) I love reading other mom’s blogs. I am following one right now that plans on teaching me how to not add an additional stitch to every row I crochet so that I can actually make a square versus a wedge. But yet again, I digress. BACK ON TOPIC: I have a 3 year old (Becca) and practically a 7 year old (Martha). It is totally time (well over due if you ask me) to start proper chores. I found this website and I liked her system. It has a system for older kids and younger kids, and it didn’t involve a lot of extra stuff that other systems did. (Believe me some of them get quite expansive. But what ever works for your family, I say RUN WITH IT and don’t look back!)

So lets look at Becca’s first:

Becca's (Age 3) Chore Chart

There are 4 columns: Morning Chores, Afternoon Chores, To Earn Chores, and Today I Earned. I deviated from the above link because she doesn’t pay her kids for the morning and afternoon chores. Dave and I decided we would. Becca will be getting a dime for completing both of those chore sets. If she would like to earn more money for that day, she can complete an extra set of chores listed in the “To Earn” Column. At the end of the day, we will calculate up what she has earned, and place it in the “Today I Earned” Column. She will receive an extra dime for each chore she completes in the “To Earn” Column. There is a catch though. She has to complete ALL the chores in the “Morning” and “Afternoon” Column before she will get paid for her “To Earn” chores. If she doesn’t complete one of the “Morning” or “Afternoon” Chores and she completes the “To Earn” Chores, well sorry charlie, she will receive NO MONEY for that day.

The pictures I got from 2 different websites: https://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/2010/08/our-chore-system-chore-chart-printables.html and https://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/01/chore-chart-cards.html

I am sure there are others out there, but that is what worked for me. I also redid the Preschool chart from homeschoolcreations because I wanted all the days on one sheet. I am going to print them off on colorful card stock and then run to Staples to get them laminated. At that point, you can use a sharpie or a dry erase marker to sign off the chore was done. I plan to use a sharpie as it will need nail polish remover to come off and won’t accidentally be removed.

Martha's (Age 7) Chore Chart

Martha’s chore chart is much the same, only it uses words instead of pictures. Martha is given much bigger daily tasks in some cases but she also gets a quarter for her “Morning” and “Afternoon” chores. She will also have the opportunity to earn an additional 75 cents if she completes her “To Earn” chores.

See Also

Saturday evenings are going to be our paydays. I have gotten three plastic containers for each girl. They say: Charity, Savings, and Spend. We would like to do 20%, 40% and 40% but we will see as that is going to require coins every week. The idea is, we want the girls to start thinking about their money and those three specific areas. Martha has asked about tithing at church with her own money. She normally throws a penny or a nickel or something in the collection plate. This will give her a spot to get money from for tithing. If she wants, she can also find a charity to support.

What do you do for chores with your children? How do you manage allowances? Is it just money that is freely given? Do they have to earn money? I am interested in hearing about how your family deals with this situation!

Photo used under Creative Commons from theloushe.


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