Our Chore Chart

We have a chore chart over here at our house. I think I have finally found a system that seems to work for us. At the beginning of each week I just draw a chart up free-hand. It is simpler for me that way, since we still don't have our printer hooked up (it has been nearly 4 yrs. without a printer here, yikes.) It is nothing fancy, just a 4 by 8 squared chart drawn with pen. I am not really a fancy person, and I find that if I keep things simple I am more likely to continue with them. So, here is what the chart looks like in all it's un-fancy glory.

In case you can't read my writing, the top chart is for Oscar and the bottom for Angus. Along the vertical side there are four categories; morning point, chore point, school point, bedtime point (I'll explain these in a minute).  Along the top are the initials for the seven days of the week. Monday through Saturday the kids can earn one sticker  for completing all the tasks that fall under each of the four categories. No points are awarded on Sunday. Even though they may still complete some of the regular tasks, I want to teach them that Sunday is a day we can choose to rest from our normal daily responsibilities.

Here are the tasks associated with each category:

Morning Point: Eat breakfast and bring those dishes to the sink, make beds, put clothes on, put dirty jammies in laundry basket, brush teeth.
Chore Point (some of these we do everyday, some we rotate days): Feed the dog AM and PM, help empty the dishwasher, put clean clothes away in drawers, help clean the chicken coop, help wash and put the fresh eggs away, set the table.
School Point (neither of my kids are in school yet, but we still do school-ish activities): Read books, draw or do art/craft activities, puzzles/legos, play any assortment of letter/number/shape/color games.
Bedtime Point: Clean up all toys out and put them away in the right spot, put jammies on, dirty clothes in laundry basket, brush and floss teeth, go to bed HAPPILY.

Nobody gets any points if the tasks are done with whining, or if multiple reminders need to be given. Also, a lot of these tasks require me to help and/or teach them as they are doing it. But the point of the chore chart to me is to help them learn skills and habits that will help them throughout their lives. So the extra work, and at times the extra frustration, will be worth it in the long run. There are plenty of times that jobs don't get done. I usually remind them once, and if after that it is still not done they don't earn a point. They can try better next time.

About every two weeks I grab the charts, our coin jar, add up the points and pay the kids. They get five cents per point. That may sound cheap to you, but for my 4 1/2 and 2 year old it is completely sufficient. It is more about principal anyway. Once they have their coins we separate them into 3 jars. 10% is put into the tithing jar, 15% is put into the save jar, and the rest is put in the spend jar. I let them take some money out of the save jar, and we head to a local thrift store where they can pick out a small toy that they can pay for. If they want to save up for something big, they have to save up using the money from their save jar. When the tithing jar is full, we will pay tithing. Once the save jar is full, we will put it in their savings accounts at the bank.

Like I said before. Fancy doesn't work for us.
Canning jars with a coin slot cut in the top
 and handwritten taped on labels will do just fine.

I hope I am not painting some rigid picture of how we live over here during the day. We are NOT a rigid family. We are inherently a "go with the flow" kind of family, but I have found that balancing the spontaneity with some organized consistency helps us all feel happier and helps are lives run smoother. Plus it is important to me that my kids learn to take care of themselves, take care of their home, and to work for what they want. This system seems to be a good step in beginning that cycle.

I would love to hear what techniques work for you and your family. Leave me a message or send me and email!