At this point you may be thinking, “Right! How on earth can children and chores possibly go hand in hand?”. Well, it most definitely will not be an easy task in the beginning and will require much patience, but you may be surprised by the results after forming some sort of chart system if you haven’t already. Trust me, I was very surprised by the outcome in our household, but you must be consistent.
This past year was our first year as homeschoolers. It was a challenge, but we got through it and are looking forward to another year. Along with our homeschooling adventures, I chose to create some sort of chart system to incorporate chores on a daily basis. I went to Target and purchased one of those large dry erase boards with multi-color dry erase markers and began my quest. I did a color coding system to make it bold and vibrant. Each day of the week had a specific chore under each girl’s name for example:
Monday:Nichole
Put the dishes in the dishwasher
Feed the dog
Make the bed
Tidy room
Etc.
You get the picture. After a chore is completed, they check it off or cross off with whatever color they like. Stickers also played a role in this chore chart system as well. If by the end of the week their checklist wasn’t completed, they would lose a fun privilege. After two solid weeks of getting in a chore chart routine, you can bet they made every effort to complete and check off their chores. It’s important to remind your children of checking off their chores too since that can be easy to forget in the beginning.
Our chore chart system is still going strong. This year we will be shooting for money allowance per chore completed throughout the week. I am sure this will motivate them to get their chores done. With this concept I think that my children and chores will go hand in hand, maybe? One can only hope.
What do you do with your children to enforce chores? I look forward to reading your ideas.
