Easy chore chart, Teach kids responsibility
This summer has been crazy busy! In the middle of all the hustle and bustle I have been trying to get the kids to help more around the house. They are home all day, and make the mess, so why should the adults be responsible for cleaning it all up? *Disclaimer, my kids are 7, 9 and 12 so I realize that with younger kids this may not work. I also realize that all families are different, but this is what works for us! They have always had chores, but those were just usually kept in my head, which lets face it, sometimes I forget. I decided since they were out of school it was time to add some chores and increase the difficulty or frequency of some others. My mom used to have a chore chart similar to this, but there were 8 of us on it,yikes! After searching for a chore chart I loved, I decided to go old school and use the method I grew up with. It has been working like a charm.
You will need:
card stock or construction paper (I used 4 sheets)
fine tip sharpie markers or pens
*Not required but sure helpful, a circle template cutter. This is the one I use and I love it!
There wasn’t a circle size large enough for how big I wanted the biggest circle so I traced a bowl and cut that one by hand with scissors. The others were various sized circles that I cut with the circle cutter. After the circles are cut, use a brad to hold them together in the middle. Now you can turn the circles to change what they are doing each week.
I wanted a circle for their name, and different tiers for different chores. The first one is the kitchen chores, that need to be done daily, sometimes (but not often) more. The second one are things that may need done more than once a week, but not daily. And the outer circle are chores that need done weekly (although, the take out the trash also requires the person to take out the inside trash bag when it gets full in addition to taking out all the garbage the night before garbage day). In addition to the chart, they are responsible for folding their laundry when it comes out of the dryer and cleaning their rooms.
So far it has worked well! They know they don’t get to do certain things until the chores are done. It is hard for me to let the dishes sit sometimes longer than I would like, but I think it is important to teach them not only to do the chores, but to be responsible to take the initiative to do them without being nagged. I do remind them a few times, but beyond that they just don’t get video games, devices, etc until it is done. So if they want to waste time, that is up to them. The whole agency thing is a hard lesson to learn and to teach some days!
So, tell me, do you use a chore chart? Does it work in your house? How do you add responsibility when the kids are home for the summer? Does anything change, or are they pretty much the same all year round? Let us know in the comments! I love hearing how other families do things and implementing them in my life as well.
How to get kids to do their chores
Free printable chore cart for small children
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