(Edited several times to add analysis of why these chore charts have worked since August. Every time I hit 'publish' I thought of something else. It wouldn't be my post if I didn't analyze it to death. lol.)
With all of our activities on hold for Christmas, I have been working on organizing our schedule the last couple of days. In the process of figuring out what is working and what is not, I realized we have hit on a very nice way to divvy up kid chores at our house. At least, it has been working for us since August (!) with no hard feelings. (Hard feelings seem to be what we have to work hardest to avoid when divvying up kid chores at our house. That's another topic altogether.)
I am not sure why these charts clicked at this time, but I think it is partly because two of my three are old enough to do a lot of these chores independently. Another reason might be that we are a do-things-together kind of family, and our kids feel lonely working alone. (Once again, another topic altogether.) With the exception of the bathroom (too crowded), all of us ladies are doing chores in the same area at the same time, and those of us with more experience can offer advice or pick up the slack for the less experienced ones.
We did have to initiate a consequence for those not working diligently, which is that the person must sit by themselves in the room and not talk or help until all the chore is finished. Then she has to do some chores all by herself with me while her sisters get to go off and play or do whatever it is they need to do. (This doesn't sound like such a tragic consequence unless you are a very friendly little girl who can't stand to be left out. None of our daughters like to be left out of group activities, even chores. Very extroverted they are.)
Another reason these charts works is that we can jump in wherever we are in the week. These are daily chores, but sometimes we go two or three days without doing some of them. If that is the case, whenever we come up for air (lol) and realize there are chores that need to be done, we just look at what day it is and those are the chores each child does. No turning of wheels or "I did that last time!" or anything like that. If it is Monday, the Monday assignments stand, no arguments allowed.
We have three daughters, ages 12, 9 and 6, and they share one bathroom. I also needed their help with kitchen and laundry duties. So I modified some suggestions from Large Family Logistics and made four charts, which hang on our refrigerator. (Cornflower, who is a brand new reader, also made picture charts for her chores.) The children each have one job per day, per chart, and they only have to do the same job on each chart twice per week. I tried several different ways of organizing the charts, but organizing according to child and then day of the week seemed the least confusing for all of us. The charts look similar to this:
Kitchen Duties
(Before meals)
Triss
Monday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Tuesday: Set table and get drinks
Wednesday: Put out napkins and silverware
Thursday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Friday: Set table and get drinks
Saturday: Put out napkins and silverware
Mariel
Monday: Set table and get drinks
Tuesday: Put out napkins and silverware
Wednesday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Thursday: Set table and get drinks
Friday: Put out napkins and silverware
Saturday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Cornflower
Monday: Put out napkins and silverware
Tuesday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Wednesday: Set table and get drinks
Thursday: Put out napkins and silverware
Friday: Empty dishwasher and help fix meals
Saturday: Set table and get drinks
Kitchen Duties
(After Meals)
Triss
Monday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Tuesday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Wednesday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop
Thursday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Friday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Saturday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop.
Mariel
Monday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Tuesday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop
Wednesday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Thursday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Friday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop
Saturday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Cornflower
Monday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop
Tuesday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Wednesday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Thursday: Put things in dishwasher, dry clean dishes and wipe counters and stovetop
Friday: Put leftovers away, wipe table and chairs
Saturday: Clear table (except leftovers) and take out trash
Bathroom duties
Triss
Monday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Tuesday: Tidy floor and sweep
Wednesday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Thursday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Friday: Tidy floor and sweep
Saturday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Mariel
Monday: Tidy floor and sweep
Tuesday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Wednesday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Thursday: Tidy floor and sweep
Friday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Saturday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Cornflower
Monday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Tuesday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Wednesday: Tidy floor and sweep
Thursday: Clean off counter and wipe; wipe sink
Friday: Wipe toilet outside and in
Saturday: Tidy floor and sweep
Daily Laundry Duties
(Everyone folds after cleaning up from lunch and everyone puts away their own clothes. I get a head start on folding before lunch if no one needs my help with schoolwork--Ha!)
Triss
Monday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
Tuesday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Wednesday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Thursday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
Friday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Saturday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Mariel
Monday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Tuesday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
Wednesday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Thursday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Friday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
Saturday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Cornflower
Monday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Tuesday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Wednesday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
Thursday: Put away sheets, blankets and sort and put away socks
Friday: Help Mom sort clothes and reboot washer/dryer
Saturday: Put away bath towels, dish towels and hot pads
3 comments:
Thank you for taking the time to post this. This looks very do-able in my home. I need to start incorporating my six year old more in the chores.
Happy New Year,
Linda
Katy -- my daughter also has three girls (and then a boy, and is now expecting another boy) and uses chore charts (similar to yours as far as I can remember)and it amazes me how much those girls accomplish in the running of the household. My daughter's been sick with a cold here at six months into this latest pregnancy and hasn't felt well at all, and the girls have really taken up the slack. The boy (at four yo) has his growing list of chores also, but the youngest girl, at 8, does far more. My daughter also homeschools, and I'm not sure how she'd manage without the girls' contributions! They sew some of their own clothes, too.
It's good for them, too. They know they're contributing, and they're learning how to manage a household themselves. I'm so thankful for this to be in place, both for my daughter's sake, and for the girls' sakes (and honestly, for my sake also as I'll be there most of March! :-)) Keep up the good work -- I can tell you're a fine mother (and schoolteacher). . . your girls are greatly blessed.
One of your blog readers
Thank you for the kind comment!
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