Homemade Chore Chart
Like many of you, I’m sure, I like to step up the chore routine during the summer. With a little extra time the girls can help out more. And at 5 & 7 I am hoping that their helping might even help me out! So I saw a cute idea on Pinterest I decided to modify. It seems simple enough, yet gimmicky enough to get the girls’ attention and hold their interest.
I took two hooks – one for each of them – and labeled them with their names. Then, I made up chore cards (which you are welcome to – just print them off from the PDF here) with words and pictures describing each chore. I know there are lots of other things you can do but these are the things I know my kids can do, that they want to do, and that will be helpful to me as well. Feel free to make your own cards, or just add to ours. I cut them out and pasted them to construction paper and punched holes in the top.
I decided on 6 chores a day – which sounds like a lot, but some of them are just “make the bed” and “wipe down the table” – and I can modify as necessary. Natalie really wants to the chores to be from a random drawing, so we’ll give that a try. I hang up the chores on each hook at the start of the day and as they complete their chores they put them in an envelope with their name and “I did it!”
I am considering a nickle per chore, but allowance is up to you. I believe that school is their job during the school year and generally don’t give allowance for chores. But during the summer I do like to think of their job as helping out around the house more. And, it helps with the “I’m bored!” problem as I can just give extra jobs! (Think: give the dog a bath, wash the cars, wash the windows, weed the garden, etc.)
So let me know if this system works for you! I am sure hoping for the best!