Friday, September 03, 2010

Chore Charts

September seems like a good time to organize. I think that I am more of a Fall cleaner than a Spring cleaner. I'm talking the deep-down-purge kind of cleaning, not just every day tidy stuff. Some people are every season cleaners, but I have just cleaned out a few cupboards and made piles for the trash and for the goodwill stores, and kids' clothes to give to friends for their kids. I think it stems from the feeling you get when you buy new clothes for school and the joy of cracking open a new notebook. I love school supplies. Fall is when I think things feel fresh, more so than Spring. Spring is the hanging on season... the final push to the big break you get during Summer holidays. "If I can just make it to June, then I know I can rest!" Ever feel that way? I especially did this past Spring. But, Fall is perhaps my favourite season. No, let me try that again... Fall is definitely my favourite season!

To embrace this Fall Clean feel, I wanted to do something to encourage organization in our house.

My kids are generally good helpers. They have gotten into a routine of making their beds daily, and clearing the table after a meal. But for other things, I feel like I am one big nag. I hate that. My kids wouldn't always believe that I hate it, but I do.

So, we came up with a plan... Chore Charts. I think they are a really big deal in some homes, and I did find many good sites online just by typing in "Free Chore Charts for kids" in a Google search. However, there was one thing that typically every single resource had in common... they were only for one week at a time. I'm all for weekly rewards, but I'm not for the constant printing and replacing of charts. So, I created one that is for a 2 week period.

One idea I came across in my search of charts was to have your kids decorate their charts and then take them to an office store to be laminated, then just use a dry erase pen and they can check off the boxes... I do believe we will do something like that. Then I won't have to buy excessive amounts of stickers that will just be chucked at the end of two weeks. I think we will go through the first round with the paper copy, and then I will know if these are the chores that should be on the list, or if I need to personalize them for each child, etc. And at that time, I can revise the chart to one week if I think it is a good idea to laminate for reuse.

We are going to start on Monday. Wish us luck :)

Do you do chore charts with your kids? Or other kinds of charts? I came across ideas for potty training charts, behavioural charts, and basic household chores. It all sounds like a great idea, but I reserve the right to eliminate charts from our house if they become more bother than benefit!

What are some of the things on your charts? I would love to hear so that I can revise our chart if need be before we laminate the final draft.

3 comments:

christy said...

Good Luck!!! Another idea to save cost would be to go to the dollar store and by transparent adhesive shelf liner. it's a buck and you could do a couple of chore charts with it, looks the same as laminate but way cheaper, just an idea!

Sarah said...

Hey Christy! That's a great idea! I think I will do that instead... thanks for the idea! The kids saw the charts today and I got them to brainstorm their "rewards!" I didn't let them put Disneyland on their list, but they got to put DQ and camping :)

Marcia said...

Hi Sarah,
One idea I got from a book and this was for meal planning, was to use a page protector and use a dry erase board marker, that way you can easily customize your lists when you want, and then just wipe away the marks. However I did find that the marks left a pink hue, perhaps it depends on the colours and the newness of the marker.
Great chore chart! I want to do that with the kids too, I have one from Esther, which has pics on it where you have the chores listed, let me know if you want me to email it to you.
Hope you enjoyed your day off today!
Marcia