Ah, chores. It’s such a broad topic. Chores can be any number of things and I’m sure no two families handle them the same way. We have started our children on official chores around the age of 3, but they start out much younger than that with “helping” around the house.
As soon as they are able, we start them with things like, helping transfer clothes into the dryer, setting the table with spoons/forks (they really don’t set the table, rather just put a few utensils on the table randomly), putting dirty clothes in their basket at the end of the day and other simple age appropriate tasks.
As they get older, we actually start a chore chart for them.
I love this chore chart creator because it also has graphics you can add to the top of each chart.
Here’s what is currently working for us:
* Almost-2-year-old Rachael helps with odds and ends as asked or as she shows interest.
* 4 year old Eli’s chart looks like this:
It includes making his bed, brushing his teeth morning and night, setting the table for dinner, taking the recycling outside to the cart, cleaning up toys, vacuuming the kitchen (T, TH & S) and dusting (M)
* 6 year old Jacob’s chart looks like this:
It includes making his bed, brushing his teeth morning and night, unloading the dishwasher (he puts away anything he can reach and all other items are stacked neatly on the counter below the cabinet they belong in), taking trash out, cleaning up toys, vacuuming the kitchen (M, W, F) and dusting (TH). Although, I think Jacob will be gaining some new responsibilities soon (bringing the trash carts back up to the house after trash pickup and helping with bathroom cleaning).
The boys are both also responsible for helping with baking and vacuuming the carpet, bringing their laundry baskets downstairs on laundry day and with any other tasks they are asked to complete.
If you’ve been following along with my posts on our daily homeschool schedule, you’ll notice there are time slots for chores. During these times, the boys are responsible for completing their chores that are applicable to that time of day.
We really don’t have any sort of system of rewards, etc. because we haven’t needed it. For the time being, simply marking off their own chores as they complete them has been satisfaction enough for them to complete their daily tasks as scheduled.
What about you? What kind of chore system do you use in your household? I would love to learn of any new techniques and hear what your children are responsible for.
This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.
I desperately need to implement one for my 7 and 4 year old. My older boys do their basics without being reminded, but younger ones still need a push –
LIB
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Hey Laura! I just started following your blog and I think this is a great post. We don’t have “chores” really but Avery does the basics. We do need to implement something to just have it down on paper. Do you give your children an allowance? What are they working toward?
Hi Kim! It’s always fun to me to know when people I know in real life start following here!
At this point, we really don’t do any sort of reward system. Since we’ve implemented chores all along, the children just kind of understand that as a member of this home, there are jobs they are responsible for in order to keep our home running smoothly. We do occasionally reward them with special treats or small items for a job well done, but it’s not a consistent thing because we don’t want them to become dependent on the reward in order to be motivated to complete the task. We want them to complete the task out of love and obedience. In all honestly, they get immense satisfaction from being able to mark off their own chores each day with whatever marker, pen or pencil they choose!! Also, I think it helps them be more willing when I take time to tell them about all the chores, etc. I do for them because I love them – especially if they are grumbling about completing their tasks.
Thanks Laura. I was just wondering. Avery just turned 5 and while she does chores and small things around the house it’s not really set stone kind of thing. I think it is great to put it on paper and hold them responsible/accountable. I completely understand what you are saying about obedience and not becoming dependent on the reward. I guess in a way your happiness and extra time to be/play with them is their “reward”. It is also nice to know that there is some “grumbling” involved