We’ve tried numerous ways for a couple of years now to get our kids in a chore routine. Nothing ever seems to stick, mainly because I have to be the chore police and I forget. As my kids are getting older (and more resistant to cleaning up), I decided it was imperative to get a chore routine in place. Off to our friends Learning Express I went, and found a great chore chart from Melissa & Doug.
The beauty of this chart is that it’s easy: it comes with placards that have not only chores, but also goals. The “chores” range from ‘clean up your room’ to ‘no whining.’ The chores also have pictures for non-readers.
We started a few days before Christmas and it was a huge hit. I told the kids that each “Great Job!” magnet was worth a quarter. They have to read their chores and complete them, then ask me to check them. The responsibility is all on them. If they forget, that’s money lost forever. Once they realized that they had missed out on money, the forgetting stopped!
