And so it Begins….the Chore Chart!

I decided that at 3 1/4 years old, Adam was old enough for a chore chart!  I can remember many a chore chart or system instituted by my parents that lasted oh, all of 3 weeks.  However, they tried.  And I did learn that importance of work along the way.

I fantasize about the day when my kids are old enough to actually contribute to the running of this house.  What a glorious day that will be!  So I figure if I start really young, maybe, just maybe, I can minimize the griping and whining and flat out refusing that I know is probably inevitable when it comes to doing chores.  Not to mention, I figured it was time Adam learned how to do a few things on his own.

I got the idea for this chart from Confessions of a Homeschooler (I know, big surprise….but I LOVE her site!).  She had cards you could download but I wanted to customize them so I made them all myself and then laminated them.  I bought this pocket chart from Amazon and although it’s bulky, it is double-sided so I can use it for a bunch of other little learning activities, or even put Abby’s chore chart on the back in a few years.

There is a “Morning” line and an “Evening” line and when Adam has completed a chore, he flips the card over.  At the end of the night, if he’s done every chore, then he puts a sticker on his “Reward” card.  Once he fills up 6 squares, he gets to choose something from his prize box that is full of dollar store items.  There are also some “Saturday Extras” like washing windows, dusting, sweeping, folding laundry, etc. and I think I’ll have him choose 2 of those to do while we are cleaning the house on Saturdays.  Of course all his chores always get done because they are things like ‘get dressed’ and ‘brush your teeth’ but it’s a start right?

He also has a “I Stayed Dry All Day!” card that I keep turning over until the end of the day.  If he’s kept his underwear completely dry, he gets a Dum-Dum after breakfast the next day.  It worked for the first time yesterday!  He normally doesn’t have full-blown accidents, but his undies are usually damp all day and I want him to learn to not wait so long to go to the bathroom.

As most 3-year olds would be, he is really exited about it and can’t wait to do his chores every day.  I don’t know how long the enthusiasm will last, but I really want to teach him the value of working together as a family to keep our home tidy and clean so that the Spirit can be here with us.

The only draw back to this is that it takes 3 times as long for him to get ready in the morning! :)