Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is a good one!
Our topic this week is “Children and Chores”
Your Assignment This Week…
Give us a glimpse into how your family manages chores in your home? What are the daily responsibilities…weekly responsibilities…monthly responsibilities? What are the extra jobs that your children can do to earn money? How do you pay them?
Don’t have little ones? Well, how do YOU get everything done each week, month, season, year? Share how you manage your daily chores. 🙂
OH! One thing! Check out our Friday Freebie at my website. It is perfect for helping you plan out and manage your chores with your children. It even comes with my audio workshop!! See it here:
http://cindyrushton.com/friday-freebie-children-and-chores/
Excited? I am! I really think that this is going to be a big, big help! So, grab a cup of tea…settle in for a bit. You will want to dig into this one sweet friends!!
Love ya!
Cindy
PS! Please remember to use your real name if you want credit for your Mommy Homework Credit. 
PPS! You CAN just share and not participate in Mommy Homework, BUT I would LOVE for you to get some goodies along the way!
PPSS! Want to check your credit? Here is the newest update: http://www.talk-a-latte.com/ebooks/MommyHomeworkCredits.pdf
PPPSS! If you are new, all you do to share your MH is first register (see the link on the bottom of the page–scroll all the way to the very bottom), then log in with your name and password that you select. Share away!
Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
Your Assignment This Week…
Give us a glimpse into how your family manages chores in your home? What are the daily responsibilities…weekly responsibilities…monthly responsibilities? What are the extra jobs that your children can do to earn money? How do you pay them?
Don’t have little ones? Well, how do YOU get everything done each week, month, season, year? Share how you manage your daily chores. 🙂
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Well… I’m still working on it, I’m domestially challenged but God’s still working on me 🙂
I have in my home management binder a list of everything that needs to be done according to each room. I try to tackle a room a week, and have general cleaning once a week.
I have an 8 yo… and her chores are outlined for her on index cards that she keeps on her dresser to referr to each morning. A master copy of all of her chores are also in the binder just incase she misplaces her chore card. Her daily chores are: Make bed, get dressed and pick up bed room, brush hair and teeth, take care of dog, scrub the toilette bowl, sweep bathroom and kitchen, do the dishes, and wipe down the counter.
I have a 4 yo… pre reading, I do have some chores for her, but no cards yet. I’m looking for picture chore cards for chores such as get dressed, brush teeth, tidy bed, pick up toys, etc.
I have a morning routine that I try to get done before my girls wake up so I can concentrate on helping and training them in any new chores I assign them. My morning routine/chores are get up, shower, dressed, hair, teeth, spray bathtub and wipe down shower walls, wipe bathroom sink and hand mop floor around toilette, make bed, tidy bedroom, start myself a cup of tea and read my bible. My baby is not sleeping through the night yet so getting up before my girls do is hard so usually I do my routine while the girls do theirs.
Daily cleaning really isn’t assigned to any one person. I just have everyone chip in until it’s done. I try to keep my laundry done throughout the week so I do one or two loads a day. My 8 yo is required to help sort the dirty laudry, and hang washed laundry on the two bottom clothes lines and I hang it on the top one. My 2 girls and I all chip in to tidy up the kitchen after breakfast and lunch. Both of the girls are responsible for folding diapers and I usually fold the rest of the laundry. The rest of daily cleaning is just usually concentrating on making sure surfaces don’t get cluttered.
I have a nightly routine that includes making one last sweep of the living room and kitchen to declutter the couch and arrange the pillows and declutter the kitchen table to get it ready for breakfast.
Weekly cleaning is vacume, mop kitchen, dust and wood oil furniture, clean glass, wash all bedding, I rotate detail cleaning each room week by week. I haven’t been real good about having my girls help me with that, but i guess I should 🙂
Chores are non paid chores. Chores are something you do because you are part of the family and the house hold and everyone is expected to contribute to help the home run.
But… I do have what are called commission chores. If my daughter does something extra, such as carry in groceries from the car, watch her two sisters while I take a shower (meaning just play with her 4 yo sister and make sure baby doesn’t cry in the play pen), or help weed the garden I will pay her. Amount of pay is dependant on the job done and her attitude while doing the job.
That’s all I can remember off the top of my head. I’m still working on getting into a solid routne, especially working home school into the routine. But so far this is what we’ve done and it’s seems pretty successful.
Ok, I just don’t have a plan right now and am way behind on household chores. This is an area that I am working on and will enjoy seeing everyone’s replies. Right now I have a 21 month DD and a 3 month DD. I do best at chores while both are down for a nap, but then I miss out on my nap and lack in energy. I do find that I get more done when I set my timer and really work at it for a few minutes. My older DD is starting to help out too. I want her to learn to enjoy house work and living in an organized, clean, peaceful home. I tried doing a load of laundry a day this week and found that while I get the clothes washed I don’t get them folded so I think I will try going back to laundry on one or two days a week. Today I plan to sit down and make a plan for cleaning and try it out next week along with a basic schedule.
Cathy Dunlap
Chores-orginization-getting it together, that’s my hot topic. I love talking about it, reading about it, researching it, and yes I’ll admit, I have even checked out vidoes (Don Aslett has a GREAT one), check your local Library like I did, sure beats buying something that just ends up collecting dust.
Two and a half years ago I finally had it all together…. House was clean, meals on the table at the same time, school ran like a fine tuned machine. Then I got some news that just literally devestated me, I lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks. Then there was the house, looked like a massave train wreck.
God showed me later, after some major healing was done, that I had been focusing on my house and not my home, and more importantly I was focusing on me and my sacrifice, not ministering to my family. So now I keep that in mind when things get a little cluttered. My goal now is to always be no more than 20-30 minutes from company ready, and our clothes and such so that we can find things when needed. I love what Mary Kay Ash used to say KISS (keep it simple sweety).
Having 2 grown children has taught me that kids don’t “magically” wake up one day and take responsiblity for their chores and belongings. My younger 2 (12 & 10) are responsible for their rooms and their laundry. My 10 yo daughter does breakfast dishes and my son does lunch dishes, we all take turns doing dinner dishes.
I am spending more time with my daughter supervising her “domestic” chores like dusting and such and we have an assigned day for each of our weekly chores. My son is in charge of the yard, which we have broken down into 5 zones. Kind of like eating an elephant one bite at a time. Weed eating on Mon. & Thur. Mowing on Tue. & Fri. or weather related (less rain, less mowing). My son also is in charge of their bathroom toilet. As Don Aslett says, since men tend to pee on the toilet instead of in it, they can clean it. Daughter is in charge of sink, they take turns sweeping and mopping. Rooms are to be picked up each night, they have finally learned that if they clean as they go, taking 2-5 min here and there, they don’t have to spend half a day on Saturday cleaning their room.
My chores are simply broken down into a daily house blessing hour. At 11:00 while kids are doing Math and then their chores I break my routine into 4, 15 min bits.
11:00 Weekly chore (dust, plants, kitchen garden etc)
11:15 vacumm (3 days) or seasonal or monthly chore (clean out a drawer or such)
11:30 Zone of the week
11:45 start lunch and straighten kitchen, on Monday’s clean fridge.
We all have assigned laundry days, since doing this I have found sometimes we have to ask others if they have a few things to throw in to make a full load. It takes just as much electricity to run a half load as a full load, we only do full loads now, and hang on the line when we can. I have also culled my kids clothes, like with dishes, if they have too many they will wear them all before washing any of them. 5 short sleeve shirts, 5 long sleeve, no more than 3 play jeans etc. Now we also use the one item in one item out rule.
If I were to give advice to mothers of younger ones I would have to say, include your children now, let them hold the dust pan and pick up stuff off of the floor (they are closer to the floor anyway). Yes it is easier to “do it yourself” now, but if you don’t, when they become teens, it is 10 times harder, and you can multiply that by each teen you have. Yes you may have streaked windows when your 5 yo does windows, but man, when they turn 7 they will have it down. I just tell myself I am training my children to raise my grandchildren, that usually puts my attitude in check, and yes if you need a nap by all means get one, it will pay off in the long run. Put on some fun music and make it special time. All I have to do to get my 12 yo son to clean is threaten to start singing Barney’s clean-up song, and he is off cleaning, not wanting to hear mom try to sing that song.
Oops I forgot, we do not do allowances or such, we cannot afford it. As far as the children are concerned in James, God’s word says, if you don’t work, you don’t eat, so we are trying to instill that value in them. We have on occasion allowed a wayword child to have a peanut butter sandwich for dinner and go on to bed (they were to tired to do chores) while the rest of us had a full supper. Usually only one time is enough to wake them up.
Well, we have trouble with chores also. The best thing we do I think is to set the timer for 10 or 15 min. or however long we need, that way we do it really fast. i am in the proccess of making a schedule for daily chores. . We do not pay for regular chores but if they are harder chores that we don’t usually do and we might pay for those. My daughter also does try to wash some cars for some extra money.
I am a big fan of Children doing Chores. I used the book Manager of their Chores as a base to work out what chores had to be and when. I have a master list of Daily, Weekly, monthly and bi-yearly chores. I then divide the list into who and do what. I made 5 lists(one for each child and one for me). I then made card (now I use a laminated check list) for each child and myself. We move through each chore in order and work till we are done. I try to take to time to train a child in their chore, so that they do it properly. I actually only have to do this with my older two girls and they train their brothers (who are usually assigned as helpers) The key for us is everyone working on chores at the same time. I do not pay my kids for chores (which I consider things that have to be done to maintain and keep the home). I do not get paid and I don’t want them thinking that when they have a home they should be given something for doing it. Our motto is we do chores because we tend what God has given us. I find motivaion is all about training. doing chores every morning schould be as natural as eating breakfast!
I can’t wait to read what others have to say!
Bahama Blessings
Heidi JO
We have finally hit on a chore system that works for us. We have used it for about 2 years now and I plan to continue it.
I made a “chore chart” placed it in a page protector and hung it on a nail in the kitchen. Even my chores are on it. That way there is no excuse for the work not being done.
My older 2 boys are 8 and 11. They will do a set of chores for about 6 months and then they switch. That way there is no arguing about who has the harder chores. Everyone will get them eventually. The baby doesn’t have chores, YET.
Here is the list for this cycle:
8 yr. old
Daily – scoop litter box, feed animals, make bed, pick up bedroom
M and Sat. – vaccum living room
M – wipe down large appliances
M, T, W, Sat. – put away laundry
T – wipe down light switches
W – wipe down bath tub
11 yr. old
Daily – fetch mail, make bed, pick up bedroom, pick up bathroom, pick up living room, kitchen, hallway floors
M, T, W, Sat. put away laundry
M – clean appliances
T – dust
W – wipe down bath tub
Mom
Daily – lunch, clean-up kitchen, supper, clean-up kitchen
M – bathrooms
T dust/vaccum living room
W – focus on kitchen and dining room (clean/mop)
Sat. – organize desk, sort school stuff, garden
M, T, W, Sat – laundry
I don’t do extra chores on Thurs. and Fri because dh is home those days. The boys do their chores 6 days a week, after school and before lunch. It takes them about 30 mins. They are paid 75 cents a day for this. Large lawn/garden jobs are paid extra by my dh.
I work off a to-do list every day. If it is Monday, on my to-do list will be whatever jobs I want to accomplish in the bathrooms (wash floors, scrub shower, clean cabinets, etc.). General pick-up is done every week but the other jobs are done on an “as needed” basis and are added to my to-do list accordingly. Also, larger jobs like washing windows, clean my bedroom, decluttering closets, cleaning the laundry room, etc. are added to my to-do list as I decide they need done. I work them in through out the week. If nothing but the bare bones is done then the house stays in relatively good shape.
This seems to work for us. I love seeing what works for everyone else.
Blessings,
Carie
I have always required the kiddies to help clean up, but I usually did/do the heavy stuff. Now that I have older ones, there are a few things I ask to be done, on a rotating basis between the 3 older kids. They are responsible for loading/emptying the dishwasher when they use dishes (so yes, everyday, all day long-I hate dishes on the counter and in the sink if the dishwasher is empty/dirty-so that just took a while to train them..they do it (for the most part) automatically now), surface/deep clean their bath on their “week”, empty trash in rooms/bath and keep room cleaned up, and do various other requests when dad or I ask. Our youngest loves to help, so by George, I capitalize on that! He cannot do the dishwasher alone, but when the others are out of the house or swamped with college and work, he fills in. The boys do manly chores and the girls help with other lady-ish chores (but of course, we are equal opportunity parents-if you can do it -you do it) and everyone helps clean-up dinner. Now if some are helping make it, then those who didn’t take over more of the clean-up.
We do not do payment for chores. I was never comfy paying my kids for something that they should be doing (and hopefully, cheerfully) because they are a part of this family unit. Extra side jobs- those get something…depending on what the work was….and the kids are fine with it. Never could do it financially anyway..isn’t room/board and occassional gifts payment enough? 🙂
Anyhoo, my post on this explains it better. I have most of the chore list in my head because I have been doing it for so long- it is a habit. Odd ball jobs, and “must get done by” chores are written down and checked off.
I feel it is all about giving the kids life skills. So we started early and are constantly working on implanting them with these skills. And frankly-I do not want to have to “shovel” my way thru my kids’ homes when I visit. I would like to use the bathroom without having to whip out a canister of Clorox wipes; and I certainly do not want my grandkids living in gross environments. So, even though a clean home (I didn’t say “white glove” or spotless here, but a nice managable, cleanish home) and good habits are near the top of our list, they are not the most important issue in raising them to be wholesome, godly men and women.
And I do not need anymore undue stress or gray hairs so I just do the stuff that needs to be done and look the other way the rest of the time.
Sheri Hagemann
NOW:
If I could only train the cat to upchuck her hairballs in the porcelain bus-my life would be so much better….a girl can dream can’t she?
Chores, chores, chores… will we ever have them all DONE?!?!?!?!
Well I am trying hard to get better in this area and we have greatly improved. What really amazes me is how fast the house can go from clean to MESSY! But really when we all work together is can get clean quick! I read recently someone who does a “15 minute frenzy” and turns on music for 15 minutes to clean, clean, clean. This is working for us for tidying the living room before Daddy gets home. My 11 yr old and 9 yr old have set daily chores (on laminated chore cards with room to write in extras chores for that day as needed). My 4 year old has some chores too. My 2 year old does clean up really well when I remind him. I need to train myself to check up on the chores on a regular basis.
Lori Duncan
I like the teaching of FlyLady.net of breaking things down into baby steps. She breaks the home into 5 zones, then you do detailed cleaning (your monthly jobs) in one zone each calendar week of the month.
I am working on my daily routine. I have it written down but I became pretty lax around June. I am picking things back up again though. My morning routine includes making my bed, swishing the toilet, putting in a load of laundry and many other mundane tasks that should be done daily but often get overlooked once my day really gets going. When I really am in the groove, I don’t even remember doing the things in my routine and then later in the day, I am surprised that they are done. LOL Like someone else would break into my home and make my bed. 😉
As for my children, my 6yo and 10yo have charts. I printed off some lesson planner charts from DonnaYoung.org and adapted them to my use. I put the paper horizontal and listed the days across top with the 8th column being “EVERYDAY”. Then the five rows are entitled Upon Rising, After Breakfast, After Lunch, After Dinner and Before Bed. (We don’t keep to a schedule regulated by the clock, but one that is punctuated by meals.) Then after writing their various chores in pencil on the paper, I inserted each chart in a page protector and they live on the refrigerator. The children can take them down to find out what they are supposed to be doing. This has cut down on my nagging immensely.
I also have a 3yo. He helps when he is told what to do. I tried to give him a regular chore but he wasn’t ready yet. He can do it when told, but to remember is too much for him. He does do some things automatically like putting his clothes in the hamper upon undressing, but most of his chores are things that I just told him to do right then.
Julia Schlenker
Chores…UGH. This is an area we are working on.
Laundry: I have a 3 container basket where everyone divides their whites, colors & reds. Except our oldest DS (27) has his own basket & does his own laundry. I usually wash the laundry 2-3 times a week & the boys (16,15) take turns folding & putting away.
This week we are cleaning our walls & ceiling. We are starting from the textured ceiling to get off cobwebs. ewww. Next will be washing the walls with sponges & a Lysol cleaner. Then sweeping and mopping the floor.
I also just finished putting away my summer clothes and getting out my winter clothes.
We do use a chore chart from http://www.chorebuster.net/
It’s a free chore organizer. I Like FREE!!
It let’s you enter in people and chores, specify how often it should be done. ChoreBuster automatically generates a fair schedule of chores. And you can have the schedule emailed to you daily or weekly.
Some other helpful sites:
http://www.getorganizednow.com/#checklist
(Be sure to get your FREE `Get Organized Now! Idea Pak`)
http://www.cleaningcents.com/
(A Living On A Dime site)
Blessings,
Michelle Fitzgerald
I have four kids – ages 6, 8, 10, & 12. We have our basic morning chores when they get up of make bed, pjs away, blind up, room tidy for the day (which shouldn’t be a problem because that’s necessary before book time at night) and their own personal grooming.
Everything else that happens in our house is by assignment. The kids know that Monday is bathroom cleaning day and they are each assigned a bathroom – we have 3 that they rotate through – with the youngest tagging along with one of the older for training. It’s probably been about a year since I’ve really cleaned a bathroom in our house. I have a checklist laminated in each bathroom with everything that must be done and that works marvelously – no excuses of “I forgot that part” when it’s written on the wall. The rest of the week we do surface cleaning in the bathrooms to keep the counters and toilets clean and tidy.
Each of my children are responsible to bring their laundry to the laundry area and sort it. Loads are done either by myself or my 3 oldest. I am typically the one to hang things out on the line but I rarely bring any in or put them away. The kids work together in groups of 2-4 to bring it in off the line and put it away. The only exception is the white wash, which I fold with the help of my youngest and everyone puts away their own.
Dishwasher can be emptied by all my kids. Toy pick up, room tidying, dusting, and entry way tidy up is done by all my kids. My youngest is still working on vacuuming his own room but all the others can be assigned to vacuum or sweep any area of the house that needs to be done. My youngest is given smaller areas to sweep and gets help with holding the dust pan. Everyone is responsible to put their own dishes in the dishwasher and I’ll assign one of the older 3 to help me with kitchen clean up or to manage it themselves as a team of 2-4.
I find clean up or chores work best for us when we work as a team. For example, I may assign 2 to the school room and 2 to the toy room while I tidy the living room area. It keeps it from being overwhelming and anything is more fun with someone helping. I also try to make sure I rotate the kids through chores. Whoever emptied the dishwasher yesterday can wipe table and counters today and whoever swept the floor can empty the dishwasher.
I have tried to set up rotating chore schedules but they don’t work for us. Assigning what needs to be done as it needs to be done is more effective in our family. I do have cards I’ve made up to keep myself on track that I follow so I know no area of our house is being neglected as far as more deep-cleaning is concerned. I do these things as the kids are working on other areas of the house or in the afternoon when we are done with our studies or the evening after the kids are in bed.
Our kids do not get paid for chores. Chores are part of life and being part of a family. We do sometimes offer payment for the over and above jobs – like piling wood for the winter or watching the nephews (ages 1 and 3) when their aunt needs to drop them off so I can still work around.
Andrea
We have our daily routines…like making beds, cleaning up rooms and putting our things away. I don’t count these as chores but lifestyle learning to help us function in a better, less stressed, environment.
The chores are rotated through my 4, with the youngest at 8 being able to do most things except the harder ironing. My oldest two do their own and one siblings ironing. Each week a certain chore is assigned to one child. Like bathroom, vacuuming, washing clothes, dusting etc. We all take turns at the kitchen with an older one or myself overseeing the younger ones as they still need training.
During the week I also have one help me most days with meal preparation. I have done this since they were tiny with various meals. Now my 12dd and 14ds can cook a variety of meal themselves as well as cakes cookies etc. The other two are learning still. All 4 of them are capable of preparing a salad too.
Due to where I live and women not driving I also do not do our grocery shopping.This can be a chore. 🙂 Especially here!.
My husband and eldest dd do this together, so she is very well at 12 able to select and know what our family needs are for food and groceries.
I remember my mum making me clean our bath 8 times once cause she wasn’t happy with the job (I was only 9) and so I have had to learn to be happy with a “less than perfect job” from my munchkins. I don’t want them to develop that OP streak I have – wonder where that developed. SO it has been an amazing growing time as I am training them till they can get it.
Then being happy with the job.
After all they will be adults one day and want it to be done right too.
Sometimes if laziness or slothfulness develops in an older one we need to deal with the route of the problem..not the symptoms in a job not well done.
As to payment for chores – no we don’t. As others have mentioned here – we are a family that uses the home and eats the food, so we all need to maintain it. The work has to be done and the right heart attitude to doing it willingly – that servants heart thing – can’t be developed if they are only doing it to be paid.
The one thing they can get paid for is washing the car. It is quite cheap here to have it done, inside and out is about $6. So when they started asking about earning money, instead of paying the local guys we offered it to the children. Amazingly they took us up on it (big job!!!) Usually two do it and share the money.
One thing I read years ago has stuck with me. I found that my older two were carrying a lot of the chore load, but when I looked back the younger two were older than when the older ones were expected to do c those same things. So the thing to do was find the youngest one to do the job. The work your way up.
Amazing how that evened things out!
🙂
Have a great week!
I have four children under the age of 9. The older 3 and I have weekly chore lists that I laminated and posted with magnets on the refrigerator. The lists is broken down by day and the chores are listed in order that they are to be accomplished throughout the day. I put check boxes beside each chore and they can place a checkmark in the square when the task is completed. The chores that are printed in black, they receive payment for and the ones that are in blue are their responsibilities. They each have pets and are responsible for their care. I have those listed in blue, as an example. Each child has a cooking day, where they are the kitchen helper before the meal. They set the table and help prepare the meal. The following day, the same child is the cleanup helper.
Here are some of the chores that they do:
My 9 year old:
Morning Routine
Help with Breakfast
School Lessons
Help with Lunch
Feed dogs, donkeys, and chickens
File bill statements in home management folders
Wash and fold laundry
Check status of amount of dog food on hand
Collect trash
Help with little brother
Help with Dinner
Bedtime Routine
My 7 year old:
Helps cook
Clean up day
Wash and fold laundry
Collect eggs
Put toilet paper in the hall bathroom
Cleans shower & potties
Cleans her hamster’s cage
Dust foyer floor
Clean mirrors
My 4 year old:
Help with cooking
Kitchen clean up day
Places toilet paper in 2nd bathroom
Makes sure we have diapers in bathroom and living room for brother
Helps collect trash
Cleans the dining room table
Puts out clean hand towels in the bathrooms
Puts away her folded clothes
Water plants outside
Dust TV & computer screens
They earn Mommy Money & Daddy Dollars to use for purchasing something in the family store. I have items that include all of their interests and at different price levels. They can save to purchase the more expense items. Sometimes, I offer coupons for jobs well done and willingness to help with extra chores. I also award extra checkmarks on their charts for good behavior: sharing, getting along with siblings, letting others go first…behavior that I want to encourage.
It has worked for us for several years. I struggled in the past with how to organize this. I guess everyone has to really find a system that works for them.
Sincerely,
Katrina Boatwright
Well…. I don’t have much of a set plan. What I do, however, is have a chart for them each week with their lesson plans and the last entry is MISC. When they do lessons, tests, or chores, they get a point added to their chart. Weekend is payday. For every 25 points, they get a dollar. Any leftover points go into bonus. When they earn 25 bonus points, they get a dollar. I give them chores to do as we go, and they know what I expect. They also know that they won’t get a point for every little thing. I started the chart when Rachel, my older daughter was taking care of the animals everyday and Wanda didn’t have an everyday chore to do alone. She was 3 at the time.
Ouch, what a subject right now! Cindy, if you saw my house right now you would think that hurricane did more damage on the inside instead of the outside. 🙂 The past week chores has been put on the sideline while we are getting things ready for Homeschool Day at Silver Dollar City, so papers, magazines, etc are all over the floor.
I kept a very clean house until my kids came along. I still pretty well until my health broke when I was expecting our youngest ds. I am, after almost 6 yrs, finally being able to get on top physically.
We have tried use charts, lists, etc but none of that has worked with my children. So, I finally sat down with my dd and told her she had to keep her room cleaned, living room vacuumed and dusted. She also has to put up the dishes out of the dishwasher once they are cleaned. She washes the stairs once a week. Our Friday is a no school day but are put aside to do the every day living stuff that we haven’t been able to get down through the day.
The toys are the responsibility of both kids. If Mommy does it there is a punishment.
We don’t pay our children for their jobs. We feel that it is a privelege to live as a family and it takes the whole family to make things move smoothly. Besides we just don’t have enough money to make it barely from one pay check to the next.
We do reward the kids if they have done their jobs without a bunch of grumbling by taking them to the park Sunday afternoon.
Once a year I try to pull out stuff out of the closests to get them back into nice shapes. We also wash all the windows during that time.
We are working to get a good schedule to make it where things will be run easier. Thanks for making us think!
Orilla Crider
Chores….a seemingly never ending struggle here….we use Managers of Their Homes as a basis for our system, but we struggle with consistency and effort. We currently have six kiddos at home, ages 14 to 2, with baby number 9 due this winter.
Everyone has morning chores and evening chores, and we try to do a quick clean up once a day if needed. We do not pay for chores, but will allow them to do extra jobs to earn money if they are saving for something. They are only able to do the extra work to earn money if they are consistently doing their required chores and doing them to the best of their ability.
This is an area we are going to be revisiting and working on when we return from our homeschool retreat this week.
Vicki
I have 4 kids still at home. My girls do the bulk of the chores. We have a modified fly lady schedule. My 3 year old ds helps set the table, clean up his messes and other little chores that I see he can handle. My 8 year old ds has a small chore list. His father and I don’t agree on what should be on it so his is pretty short. I am acutely aware that my girls were doing much more at that age and he is capable of more. My girls are both teenagers and are able to pretty well do the house work. It isn’t always up to the standards I would keep but it’s done well enough. They do the dishes, sweep and mop etc. They even help cook and can prepare most meals on their own. I’m making them their own cookbooks for Christmas to further their “culinary resources”. They really only need help with techniques like with making bread etc.
I do not pay for chores. That is part of their repsonibility as paret of the family. If they are required, asked or decided on their own to do extra then pay is negotiated. We try not to just hand them money because they need to learn that things aren’t handed to you. I’m working on putting together a budgeting “training” for them to teach them how to handle money. I don’t want them to enter the world with no clue how to handle their money like I did.
During the day I keep the mess down so that they can focus on school and don’t have a huge mess later. In the evening the only thing in the kitchen is dinner dishes etc. The rest is done except miscellaneous toys that the boys have to pick up. One dd is very busy with outside interests right now so we are struggling to complete a Bible study I started with the girls around these activities. But that will be over soon and the other dd is going to a womens Bible study with me at our church. They still keep up with all that is required of them and do a very good job. It makes me sad to think that it won’t be long and they will be off having their own lives too (My son is in the Marines and on his way to Iraq this week). I know they will be prepared but I worry that I won’t teach them enough.
Valerie Boivin
Well, this is one area that I’m not very good, but we’re working at it. Just a couple of weeks ago, I made laminated daily chore charts with pictures for our DS-6 and DD-4. We’re starting small, so DS-6 has brush teeth, get dressed, make bed and feed the dog in the morning, and pick up toys and put dirty clothes in the hamper for the evening. Dirty clothes have a habit of being left on the floor. DD-4 has a similar chart, except for brush hair instead of feed dog. They can check off the chore once it’s done, they we wipe it clean at the end of the week. Once we get these mastered with minimal reminders/repetition, we’ll move on.
I was clothes on Monday and Thursday, towels on Tuesday, and sheets on Friday. Seems to work without it getting too piled up.
I haven’t organized the rest of my chores yet. It’s mostly “tyranny of the urgent,” but I’d like to get into more of a routine there as well.
Marlene Darnell
Ooooh… i’m definately looking forward to digging in to this and reading everyones’ responses asap but for now, i’ll share our imperfect system.
Just as background, i have a 13yob, 9yob, 7yog, almost 5yog, and 2yob
Right now, we are pretty good about maintaining basic chores, but we are NOT good about long term stuff..
dishes are shared between 13yo, and 9yo, we have to hand wash, so they trade off with who washes and who dries/puts away
They each transfer laundry to the washer and dryer once a day, if i keep on them, I fold and sort and everyone but the 2yo puts their own clothes away. For Anna, my almost 5yo, i give her small bits at a tiem and say “this goes in your bottom drawer” etc.
on a perfect day rooms and living areas get cleaned up before eating times, but i really need to follow through better on that… after lunch, when i nurse the baby, my 5yo and 7yo have rest time where they have to lay down and rest, read, etc, for an hour then they get quiet play time for an hour While they do that, i’m nursing the 2yo and helping him get to sleep, my boys then are doing their “token jobs” what that is, is and extra set of chores that are above and beyond, straightening the whole living kitchen, dining area, making sure everything from lunch is cleaned up and dishes washed, floor vaccumed, etc. If the house is really pretty clean anyway, i’ll give them another job like clean the bathroom, clean the laundry room, etc. They then earn “tokens” which are just like non tangible coupons for computer time for my oldest, and then my youngest just gets to watch tv for an hour after he’s done. My oldest also earns tokens for other stuff, that we need done but don’t have time. He’s really excited about it and always looking for more opportunities to earn tokens, which is awesome. He also babysits for us occasionally on a short term basis and earns tokens for that…
What i need to improve on most is long term stuff!!!
We are in the midst of some changes in our home right now! We desparately need to re-do our chore charts/schedules for each day…because we are behind in many areas. Each child does have chores, though. I’ll try to explain what we do.
I have 3 children…I picked up a set of those desk calendars (large) and we use one for each child to list chores by day. These “charts” hang on the wall in our downstairs hallway. They each have some of the same chores, like make bed, clean room, wash their own clothes, brush teeth and hair, shower, etc. Each day is divided into morning and evening chores. They have 1-2 extra chores a day, like feed the cats, clean the litter box, wash towels from upstairs bathroom, wash and replace their sheets, take out trash on trash day, etc. My youngest is 5 and does not read yet, so I or one of his siblings will help him get his chores done. He does not have very many yet. We struggles with the “I forgot”syndrome around here though. I have a hard time making sure each child is doing his/her work diligently and cheerfully. ..
I am constantly working on something, but I don’t actually have a chart for myself…I need to. I tried to put one on my blog but I find I don’t stick to it. There always seems to be something more urgent…like Daddy’s clothes need ironing, dishes need washing NOW, laundry has become a mountain, I need to start dinner, etc.
We will be moving in 1 month to a new home, same general area. It is larger than the one we are in now, so I’m hoping we will be able to find better storage solutions, add ‘center-time’ to our schooling, and a more regular pattern to our days. Mommy will have a chart/schedule….as will each child…and I hope to have it so that the whole day is planned out. We won’t have time blocks but at least a certain sequence of events…and while child #1 is doing L.A., child #2 will lay with child#3…something like that. We have a lot to work out! I’ve been reading a lot lately on organization and homeschooling, trying to make a plan for our family. I look forward to reading the posts here to get more ideas I can implement!
Oh my!!! What atopic in our house!! I am always struggling with this on so many levels! It is something I need to work on every day, it just isn’t natural for me to do chores!!
So I call them, the necessary for a happy life! The kids have their own lists that they need to tick off every day to ensure their pocket money stays at normal level, if they do not complete what is expected of them as being members of the house, then their pocket money is deducted. I feel so mean about that and give them more than enough chances to get it back!! Too soft me!
Morning list for kids:
Make bed
Get ready for day
Have breakfast
Empty dishwasher
Begin lessons
Afternoon list
Tidy up time
Pick a card from box and do
Set up for dinner
Help mum/dad
Evening list
Tidy up time
Clear dishes
Tidy bedroom
Get ready for bed
We have an index box where I have a list of chores that the kids can do and how many points they get for each one, at the end of the week the points are added up and then traded for extra computer time, watch a dvd of their choice, stay up 30 mins later, and other incentives too.
I also have a “Help Wanted” notice on the fridge, which is where I have whatever extra cleaning I want completed that week, and this is a money reward!!! They usually add their name to this one as soon as sheet goes up!
For myself, I have had to put all my cleaning down on paper and have a schedule so I can get everything covered in the year! I assign certain rooms to certain days and then within them rooms I have a list of tasks to be done that need either completing weekly, monthy, etc Also in this file, I have the weekly grocery list already typed and then I just score off what I don’t need. We also have a weekly menu plan too as well as a list of all the meals we can make – makes filling in the menu plan quicker as I don;t need to think!
So for us our organisation of making shcedules and lists is what gets us through our chores on a weekly basis!
Cherie
I have 4 children, 14,13,12, & 11. I used the book Manages of their Chores along with flylady to decide and dole out chores. I love the little packs from the MOTC books, but my children feel that they are to old to wear them around. They have them in their school cubby so that they can look at them if they need to. We pretty much have the morning routine and meal routines down. What we need to work on are extra chores that don’t need to be done every week and a before bed routine. It seems that when they are in sports and the schedules are different each night, it is harder to keep to that bedtime routine.
I have found out that the chorepaks work good for some of my children, but a daily checklist works better for others. I think that, just like schooling, we have to create a choreplan that works best with each of our children. It may mean some extra work now, but it will pay off in the future.
Tammy Gibbs
We have a very basic chore plan. The older 2 boys (11 and 8) take turns by the week doing dishes. Whoever is not doing the dishes vaccums and sweeps that week. They both are responsible for cleaning the play room. The younger 2 work with me to keep the bed room (where little kid toys are also) clean.
I however really need to work on getting my chores done in a better manner. lol
Wow! How organized and together many of you are! Thanks for sharing all the great ideas!
Housekeeping is not my strong suit – it is my constant struggle, especially with a husband who loves everything neat and organized and believes this should be the easiest thing in the world, and a live in mother who likes everything neat and organized but has all the bad habits I have (I wonder if there’s a connection there?!) We also have a lot of clutter that gets in the way of some of the basics like vacuuming and dusting.
We have a dinner rule that says the cook doesn’t do the clean up – this usually means that I cook and my dh cleans up.
I have two sons – ages 7 and 9. They are responsible for putting their own dishes in the dishwasher, emptying the dishwasher, doing their own laundry, keeping their beds made and their room picked up and helping with the trash each week.
My 9 yo also makes his own lunch frequently.
My 7 yo also loves to vacuum.
I tell them often that they are already ahead of some college age men who don’t cook or do laundry – I knew lots of those when I was in college.
De-cluttering is always our biggest project. This week the de-cluttering project is to find all their old Halloween costumes so we can sell them. They will get the money to use for this year’s costumes.
I also want to add that I have had the towel folding challenge in our home, as Cindy mentioned on her recording. I have always tried to fold them in whatever way makes them fit on the linen closet shelf the best. We had a very narrow shelf in one house and folded them a certain way to make them fit. Now we have wider shelves and fold them differently.
Terri Griffin
I am using the Managers of Their Chores system also. (I saw this mentioned earlier. 🙂 ) I have created a spreadsheet of daily, weekly, biweekly, and quarterly chores. I keep it in a plastic protector, so I can mark it off each week.
Here are the chores my children are responsible for:
9yo dd:
Clean and tidy room
Empty dishwasher
Clean schoolroom once a day
Wipe down bathroom sink
Put away folded clothes
Lunch prep helper
She is also soon going to learn to use the washer.
7yo ds
Clean and tidy room
Load dishwasher
Clean lr once a day
Clean under table
Fold towels and washcloths
Breakfast prep helper
He is learning to take out the trash.
4 yo dd and 3 yo dd
Make beds and tidy room
Clean up dishes after meals
4yo is lunch helper in training
3 yo is breakfast helper in training
Both help with dishes and clothes folding
Our children are given an allowance, but it is not tied to chores. Chores are just what you do because you live here. 🙂 Occasionally we will give them extra chores that may choose to do or not do for money such as cleaning up limbs from the yard, etc.
Leah Courtney
I have spent so much money on different programs for kids and chores it is sick!!
After years of trying a whole bunch of different methods, we came down to 1 that has stuck with us for awhile now and really works!!
I used the computer to print out chore a chore list for each day of the week for each kid and myself. Then I printed them out on colored paper – Mon Red, Tue Blue, Wed Purple, Thu Pink, Fri Dark Blue, Sat Morning Orange, Sat Afternoon (so no chores on Sunday) Green. I cut them apart, laminated &, trimmed them, rounded the corners and hole punched the cards. I put the cards in order and put them on a binder ring.
(every day has “Wash/Shower~Brush Teeth~Get Dressed” and “Put your stuff away, Put your laundry away”
My son is 8 going on 9. His chores are:
Monday: Laundry – Throw Down & Sort, Bring up Clean & Sort, Run Washer
Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff upstairs, Clean Table, General Pick up
Carpet Sweep Living Room, Vacuum Edges
Tuesday: Empty Garbages, Dust TVs, Computere, Entertainment Center, Etc.
Help Mom in Kitchen: Clean Counter, Help with Supper, Etc.
Take Garbage out of Car, Lysol & deodorize car (generic febreze)
Wednesday: Dishes – Empty Dishwasher, Put away , Rinse dirty, Load & Run
Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff upstairs, Clean Table, General Pick up
Clean Bedroom & Playroom
Thursday: Laundry – Throw Down & Sort, Bring up Clean & Sort, Run Washer
Help Mom in Kitchen: Clean Counter, Help with Supper, Etc.
Sweep Bathroom & Kitchen, Spot Clean Floors (Rag & Glass cleaner)
Friday: Carpet Sweep Upstairs, Vacuum Edges & underneath
Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff upstairs, Clean Table, General Pick up
Clean Bathroom Sink, Toilet, Surfaces
Saturday: Dishes – Empty Dishwasher, Put away , Rinse dirty, Load & Run
Clean Bedroom & Playroom
Saturday Afternoon: Do a Project, Help Mom or Dad, Pick up in Living Room, Pick up in Kitchen, Throw down & sort, Get to bed early – you have to get up early!!
My Daughter is 13 with Asperger Syndrome Her chores are:
Monday: Dishes – Empty Dishwasher, Put away , Rinse dirty, Load & Run
Help Mom in Kitchen: Clean Counter, Help with Supper, Etc.
Sweep Bathroom & Kitchen & mop
Tuesday: Laundry – Throw Down & Sort, Bring up Clean & Sort, Run Washer
Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff upstairs, Clean Table, General Pick up
Clean Bathroom Sink, Toilet, Surfaces
Wednesday: Straighten an area, Vacuum Upstairs
Help Mom in Kitchen: Clean Counter, Help with Supper, Etc.
Clean Bedroom & Playroom
Thursday: Dishes – Empty Dishwasher, Put away , Rinse dirty, Load & Run
Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff upstairs, Clean Table, General Pick up
Vacuum Living Room & Stairs
Friday: Laundry – Throw Down & Sort, Bring up Clean & Sort, Run Washer
Help Mom in Kitchen: Clean Counter, Help with Supper, Etc.
Empty Garbages, Spot Clean Walls
Saturday:Pick up Living Room, Take Kid stuff up, Clean Table, General Pick up
Clean Bedroom & Playroom
Saturday Afternoon: Do a Project, Help Mom or Dad, Pick up in Living Room, Pick up in Bathroom, Throw down & sort, Pick out your Church Clothes, Get to bed early – you have to get up early!!
MY chores are Dishes or Laundry if neither of the kids have it for the day, Do the kitchen with help, Organizing the day, etc.
I pay the kids $.50 if they do all but 1 chore per day, and another $.50 if they do that last chore making a total possible of $7 per kid per week. They lose $.50 if they talk back or ask for something after Dad or I have already said no. If I say no and they go ask Dad to get a different answer they lose $.50 and they lose some other priviledge. They can spend the $.50 to get extra computer or TV time, or they can “save it up” until the end of the week and get real money.
The chores hang on a board that hangs in our living room (we don’t have a separate family room) near the Television. (so they will ask themselves if they have chores when they think about watching TV!!)
They also get $ for doing extra things if we have a big cleaning project like cleaning out the basement after a flood, reorganizing the bookshelves, etc.
Elizabeth Bowen
I have tried many things and what is working right now was a suggestion from Homeschooling with Index Cards. We tweaked it a little because my children wanted their bedtime routines in a pocket too. I wrote the chores on index cards because I couldn’t get them to print and I could personalize them exactly to what they could do and what needed to be done.
My girls have a chart with 4 pockets in it. These are laid out left to right and are labelled “Before Breakfast”, “After Lunch”, “Before Bedtime” and “Finished”.
I have all the possibilities in the finished pocket for “Finished”. These include all chores that the girls can do independently as well as some they still need to learn.
I can sort these each night and assign each girl two to three for each pocket. I place them according to what needs done. If the dishwasher needs emptying, then that gets put in the pocket. If the dishes are still durty, then they can’t put them away. This chart is in the hall closet so it can be hidden but is really accessible.
Once they finish their chores, they move them to the finished pocket. This has been very motivating and works well for us.
My 8yo and 6yo have enjoyed putting away dishes and even washing the trash can. We are adding chores as we train them and we hope this continues to work.
We have set times to do these chores and free time is set up to have extra time to finish if they dwaddle. Hope this makes sense.
We are still working on the training of organization and discipline of doing all our chores and getting out schoolwork done too.
In His abounding Grace,
Jeniver Boyer
We have developed a chart similar to flylady. We have 4 children who rotate assignments each week. Week 1-Kitchen, Week 2-Bathroom, hall and vacuum,
Week 3-Living room and dining room, Week 4-Den, porch,patio,carport.
We sort laundry as we take it to laundry room daily. I run 1 to 2 loads per day. I fold clothes on my bed and everyone puts their pile away when we are finished.
We also have supper assignments that we rotate Monday-Thursday: someone cooks, someone prepares drinks and sets table, someone prepares dessert, and someone does clean up. Every one is responsible for clearing their plate and glass to the dishwasher.
Everyone makes their own bed and keeps room cleaned up.
For extra chores with pay: mowing the lawn, washing windows, cleaning van.
Cindy Fields
Just adding my name for my above post so I can get Mommy Homework credit…I’m saving up so I can buy something really good that I need! 🙂
Wendy Woerner
Well, I found a great little website: http://www.chorebuster.net You make a chore chart of all the chores that need to be divided up amongst the kids (or whoever) and it evenly distributes and rotates the chores so that no one gets stuck just doing the same chore everyday. With 9 people in the house, this has been a great thing! It has saved my sanity and the house is so much better! Not perfect but better. I do not do allowances or pay the kids to do things they should do anyway as a member of this family. Families are to work together for the good of the home. (my opinion) We do however reward good behavior, with more free time (tv, video game, computer, etc…)
I just print out a new chore chart every week and post it on the fridge. The teens know that their chores have to be done before they can go anywhere, and the younger ones know that it has to be done before any play time. Works for us. Check it out.
Donna Scott
My children have taken part in chores since they were little ones. I grew up likewise. We don’t have charts. We know what needs to get done and do it. Chores are just a natural part of daily life.
Over time we have pared back on our out-of-home activities. More and more our hearts are focused on home and life there. Chores are not something to be shunned or dreaded but are a natural part of life. They can be done together or individually and be a time to enjoy. For example, I will often do chores that one or both of my kids normally perform. I do this to show my love for them and to emphasize that no task is “below” anyone in our family.
Chores are also a way to worship the Lord. We take care of the possessions and home He has blessed us with. It offers great “down” time for quiet introspection, for wonderful conversation with the children, etc.
One thing I like to do is listen to Cindy Rushton mp3’s on my iPod while doing chores if I’m working by myself. I have the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008 and it will take me all year to get listen to them. I really enjoy this! I enjoy finding ways to dovetail and this is one of my favorite.
I encourage my children to spend the time in quiet thought, listen to Christian radio, listen to an Adventures in Odyssey or comparable programs, a book-on-CD, etc. while doing their chores. I believe chore time is important down time.
We have tried using charts and lists, but I find it works best to teach the kids chores a little at a time from early childhood and gradually incorporate them into the tasks I already perform. We use flexibility and do what needs to be done. We work together when possible. No one is “the” only one to perform a certain chore. We may put a person in charge to make sure that task is completed regularly, but we all can do it and do.
Becky Delvaux
Every week with our homework assignments it seems like they are areas that I need to work on. This area my kids are lacking in. They do have chores but to me it seems like they should be done a little more regular. AT night they are really good at doing their after dinner chores. Where they struggle is in their morning chores.
At one point I had them getting up everyday and they had a chart on their door with assignments for that day. My 8 yo would have to dust a certain room, vacuum her room, wipe the counters in the bathroom, and one day she would clean out the stuff that accumulates in my car from driving around. My 4yo would vacuum her room(she loved doing this), wipe the registers, wipe down dining room chairs, and so on. They have not being do this lately.
The thing with chores is it is a training thing and I am not training myself enough to get them trained (does that make since). Really I need to take the time to show them what I am expecting out of them.
OK, I am renewed with energy to tackle this.
Thanks Cindy, These assignments are great
Jenni Schafran
Sorry, I forgot to add something
My kids do earn money by doing extra things around the house that we wouldn’t ask them to do.
Like currently my kids are trying to make money to go to Florida. So last week both of the girls worked almost all morning on cleaning out the animal barn. Which is not a fun job. They also will wash our cars (which that is considered a fun job. Both of them also swept out the garage and cleaned it up. These jobs we pay according to how well they did the job. Like the chicken coop we paid out $10.00 to our oldest and $2.00 to our youngest.
The kids do get allowance for what they do. My oldest of course receives more since she does do more. She is responsible to do the morning chores for the animals. Our youngest sometimes helps in that area but not always. AT night our oldest does the animals again and when we have clothes on the line she will take them down. Then our youngest helps with dishes. So these things they get paid for.
Sorry for the add on but I forgot to complete the assignment
Jenni Schafran
Our boys have six daily chores for which they are responsible. We have a weekly chore chart hanging on the refrigerator. Each Monday they “roll” for chores. I have a wooden cube on which I’ve written each of their chores. They roll the chores dice to see what their chores are for the week. Then I fill in another chart on the PC and print it off for the week. If they do their chores by Noon each day, they can mark off that they’ve completed them. If they do them for a week they accumulate money. The first week they get $1, if they do them all two weeks in a row, $3, 3rd week $6, and fourth week $10. They let the money ride until the fourth week and collect $10 once a month for doing their chores.
In their evening routine they must straighten their room and clear their stair basket. They live above stairs and I don’t run things up and down the stairs all day so we have a basket at the bottom of the stairs. In the evening they have to check that basket and put away everything in the basket.
Because Daddy and I don’t get paid to do work around the house, they do have to help out with things that do not get payment. They unload the dishwasher when requested and help with yard work without pay.
We occassionally give them extra chores that will warrant an additional payout. Sometimes their Dad will make a list and add what the job pays and put that on the refrigerator. Then they can do a job and upon inspection receive the payout.
ps. The boys’ six daily chores are:
feed the dogs,
empty the trash cans
sift the cat litter
shake the kitchen rugs
empty the compost bucket & rinse it
burn all paper trash
This is something my family has been working on for a few years now. When my children were little I DID NOT get everything done. Now my dd is 15 and my ds is 12.
I want my children to learn that if they see something that needs to be done they do it. I don’t want them to wait for me to tell them to do it or remind them to do it. So for our family it is more about teaching life skills than doing chores.
After reading somewhere (sorry don’t remember where) the author takes the summer to teach her children exactly how she wants a chore done then the child knows exactly how to do it. I decided this was the way to go.
We DO NOT pay our children for regular house hold stuff.
Taking out the trash, feeding their animals, clean kitchen, dusting, vacuum whole house, cleaning the bathrooms, Keeping their rooms “mom” clean, putting away their laundry, unloading the dishwasher, etc.
We DO pay them $ for “extra” things (things not done all the time)
Washing mom or dads car, Mowing the grass, Painting – (this is a great life skill we recently taught our children. This past summer they painted my master bath and living room in 1 day!! I am so proud.), helping me clean houses, etc.
I want BOTH of my children to be able to do what needs to be done to have a home and family when they grow up. I am blessed to have a husband that can and will do just about anything around the house including cooking and cleaning. I am also blessed that my parents taught me how to use tools and do handy work.
Blessings, Jill Ryder
Cameron has a chore chart of the refridgerator. He loves to put the magnets of the jobs he complete up when they are done. We don’t really have a good system yet, we are a work in progress as far as keeping up on things goes.
I try to keep the sink empty during the day and run the dishwasher in the evening.
A load of laundry gets put in the washer in the morning before school and hung on the line between school and lunch.
We empty the trash and take the can to the street on Sunday Evenings.
Other than that we are struggling with making sure we get everything done.
My kids are 14 Thomas, 12 Christina, 7 Rachel Joy, 5 Abigail, and Nate the great is 3. Every morning they are to get up make thier beds, pick up toys, and put dirty clothes in the hamper.
The 2 oldest do the kitchen/dishes every other day. Rachel Joy will be learning how very soon now that she is big enough.
Abigail empties the bathroom trash and puts in a clean bag.
Thomas cleans his bathroom, kind of.. I need to do a little more training in that area.
I usally do the laundry and then every body puts thier stuff away. That will soon change so that my older kids will be learning and taking that over for me.
Thomas takes care of his cats too, but on Saturday morning Christina changes the cat litter.
We all do the yard work, and Thomas and Daddy mow the lawn.
The bigest problem in our house is not dirt, but clutter.
I have 3 kids. 15, 13, 10. I have about 15 different chores that the kids do each week. Vacuum downstairs, clean bathrooms, mop kitchen, dust, play with dogs,
clean up after dogs, etc. All the chores have a different “point value” like 20 points for dusting, 50 points for cleaning up after the dogs, etc. I have laminated each chore seperately and the kids “draw” chores on Sunday evening. The first child to reach 500 points gets an extra prize, like renting a movie, going for ice cream….whatever. I also pay the kids a small allowance that they need to tithe with, save some, and they can blow some. This works out well with a cork board that has their names on it and two columns, TO DO, DONE. The kids have learned that if they don’t get their chores done, they don’t get paid. It has been quite a blessing.
Katy Horn, Westminster, CO
We have tried “daily chore lists” and charts – but our schedule is so unpredictable at times that those create more frustration than peace. So, my kids and husband, and I all know that we all live in the house and we all have to pitch in. No one is allowed to say “But I didn’t make that mess.” Our basic rules are:
1. If you mess it up, clean it up.
2. If you get it out, put it up.
3. If you spill it, wipe it up.
Everyone knows how to use the washer and dryer and dishwasher and is expected to do their own laundry and do the dishes when asked. We take turns feeding the dog. Major chores like cleaning out closets are done with Mom’s supervision.
Give us a glimpse into how your family manages chores in your home? What are the daily responsibilities…weekly responsibilities…monthly responsibilities? What are the extra jobs that your children can do to earn money? How do you pay them?
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We have 4 children in our home. They are currently 14, 12, 10 and 8 years old. Two boys and two girls. I have to say that our girls have always been and still are willing to do more chores without reminders than the boys!
Our chore system and duties have changed from when they were little to where we are now. We have used a chore pocket chart in the past…especially before they were reading well. This chart was divided into morning, afternoon and evening pockets..one set of pockets for each child. Each time period had 2 pockets–the top one is where the cards start and then they are moved down when the duty is completed. We included their daily routine as well as chores in this chart. What they do when they get up, and before bed also. We used index cards with pictures and words on them. I wrote the wording in different colors for each child so it would help them keep them in the correct pockets!
The pockets were all put on one piece of posterboard which was decorated with stickers, etc. The pockets were library pockets (colorful and designs) that you can get from a teacher supply store. The kids had fun picking out their colors/designs when we first started this system.
When you first start using this system, you can incorporate small rewards if all the chores are completed for each time frame each day. So if all morning chores are done, they earn a penny to put in a jar that is tracked for a week. If everyone gets enough earned through the week, you can do something special as a family. This encourages the kids to help each other accomplish their jobs if needed as the reward has to be earned as a family not individually. My friend also started out using M&M’s in the same manner. They could earn 3 per day. For kids who don’t get a lot of sweets, this can be great motivation and it isn’t enough to cause them harm! 🙂
As the kids got older, they started adding their own cards (the girls) for other jobs they had taken on.
Now I have a printed check list they can refer to and check off each day. It is still divided into time frames with some daily routine items included also. For the most part, we really don’t us this anymore either because they already know what to do.
Our biggest struggle with chores currently is getting the boys to keep their room cleaned up! Our 8 yr old boy is the one who loves to bring everything out to play and then move on to something else without cleaning it all up! He is actually working on his room again now! He shares a room with the 12 yr boy, but neither really “care” at the moment in the same way the girls do about their room!
Ok, so here is what they do each day/week.
Daily:
Scoop all cat litter boxes–rotates each day between the 3 oldest children
Dishes-put away, load dishwasher, etc. –Boys do one day, girls do the next day. On each day, the younger one unloads and puts the dishes away. The older one rinses and loads the dishes, helps with putting food away and cleans up the sink.
Sweep kitchen–oldest daughter does this..mainly daily
Normal pick up after yourself, etc. We try to make sure everything is picked up and put back in order before bedtime so we don’t wake up to disorder (I don’t function well with that!)
Wipe down/clean up kitchen counters, etc.–mom and others as needed to keep things nice!
Weekly:
Mom–dust and vacuum living room; laundry wash, dry, hang up some clothes (several times a week)
All–supposed to have room cleaned including dust and vacuum
14yr old–cleans Master Bathroom completely, folds clothes, sometimes helps with downstairs vacuuming and other duties I give her, helps with cooking as needed
12yr old–vacuums stairs, and loft/hallways upstairs, folds clothes
10yr old–cleans kid’s bathroom completely, folds clothes
8yr old–cleans half bathroom downstairs completely (with some help as needed), fold clothes
Monthly—we don’t really have a set schedule for other jobs..we just do them as they come up…some include going through dressers/clothes (did the boys room today), cleaning up/out the garage, deep cleaning kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, etc.
We don’t currently pay our kids for chores..even extra ones. They generally are willing to help out. Though my older daughter sometimes earns being able to go places/do things by doing extra jobs for me–like my bedroom, cleaning the refrigerator, etc. So I guess, we do “pay” them sometimes by extra fun things to do/buy if they work extra hard and without being reminded or whining!
They do get paid for doing various home chores at my in-laws house where they go each Friday and spend the night. It helps out their grandparents and they are able to earn some money for gifts, etc. They also earn money for crushing cans to be recycled and things like that at their house also.
I think that about covers it! You will see that I no longer clean any bathrooms!! I LOVE that! I really dislike having to clean the tub/shower, so I am thankful not to have to do it anymore!
I have been trying to find a workable solution to this problem. I don’t want to raise my children thinking they are owed when they help out around the house, that is a resposibility of all family members in the home. But, I also want my daughters (5 and 7) to learn the value of money and how to tithe, save and spend money. So I am sort of between a rock and a hard place trying to find the right fit.
My girls are still willing to help out around the house, some. I want to continue to nutrure their willingness and desire to help out.
I have tried housefairy with limited success, but I have not tried the Golden Wings Program. Have it, but have not implemented it.
I have thought of making a list of chores and a price they are worth. I have also not decided on what is a fair allowance for these girls.
I am still very much in the planning stages and look forward to reading the other mom’s replies and ideas.
Shannon Depew
Oh man Cindy!!! Chores at home….well, our poppets are 14 dd, and a 11 ds at home; and with our unschooling life-style life gets a wee bit nuts!! Daily responsibilities are putting their own dishes in the dishwasher, picking up after themselves…I mean really!! My thought is that if everyone did that (of course, we don’t have wee ones anymore!) my life would be so much easier!!
I use index cards to keep myself on track; one for each day….kinda like:
Mondays:
Exercise
German lesson (yes, for me!!)
Alone reading
Clean toilet
DD: clean cat boxes
DS: change sheet
This reminds me to remind them……hey! Clean the cat box! Change your sheets!!
As far as money for chores, well, my Beloved and I don’t believe in that. Our poppets are a part of a family…..so things just have to be done. If they want something special, out of the norm, I find them researching it, asking their friends their opinions, and then presenting their info to me and Daddy to see if it will fly!! But I do hand the kids a couple of dollars everyonce and a while just to say, “Thanks for helping me with that crummy chore!!”
My daily responsibilities: I am the Master Juggler! I am an Unschooling Mama that trys to make life enjoyable & teachable. I check the money situation daily, pack my sweeties lunch, set out clothes and prepare coffee!! We worship Jesus, enjoy the seasons, play with animals, and dream outloud!!
Thanks everyone for sharing!! I love Mommy Homework!!
Blessings & Smooches from chilly Indiana!
Kelly Martin
I haven’t read everyone’s responses . . . it’s been one of those weeks here where time has been limited! I look forward to gleaning from everyone in the near future 😉
In terms of chores here, we are definitely a work in progress! My dc are still rather young (dd is 7 and ds is 4) so they need lots of guidance in this area, but they do love to help . . . at least most of the time!
This school year, I instituted a morning routine that must be followed before school starts. It’s very basic:
Get up
Eat breakfast and put your dishes in the sink
Get dressed
Brush your teeth and comb your hair
Make your bed
Tidy your room
All of this is done before school starts by the kids. While they are doing that, I will clean up the kitchen from breakfast and start a load of laundry (if it’s a laundry day). On bread-baking days, I will start that process before school starts as well.
We’re usually done with school by lunchtime, so after lunch I will work on other household tasks as well as school planning and ministry responsibilities.
Other chores are on a rotating basis, but I don’t have a specific schedule — more of a mental checklist of when I last did something and when it’s due to be done again. My dh usually takes care of all vacuuming (he’s such a dear!) and my dd is learning how to clean the bathroom (we purchased nontoxic cleaning supplies this year and she loves doing this). I try to get my dc involved in any household tasks that I can — unloading the dishwasher, putting away laundry (they have to put away their own), etc.
Another change I have made this year (at least I’m trying to be consistent with it) is taking a few minutes at the end of the day to make sure the downstairs is neat with things put away. It’s amazing how wonderful it is to come downstairs in the morning to a clean living room, dining room and kitchen. This is a big deal for me because usually by evening I’m exhausted and not really motivated to do much housework. But by getting the kids involved and making it a game (how fast can we do this before story time?), it’s been going well!
So presently my children are 3 1/2 and 1 and another on the way, thus to say they have a few little chores.
Selah 3 1/2: dresses, makes her bed, washes up after breakfast, brushes her teeth, and cleans her room/toys (with some guiadance)
Joash 1: cleans up his toys with some guidance (puts them in the basket or box).
Feeling lots of morning sickness these days, I do try to do some simple flylady routines.
blessings,
Patty-Jean St Hilaire
A couple of things my pregnant brain forgot to mention;
31/2 Selah also has the responsibility for putting the cutlery away after it’s washed, helping empty the dishwasher, folding the cloths/rags or small items of laundry, and putting her clothes away after they are folded, and helping me with some of my chores!
again,
patty-jean st hilaire
Chores, well when I set up a new system my children say “oh boy here we go again”
I think I must have tried every system I hear of.
One system I really love for the fact that the children strive to do chores and even look for more to do is the TV/computer time chores.
each chore has an assigned value, for instance, it might be that sweeping the kitchen floor is worth 10 minutes, cleaning the bathroom may be worth 30 minutes. The trick is to figure out the correct value for each chore. If the chore is hard and worth too little they are discouraged and do not choose that chore. Or if the chore is very easy and worth too much they choose it all the time and I am discouraged because nothing else seems to be chosen.
We all like this method very much as many chores get done and I love to hear them looking for one more to do so they can watch this movie or what ever.
Right now I have charts hanging on the fridge with chores listed for each dc, and how many times / week they have to be done.
usually chores go pretty well I have just not figured out the best punishment for not doing a chore. I have no idea what my mom did to us but I know we did our chores. Here it does not always work that way.
I never seem to have a satisfactory method.
With the tv time method I tend to get frustrated with the amount of TV that gets to be watched as I am someone who really feels that tv is a huge waste of time and the content is very sad these days.
I would love to find the perfect method, most likely I will when the dc are out in their own homes and it is back to me doing everything then I will know what I should have done back when the children were at home.
Nancy~Jane Holbrook
My husband always tells the children…”We’ve all got to work together!” It’s one of his favorite things to say! LOL And for some reason, he can get everyone humming and buzzing and busy! And it’s true, when we all work together, everything does get done much faster!
All of our children are supposed to make up their beds, get dressed, and tend to personal grooming first thing in the morning. Although there are times when we get behind, at least we have a plan. They are also responsible for getting school supplies together and getting out books.
My 17 yo twin daughters are invaluable, and they keep me organized! I do most of the cooking and they take turns cleaning up the kitchen each evening. We are trying to work the 8yo into the rotation, so she too will learn. Even our boys are supposed to take their dishes to the sink and help as well.
We do try to take time during the day to hit hot spots, but most of the tidying happens before Bible study/bedtime. However, my husband does like for the bedrooms to be straight and things put away in those rooms when he gets home so bedtime is easier and less stressful. Once again, the twins do a lot of putting away and keeping piles at a minimum before going to bed at night.
I’m the laundry person for the most part, but the children do help fold and put away clothes. Everyone also works together outside, but our 11yo son is mostly responsible for making sure the toys, balls, bats, bikes, etc. are put away. He also helps a lot with grass cutting.
Although we don’t have chore charts right now, we have done this in the past, and I think we’ll go back to that system again….especially for the littles. It helps when everyone knows exactly what his/her jobs are and they can check them off at completion.
Everything here pretty much does get done, but right now we just all pitch in and do whatever needs doing by whomever is available at the time. I would like it to be more organized and ‘assigned’ persay. I feel as though I’ve rambled, but I was hurrying. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has shared.
Blessings,
Amy O.
Delegating is my new favorite task! If I had to do all the housework, we would never do school!
I was opposed to “chore charts” because I thought I would hear “That’s not my job!” – But hubby wanted a chore chart, so I made one up for the two oldest. It has been the greatest motivator for my 8-year-old son! It is broken up into morning, afternoon and evening daily chores; Our son gets up and does his morning chores right away: feed indoor and outdoor cats, clean litterbox, take out recyclables and empty small trashcans into large. He now gets dressed and brushes his teeth without having too be told! He knows his routine!
My 10 year-old daughter is my “right hand man” – I don’t know what I’d do without her; probably just get farther behind! She cleans the bathrooms and sweeps the kitchen and entry way as her morning chores. She also helps with the baby.
Our two “little girls” – 3 & 6 – unload the dishwasher in the mornings.
Everyone is in the routine of “morning chores,” but I have to remind everyone later in the day.
I like Cindy’s “Chore Planner” with daily, weekly and monthly chores (for me and my daugher!), as my daughter is old enough to need this kind of planning.
Laundry: I’m probably weird because I like to do laundry, so I sort, wash, dry, then bring it up to be folded and put away during TV time.
I need to assign dinner time duties. I would like to assign one child to be my helper (food prep) and the others to set the table on an alternating schedule.
We don’t do allowance at this time. We do have extra-curricular activities which rely on attitude and commitment during the week (piano, bonus church activities).
If you complain about chores or point out what someone else isn’t doing, you get an extra chore, preferably something that isn’t a “normal” chore. Of course, sometimes littles think that’s fun!
An idea from “Creative Correction” – We did start giving each child $1 worth of dimes each Monday in a jar; each time I have to do something they’re capable of doing or have to remind them about something I’ve already asked, they lose a dime. Anything left on Sunday, they give 1/2 to our vacation fund and 1/2 to church (there’s a boys vs. girls competition in kids’ church).
Danielle Hull
My kids are 3 girls 10, 12, 16 and one son 17 so they’re all capable of doing a good job helping out around the house. Not only do they keep up with their room, help with the laundry, but they do 2 chores each day. For me the most important ones are dishes, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning litter box, feeding and watering all animals (dog, cats, chickens), cleaning bathroom, recycling. I assign each kid 2 of those chores each day and we have a list on the fridge so at anytime any one of us can go see who needs to do what. My son who is 17 also cuts the grass, changes the A/C filter and washes the vehicles so on days he does that I give the girls his chores to do. He also helps out alot working on things in the garage with my husband (oil changes and other stuff like that) and if I need things down from the attic, he’s normally the one to do that. He also automatically takes out the garbage every day and makes sure it’s out on the curb for our garbage pick up days. I figure one day he’s going to be a wonderful and helpful husband! 🙂
We don’t really have a set time when the chores get done – as long as they’re done before Dad gets home. Sometimes they fold laundry or sweep and mop while I’m doing our daily read-aloud and the two oldest also cook while I’m reading to them. I just make sure the chores are done before Dad gets home and that the main rooms are presentable. We’ve had a problem of having too much stuff so we’re all working on decluttering and it feels great. We give away alot on freecycle. I think we need to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with so taking care of our home and what we own is important to us.
We do not pay for them for doing chores. But when they need money for activities we are happy to give them what they need.
I more or less follow the Fly Lady system — lately less more than more, if you knw what I mean. My older two (11 & 14) will sometimes groan at just the words “Fly Lady” but we try to make it fun.
One thing I am working on is upping the level of chore training I’m doing, and also making up laminated cards with instructions for certain tasks. My oldest dd (14) has ADD issues and has trouble remembering the steps to certain tasks, such as laundry or cleaning the bathroom. But she can follow a check list. And since I started, less of dh’s shirts have ended up in wrinkled balls in the wash basket :)!
DD4 helps pick up her toys, put her clean clothes away, sets the table, helps clear the table, unload ssilverwear from the dishwasher (less the knives), and empties trash cans.
DS7 lets the dogs out, feeds them upon request, fetches things from the downstairs freezer, empties trash cans, hauls empty trash cans from the curb to the side of the house, puts his own clothes away, helps unload the rest of the dishwasher, dusts, and picks up after himself.
DD11 is my kitchen girl — she regularly makes breakfasts & lunches even without my asking, helps cook dinner, makes salad, helps with grocery shopping and putting stuff away, can do the laundry herself, keeps powder room neat, vacuums, but at the moment, seems utterly incapable of keeping her own room in any semplance of order.
DD14 takes primary reponsiblity for the dogs, does a great job cleaning up the kitchen (not DD11’s strong point), does laundry, helps keep kid’s bathroom upstairs clean), does a lot of general pick-up, and babysits :)!
Somehow with all that I still seem to have an awful lot to do, though. I will tend to putter around doing chores that one of the children probably COULD do when everyone is occupied with schoolwork rather than wait for them to get to it. I’m trying to do less of that as dh would like to see them doing more, but it’s hard for me to just SIT there, either.
We’re in the process of another round of decluttering which I think will help somewhat but we still struggle with too much STUFF.
And that’s about all I can think of at 1:00 am, but I knew I was going to forget to go on later today.
Cari
I have 4 children. DD22, DD19, DS14, and DS11. We use the Maxwell’s book Managing Your Chores to help us keep up with things that must be done around the house.
We switch chores every 4 Months, so we have 3 changes a year. We change chores April 1st, August. 1st, Dec. 1st. That way my son has his hardest chore (washing dinner pots and other items that won’t or can’t go in the dishwasher) during most of our summer break. He has pots from April – July and we have summer break from May to the end of July. It also makes it so the girls split the holidays. One has “pots” during Thanksgiving with it’s extra baking, and one has Christmas with it’s extra baking (though we do all pitch in and try not to leave the whole huge mess to one person).
Each person in the house has chores. DH and the boys take care of outside chores and maintenance of the house, but the boys also help with regular chores. We each have assigned morning chores, after dinner chores and Saturday chores along with personal grooming, bedrooms and the boys have to keep their school stuff organized and put away.
We rise, do personal devotions, take care of personal needs, tidy our bedrooms, and then we each have a morning chore: empty dishwasher, put out vitamins, take out trash (as needed), empty bathroom trash (as needed), and wash table after breakfast. The boys and I also do a quick clean up in the living room (where they tend to leave toys and other things). We each are in charge of a breakfast and then we have two breakfasts that are cereal. The person making breakfast is supposed to wash any pots and clean up any mess they make at breakfast.
Then School.
We are each in charge of a lunch, not including Sunday, as we eat one larger meal after church and then if anyone is hungry later they are on their own for whatever they can find. The person making lunch is supposed to wash any pots and clean up any mess they make.
Then more school if needed, but usually we are done the major subjects and it is time for productive play.
Then make dinner. DD22, DD19 and I are each in charge of two dinners a week and DS14 is in charge one night a week. We try to do meal planning a month at at time and I am getting into making extra’s on my nights so we have some meals in the freezer. DD22 supervised DS14 most weeks, on his night, if he needs help. We each have a dinner helper also if we need it and that person is responsible to make my DH a salad if he wants it and that person also sets the table.
After dinner we each have a chore, rotating every 4 months these are the evening chores: Sweep floor, Wash “Pots”, Put away food and wipe table, Fill and Run Dishwasher; and Dry pots, put away pots and wipe counter and stove.
Then we have Saturday chores: some weekly, some bi-monthly, some monthly, and a few seasonal. We each have Saturday chores and they rotate every 4 month like the other chores. My kids are all old enough to do all the chores except the 11 year old does not wash pots yet. Other than that we rotate all the chores so each person has a turn learning to do the chores and the boys, though they are not as proficient as the girls, will know how to do everything that needs doing around the house and can pitch in and help their spouses when they get married.
By the way the girls also have learned some home repair and maintenance and car and lawn mower maintenance. They especially helped out the years my DH was suffering from his back injury. They painted and repaired small things and helped where needed. My DD changed tires and bearings, changed oil, changed spark plugs, and she (with a little help from her then 11yo brother, a very little help!) even changed the transmission fluid and filter while my dh supervised from a lawn chair. We took pictures of the under side of the car so dh could see what they were doing. Now the boys are getting older and they help with more of that stuff.
DD22 also loves to bake and so is forever making us goodies for breakfasts and snacks.
The boys and girls do their own laundry on their assigned laundry day. The girls are meticulous and the boys wash theirs because we make them and shove it into their drawers without folding it. I used to make a big deal out of it but gave up because they do not care and dh does not care as long as it gets washed and put away. Some day, maybe, they will fold it if they ever get to a place where they care about how they look. LOL I do my laundry and sometimes DH’s but he does not like to have a laundry basket for himself because our bedroom is small so sometimes he puts his in with mine and sometimes he just gathers his dirty laundry and brings it down after dinner and if I see him I usually take care of it for him, but sometimes he does it himself.
Well I think that is everything, it is quite long enough and I need to go do school with the boys. Have a great week.
Debbie Phillips
Oh, I forgot to mention we do not pay the kids anything. We cannot afford it right now. The kids do get money for really LARGE jobs sometimes and once in a while DH will pay someone to do something for him, a dollar or two, but not often. We are a family and we are struggling to meet our regular needs so the kids don’t get allowance or get paid for chores. We all need to pitch in just to keep the family afloat.
Debbie Phiilips
Something I found that works pretty well is chore cards that I made on the computer. I printed a clipart that depicts a chore for my pre-readers and then hole-punched the top. I bought those easy to remove hooks and hung them in our kitchen/dining area. Each morning the children can choose one chore and then Mom assigns the other 3. When each child’s chores are done, they flip over the card. I can see at a glance who is dawdling and I also know who I need to “Quality Check.” We do this for morning chores. Here recently, I have assigned an evening chore or two for each child. They also do their morning and evening routines each day. This keeps us on top of bedroom messes. I am training my oldest daughter in how I like to have the kitchen cleaned after supper. The deep cleaning/monthly chores I still do myself as my oldest is just 9. I wash the laundry to catch the stains, but the children fold and put away. Sometimes we just all pitch in and work together until the jobs are done. I used to do Flylady, but have fallen off the bandwagon. Occasionally we will pay the children for an extra job, such as cleaning out the van (I really dislike that job, so I don’t mind paying them to do it!) LOL Our housecleaning is pretty much triaged. If juice gets spilled on the kitchen floor, time to mop the kitchen, things like that. That’s what we do (or maybe don’t do!).
Stephenie Pyles
Well, I have an 8 year old and twin 3 year olds. We do our chores mainly together due to the ages of the children. We clean a room a day and I expect each of the children with me as the room is being cleaned and to help according to his/her age.
Monday-kitchen
Tuesday-Living room
Wednesday-Bathrooms
Thursday-Off
Friday-Kids rooms
Saturday-Mommy/.Daddy’s Room
Sunday-off
In addition we have morning routine in which all bed making and morning stuff is done.
My 8 year old has a to-do list for the week. (She LOVES crossing off things. lol) She must help mommy with the above rooms, plus a few more activites per day.
She must feed/water the cat everyday, vacuum on T, Th, and Sat, strip beds on Fri. Also her daily devo time is on her to-do, as well as school and the subjects covered for that day. She is learning beside mommy about cooking, dishwasher, and laundry. Some of the task she can do independently, others she can not…however we like working together.
As the twins get a little older I will add more assigned tasks to them.
Our children do not get paid for chores, this is a part of being a family and living in this home. I do not get paid for chores, so you will not either….that being said, I do pay for the “extras” that are done.
Be blessed,
Chasity Brannon
Oh, do I need all the great ideas from this Mommy Homework! Domestically challenged describes our household, although the boys think it’s okay since the house isn’t ready for Clean Sweep to come through.
My older boys (ages 11 and 8) are starting to ask for an allowance, so the chore topic has been ‘hot’ in the house. They made out chore charts with what they needed to do (after talking with mom and dad) and had a good first week. But, then the whining started as comparsions were made. So, it’s an issue we are currently tackling.
As DebbieMostHelpful mentioned, we are a family and there are expectations for being part of the family. So, the allowance agreement here was that they have to fulfill their basic responsibilities as well as some special requests along the way. Hubby does have a few chores he’s offered to pay them for, yet they are not fun (e.g. picking up sticks before dad mows) and often get passed over. Basics around here include making their beds, picking up their stuff and putting it away, plus helping keep the house tidy. As I type I see Playmobil on the ground (as it seems to turn invisible once left for a minute or two) and know that their room needs a 5 minute tidy.
One of the responsibilities the older boys wrote down was to fix lunch and dinner once each week (different days and with parental help as needed.) My goal is to spend time with each boy over the weekend to plan what days they will help with food prep and what will be made.
Since we moved in August, I’ve kept a LOT of their stuff boxed up until shelving can be bought. That’s helped with keeping the clutter down and as more time passes without using some of the toys I hope to just have them leave the house. One thing I learned from the move is that we have way more stuff than we really need. If no one wants to maintain it, it just isn’t worth having.
One ‘chore’ that the youngest 2 (ages 5 and 8) enjoy is the dishwasher. They can’t load it all, but they enjoy putting in the detergent and telling it to run. Then, the youngest can put away the utensils while the older one puts most of the other items away. Sometimes that means stacking like things together for a parent to put onto an upper shelf.
Laundry instruction for the older boys just began and each child is responsible for putting away their own clothes. Often, the younger boys help sort and match socks. But, actually running the laundry through the washer and dryer is a new task for them. Cleaning the bathroom is something the eldest usually does, but the middle son is learning as well. And, the youngest son gets dusting duty – especially things low to the ground.
I’m sure I could think of more things we’re adding to the chores. But, I’ve got lots to do before hubby gets home in 2 hours. I spent time cleaning in the kitchen and running laundry, but I know how he appreciates a mostly tidy house upon his arrival.
Laura O’Neill
Okay – no idea how I got a face instead of the number eight (8)…. but that’s middle son’s age NOT his mood for today!
Laura O’Neill
I just sat down and read through everyone’s wonderful responses. What an encouragement.
Chores has been an area in my home that we have not been consistent in. When I was little, I remember that Saturday mornings were set aside for my sister and I to clean house before anything else. On a daily basis, I remember that my sister washed the dishes and I dried them because there were no automatic dishwashers then. I do not remember our home being messy – but of course we were not given near the amount of toys that kids are given or tempted by today.
I began to wonder why I was having such a hard time with consistency in implementing chores when my mom did have us help out in the home. It is interesting now that my parents have no children at home, to see that my mom does not have a daily routine. She keeps her house in order and neat, she loves to wash and hang the clothes on her clothesline, but her favorite activity is to be outdoors in her lovely gardens. She would go crazy if she was confined to the indoors. So – her yard gives her great pleasure to work in. She is a very creative person and has a lovely home but it does not have a “system.” So, that saves her real “deep” cleaning of her home for when company comes.
So – I looked at my mom and myself and realized that my focus is mostly on homeschooling. I keep my home picked up (with the children helping) but I save the “deep” cleaning for company. I really want to change that because when company is coming – I spend so much time scrubbing, dusting, cleaning, etc. that I worn out by the time they arrive. But I also want to create a home that is full of love, creativity, freedom to be a kid and play outdoors, to invent things, etc. So I really would like to have both and if I do better at implementing chores then I won’t have so much “deep cleaning” to do when we have company over. Plus, I would really like to get to the point that we could invite someone at the “spur of the moment” and I’d be ready.
Then I think of Martha/Mary and where my priorities are. I’m not sure which of you wrote about reflecting on the Lord while cleaning – but I liked that alot. I liked the perspectives that many of you had that your family choses not to pay for chores unless there are extra/larger tasks completed. We’ve talked many times about whether the children should be paid or not and frankly, I think children have so many things given to them today that were a priviledge when I was young (like eating out and even drinking coke – yes, I from the south and we called all “soda” – “coke.” ) that I’m beginning to see that I need to be careful about all that my children receive and why. I need to pray and see what God’s Word says and share that with our children.
Sorry for all the reflection as I type. It definitely seems that each family has different ways of chores just like we all have different ways of homeschooling. I’m like others that mentioned they’ve spent $$ on systems and have yet to really implement them. That is me. I’ve looked for the “just the right” method and haven’t implemented them because they just don’t fit with “my” family. I’m guilty of trying something because it is “creative” but that “fun of it” slowly wears off and we are back into our “rut” of not being consistent and mommy just wears herself out or lets the chores slide.
Well, Cindy – your “Mommy Homework” is so inspiring to me. Thank you ladies for sharing from your hearts. I realized in sitting down and taking time to read through your comments, that I don’t need all the “fluff” of products and that probably one of the best systems for me is just a simple chart/check off system. Just like I use for my homeschool records.
I do like things organized and it’s funny that for someone that likes things organized – I’ve failed when it comes to chores. I think something has to be just “perfect” or I stop using it. I think it’s time that I “Simplify” and make a list of all chores and just print weekly sheets that I can check off. I need to remember to be Disciplined, Consistent, and Cheerful (DCC) in my tasks and to remember that I’m training my children either to be DCC or Lazy. So I’m encouraged to turn around and to help to “train” my 9yos, 8yod, 7yos and 3yos to see the importance of diligent work.
Proverbs 10:4-5 (NKJV) He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.
Nancy Mosley
Well first of all we don’t believe in paying our kids to help out at home. After all, Mommy and Daddy don’t get paid for doing laundry or mowing! (Wouldn’t it be lovely if we did!) We have chore charts here. For the younger kiddos that are pre-reading ages I have a picture that represents what the chore is. example: picture of a dog, for the son that has to feed the dog! Picture of the garbage can for the son that has to get out the bathroom garbage. Every body has chores to do and we do them every morning as soon as breakfast is over and Daddy leaves for work.
DS~11 has the longest list of chores including the following *picking up room, *making bed, *feeding tarantula, * Make breakfast for little brothers, * Brush teeth (and remiind brothers to do so after breakfast), *Water Dogs, * Feed Chickens, *Clean litter-box, *Read for minimum 1 hour (he usually does more ), *Take out kitchen trash, Sweep living areas, *Fold and put away own clothes, *Mow front lawn
DS~7 has a picture and words chore chart (beginning reader) Make bed, *empty dishwasher, *feed dogs, *collect all dirty clothes from kids rooms, *Clean bedroom(shared with DS~5), *Clean living room, *get water for dinner table, *help in garden, Help fold towels, and own clothes
DS~5 Has picture chart *Take out bathroom trash, *Clean bedroom, *Get Mommy and Daddy’s dirty clothes to the laundry, *Clean dining room, *Set Table, *feed and water cat. *Help in Garden, *help fold towels and own clothes
While our house is far from perfect, I feel like since starting with the chore charts we are able to get so much more done, and I feel better about the house too! Which leaves more time to do other stuff! Plus Daddy likes it because everything is much more peaceful when the house is under control!
Rachel Flores
Well, not that there is ever a GOOD time for THIS question at my house, but right now is definitely not it, that’s for sure. Our regular routine is out the window as we are frantically attempting packing for a cross country move that is still in God’s wisdom only. Half the chores are, as you probably guessed, being replaced by packing or staying out of the way.
What is supposed to happen:
The dk’s have a morning routine that includes cleaning up after their own breakfast mess (the table area and rinsing any dishes used), cleaning their rooms, and tidying the main bathroom. – amongst other things on a checklist in the routine
Before going out or doing self activities dd8 should go around the house and collect any recyclables she can find and put them in the recycling box we have in the kitchen (for some reason people in our house cant always find this box) I think she should be taking it to the outside container by now, but Dad says no, so ds13 is still doing this. Because of this, he is often the one that is actually doing the prior collecting also. Besides occasionally helping fetch things for me because I cannot get up (physically disabled and while I can walk some, I am often relegated to a chair position, and on really bad occasions, bed) this is her only household chore that isn’t tied to her own messes directly.
Ds13 is mildly autistic & has ADHD. I say this because he has ALWAYS tried really hard to help out. For a few years, he was the *man of the house* before I met new Dad. Ds clears serving dishes from the table and helps get leftovers put away. He keeps the living room, Library/school room, and hall clean and vacuumed. He helps me get the laundry done and helps Dad get the dishes done. A couple days a week he gets to plan, cook, and serve a meal (he has been going shopping w/us for years). So far they haven’t been spectacular, but at least I know he wont completely starve if his wife can’t cook. He also helps watch dd from time to time (we’re home, but occupied) and helps with the yard duties.
Evening routine they should again clean their rooms and tidy the main bathroom.
I haven’t found a good payment system for chores, so I don’t. When it was just my son and I, I used to pay him a nickel, a dime, or a quarter for a chore immediately after he did it. It had to be done right and with a good attitude to get the money. He never has worked well on any long term system. That one worked well, and the most long term thing I could do was get him to remember to tithe and help set goals for what he wanted to earn. Right now he understands that we don’t have a lot of money and everyone simply needs to pitch in where they can. He has certain activities he wants to participate in that I try to budget or arrange, and that works for him right now. Dd knows her bio-Mom or G-ma will buy her anything she wants, so getting paid is unnecessary. We have spoken with her numerous times about how when people live together, they all need to share the load of the work. She even had a couple of cartoon programs that taught about that, but it never really has taken hold. I keep trudging on and it seems like I;m always *the bad guy*. I have had a recent talk with her about how if she wants to cook or bake in the kitchen then I will need to see her willingness to help keep it clean. She dug out a cookbook and started stickynoting recipes, so perhaps she is ready? Maybe baking a cake will be a good payment system for her .
We have a family of 8, so we all pitch in. Everyone rotates through the kitchen chores with one dryer, one washer, and one doing table and floors. My 4 year old sets the table. It gives him lots of practice counting to eight. My girls also help or are responsible for meals depending on the day of the week. Each daughter (I have 3) are responsible for one breakfast and one dinner a week (not on the same day). The breakfast has become slack of late as they seem to have trouble getting up.
My oldest son (10) is responsible to help dad outside, mow the lawn, chop firewood (we heat by wood burning stove). It has really helped him grown up. The younger two (4 and 7) help pick up around the house.
The oldest two girls were responsible for bathroom cleaning. One of them has “graduated” and is now training her younger sister to do her bathroom as she has shown responsibility in getting it done and doing it well.
You would think, after my children are the ages that they are, that we’d have a handle on chores. We’ve tried a number of plans for getting our children to help around the house, but it seems we’re struggling to find something that works.
I’m going to go back and read some of the other comments to get some ideas. Thanks for the ideas.
Chores are so fun around our house. The kids were sharing with me the other day after a play date that two of their friends want me to ask their mother’s if they can do their chores at our house. LOL
Give us a glimpse into how your family manages chores in your home?
We have a chore schedule that rotates weekly. This way no one gets overloaded with the same task week in and week out.
For instance on a daily basis my girls take care of the litter boxes. They wanted to have pets and this is the best way we can teach them to be responsible pet owners. On Monday, M does the litter box and sweeps up any mess, on Tuesday, S does the litter box and sweeps up any mess, on Wednesday G does the litter box and so on so forth.
One girl will get the clothes out of the dryer and another will fold them and the third one will put them in their appropriate places.
All my girls share a room so we take turns like we do with the litter box on cleaning it daily. Everyone is responsible for the own bunks.
What are the daily responsibilities…weekly responsibilities…monthly responsibilities?
I shared some of our daily responsiblilites.
Weekly is pretty much the same as our daily we do have larger tasks that are only done once a week like dusting and we assign each week successively.
What are the extra jobs that your children can do to earn money?
We don’t really use the money as rewards. We do special things all together as our reward system. My children do things for my dad who is elderly and he pays them for this like pick up limbs that have fallen, rake, clean up his yard, flower gardens, wash his dog, etc.
How do you pay them?
We do special things as a family. Park time, eating out at their favorite all you can eat pizza place, a movie at home with just us and a huge bowl of popcorn, extra reading time of their favorite book, etc.
Melisa Waters