Chore Charts

Ryan and I both thrive on to-do lists. For me, it's a little harder to make a to-do list now than when I was working outside the home, because the work never stops. There is always something more to do. But we both feel organized and accomplished by making and crossing off things on our to-do lists.

So, of course, it's just natural that we would want to teach this life skill to our children. It's also about their place in the family. Each family member has a job that they must do to contribute to our family. We read a few verses from Proverbs every night as part of our family devos, and there are a lot of verses about working in order to eat, and the lazy man not eating. So, we have designed chore charts for our kids that make them feel like they are accomplishing something, and they also contain the "jobs" that they must do to contribute to our family.

Isaiah, being only 3, began last fall with only a few things on his chart - eating breakfast (the most important meal of the day!), getting dressed (with help), brushing teeth (with help), and saying his verse for Sunday school. Throughout the year, we have added going potty (or trying to go potty) and also making his bed (previously, Sydney was making his bed for him).

Sydney began last fall with a few more things, because of her age and responsibility level. She was required to eat breakfast, get dressed, brush hair (with help), brush teeth (with help), make her own and Isaiah's beds, say her verses for Sunday school and Cubbies and also practice her piano songs. Around her 5th birthday, Sydney actually started asking for more chores! It was almost like she knew that she was older and her responsibility should be increased. She found some more things to do, like flossing her teeth and cleaning up after breakfast (wipe down the kitchen table and sweep the floor). We also added the responsibility of practicing her piano songs a second time each day, which I may have mentioned in a previous post.

Because of his age, Isaiah does not currently receive a reward for doing his chores on time, nor a punishment for not getting them completed. He is simply excited to play when he is done. Sydney, however, gets a reward (playing some computer games) if she is able to complete her chores within the specified time limit (usually about an hour). However, chores that go unfinished receive a type of punishment...so usually this does not happen.

Anyway, this is just one way that we bring scheduling into our household, and also try to teach personal responsibility. Maybe our kids will grow up to thrive on to-do lists as well...