I have been wanting to try a job chart with the boys for a while and I *think* they are finally ready. There are tons of free printable job charts online. I googled a little half-heartedly and didn't find anything I really liked (why do you have to "like" something on Facebook just to get a free printable? Oh, advertising...). I decided to make my own.
These are my
mad Excel skills at work (ha!). I basically drew lines to make boxes in Excel and then typed the boys' names at the top. Then PRINT!
Then my
mad drawing skills came into play. This is where the online printable were not cutting it for me. A lot of them had prescribed jobs already written down; but I have specific jobs that I want the boys to work on.
From top to bottom:
Set table for dinner
Put dishes in the sink
Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket
Help Mommy Sweep (this is a brand new thing...we'll see if it works)
Brush teeth
Put toys away
Each time they do a chore, they get a small sticker to put in the box. There are seven boxes after the chore picture so, in theory, if they do them every day we can fill up the chart and get a treat in one week.
And the treat of choice is a trip to SWEET FROG (our local frozen yogurt shop). The boys LOVE Sweet Frog and are pretty excited at the idea of filling up their charts so we can get some "ice cream" (though understanding this concept took several explanations).
Some of my reasoning is a little flawed on this chart. The boys take their dishes to the sink several times a day so there is the potential to fill up these boxes very quickly. Conversely, I don't sweep every day (though I probably should...hmm) so it might be more difficult to fill these squares up. I guess it's all about being flexible with the goal being, of course, to teach the boys responsibility and how to clean up after themselves.
What do you do to help motivate your children toward greater responsibility?
I make chores a privilege. "Today, you get to help me in the kitchen!" This chore involves helping with meals (getting out ingredients, mixing, pouring drinks, etc) which they love, but it also includes not so fun things, like unloading the dishes, setting the table, cleaning the counters or cabinets, whatever needs to be done. Of course I help with those tasks, and they change depending on the maturity of each child, but the point is, they get to be involved with something fun, but part of that includes the cleanup and taking responsibility for things that aren't as fun.
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