A few ladies have asked me to post one of our family systems with pictures. We have adjusted our "chore" "responsibility" "family"system and change it up often. Having a system for kids fosters independence, responsibility, initiation and it helps me not fall into the nagging, irritated, frustrated drill Sargent in our home. A drill Sargent is one job that is not on my bucket list and when I notice that the hat gets put on it is time to re-fresh the system (& my heart). The chart has two sides, one side is Morning Time (sunshine) and the other is Evening Time (star). The cards have a sunshine or a star at the top right corner so they will not get mixed up. Our kids ages range from 14y to 3y so we adjust the responsibilities depending on their ages.
Morning Time
Each child has a "To do" pocket and an "all done" pocket. I cut an envelope in half to make the pockets and put a matching index card over it.
On the left hand side the top pocket says initiation. This is a BIG deal in our home. When the kids see something that needs to be done for example the ceiling fan needs to be cleaned. They write it down and place it into the initiation pocket. It doesn't mean they have to do the extra chore but it will be done on Saturday or during the week by one of the other kids taking the initiation to do the chore without being asked.
The pocket for Odd Jobs such as dishes, taking sheets off the bed, putting sheets on bed, taking the trash cans to the road.
The last pocket on the left hand side is Saturday jobs. The jobs are divided up between the kids on Saturday morning. ( I do have check sheets in the bathroom and rooms)
Evening Time
For the youngest she has pictures on her cards so she will be able to do her cards independently (and she does this well). Her tasks for the morning time are to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth. Evening Time put clothes away, bath, bible, clean room.
Maddy and Logan for the morning time cards are get dressed, eat breakfast, feed pets, pack a snack for school, brush teeth. The kids are not allowed to put the card into the "all done" until the task is completed. (this eliminates "I forgot") Evening Time is homework, piano, bible, bath, brush teeth, clean room, lay out clothes for next day and put away laundry.
Breanna is 14 so her cards are different. She does the above things on her own. She makes her own cards such as take the dog out to the kennel. Evening Time would be homework, room pickup, bathroom pickup and make your to-do list for the next day. This helps her to initiate her own tasks.
Great Resource book: Boundaries with Kids by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
I really liked this entry! I've been looking for a system that will help the kids with their chores and this one looks great! I'm so glad to see that you and your family are serving the Lord! It's been a blessing to see how some people I graduated with are using their talents to do His work! I didn't get saved until after I got married and I am so thankful for it. My husband recently become pastor of a church and we were missionaries in Paraguay for a while. I'm adding you to my prayer list; let me know if there is anything that we can do for you! Take care and may the Lord bless!
ReplyDeleteTHIS is why you are my hero, friend. I'll pay you big money to make us a chart. hee hee
ReplyDeleteI love this! Thank you for sharing! What age did you start this chore system? Our girls are 2yrs old. They are just now learning to pick up their playroom by themselves. I am like you, I DO NOT want to nag or be a drill sergeant at all! I already find myself acting like one. If you could comment or email me back on how, or when, you started this system I would really appreciate it!! Thank you! Cristin Mertz
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, Michelle! Such great ideas. Can't wait to start something like this soon :)Crystal Wadsworth Sides
ReplyDeleteLove the chart. Thanks for sharing:)Stephanie Mullis Smith
ReplyDeleteWhoo hoo! Glad that you ladies can use it. We have used many things over the years but we have used this chart the longest and it appears we have worked out many of the kinks by trial and error. I am sure the other “systems” would have worked but honestly I probably dropped the ball. It is all you can do when you have several kids running around to make it through the everyday tasks, so you ladies are totally on the ball with having the little ones in the house! (Cristin and Kristal having twins! wew) . I would say the earlier the better, and a 2 year old can certainly catch on...just start out slow with a few cards. For several months we didn't introduce a reward chart because they enjoyed the independence. We introduced it when we noticed it becoming a "chore" and we did “Sunday Sunday’s” for a looong time. I bought all kinds of toppings and ice cream. It was a lot of fun and great for the kids to know they could only have the ice cream on Sunday. It's all in the buildup and how excited you are about the "reward". Grace is important but it only takes someone being "left out" to feel the sting of not being part of the activity.
ReplyDeleteLove it Michelle. You are so crafty on thinking up something like the "chore board". Have you thought about pattening it and help with the expresses of ministry?
ReplyDeleteJust curious who left the last comment? Don’t be shy : ) I hadn’t thought about that and wouldn't know where to even start. My heart is really to share with ladies what things work for us and to be available without a cost.
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This is such a great idea! I'm getting tired of asking them to do the chores they know they are expected to do. This is a great system for giving them independence and I love the initiative envelope. I'm going to try it! Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you blogged about this. I've been trying to figure out a way to get my kids more involved around our house and finding your post helped me so much. I think I'll finally be able to follow through with a great system now. It's a wonderful idea. So Thank You and your friends for telling you to post about it.
ReplyDeleteLiz, Thank you so much for leaving a comment and I am so glad that this system will work for you. I used it for a long time and just recently updated it (same basic concept). A little change or tweeking is needed at the kiddos get older or I get tired of it “wink” . I will try to post the updated one very soon. Let me know if you have any questions.
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