Chore Chart

Although my kids are fairly young, all five are between the ages of 3 & 10, they're old enough to have a few chores and responsibilities.  In a family the size of ours, everyone has to do their part!  I've tried various systems in the past to remind and reward them, but I've had a hard time keeping up with it.  Once I tried listing all of their very basic tasks (brushing teeth, making bed, getting dressed, etc) and it was helpful for getting them into the routine of doing those things without being asked.  But once they got it, I realized they needed more of a 'responsibility' to feel like they actually accomplished something and that they were truly helping the family.


So, this week, we assigned tasks to everyone and started a new charting system.  Mr. Smiles has 2 chores that are more difficult and that really help me a lot!  Miss Giggles & Miss Smoopy have easier tasks, but things that still have to be done each day.  Mr. Cuddles only has to put his toys on the shelves in his room before bed each night.  And Mr. Adventure has a unique behavior-related task, since taking responsibility for his actions and remaining calm are my biggest needs from him right now. 


We worked together as a family to set the rewards based on how many days they complete their task each week.  We also decided that they would be able to receive the reward that coordinates with their number of check-marks, and be able to choose one item from the list below that level.  For example, if they complete their task 6 times this week, they get to stay up 1 hour past bedtime.  They also can choose something else on the list like  playing a computer game (which is the reward for completing their task 3 times).  We're trying to encourage them to keep working each day, even if they've already gotten to the reward that they want. 


So far, they're super excited to work toward their rewards.  It's sweet to watch them encourage each other to get their job done before the end of the day.....one more thing to celebrate about having a large family!