New chore chart

our new chore chart, posted on the fridge

"New chore chart" was also on my school planning list.  Check!

I like to get these done during the summer so that we have a couple of months to get the kinks out.  The kids all examined it carefully and Ella even told me she's excited, and that she wasn't disappointed about anything I listed for her.  So that's a good start, right?

New to us this year: I've assigned a "breakfast helper" for each weekday morning: someone who will "report" to the kitchen a half-hour before breakfast and assist me in getting breakfast ready and setting the table.  Benefits to this:
-The kids often want to help, but I can't always utilize all of them and I'm hoping this will decrease the squabbles over who gets to help.
-This will give me help for the one meal I am most anxious to get on the table on time (because it marks the start of our school day).
-For breakfast, I have a particular item assigned to each day of the week (ie: on Mondays we have eggs/toast/bacon, on Tuesdays we have oatmeal, etc...)- so this means that the kids will be working on the same meal every time they're a helper, and thus: perfecting the making of that particular meal.  RIGHT? 
-They're all especially excited about this.  Even Audra is going to help me get cereal on the table on Thursdays.  :) 

12 comments:

  1. Great! I love the breakfast helper idea.

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    1. Me too! I hope it works! Then I can build in "lunch helper" and "dinner helper" next year. :)

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  2. Well done! I love your printing. It should be a font on the computer :o)

    So, you've got the juices flowing...again. When do you do the deeper cleaning chores like bathroom, vacuum etc.?

    And...when do you have your time with God. Isn't it the middle of the day? I am finding that my boys are up so early that trying to have time alone in the morning can be a struggle. Do you get up before them?

    Atleast we are almost 100% potty trained.....woo hoo! Eli was so easy in comparison to the other two. So grateful!

    Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

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    1. Aw, thanks for the compliment on my printing.

      Deeper cleaning: I don't have a schedule for that. I just do it when it needs to be done, or assign it to one of the kids when I notice it needs to happen. (We have hardwood floors throughout our house so we only vacuum rugs about once a week, and I clean the bathrooms about that often, too. I rarely dust. We sweep the kitchen several times a day but the rest of the house gets swept whenever we vacuum the rugs.) If there are other deep-cleaning categories, I ignore them. *grin*

      My time with God: Yes. In the afternoons, during quiet times/naps (from 2-4 is "down time" at our house). I am usually up before everyone else, but that's for exercise.

      Audra is just recently fully potty trained! Amazing! She was easy, too- and I am grateful, too!

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  3. i love your chart. i also have helpers for meals best thing i ever did.we get alone time and they feel so proud when the meals goes on the table.would you consider doing a post on what work books you use for school.there are so many out there.

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    1. Thanks!
      Hm... work books.
      I don't think we do many workbooks. Oh, wait. Correction: I do use the Explode the Code series for early Phonics.
      Do you consider math books a "workbook"? My boys use Math U See and my daughter Rod & Staff.
      I think that's truly it.

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  4. We're working on our chore assignments for next year. I like the idea of a meal helper. My kids want to help, but I'm the problem. Sometimes it is easier to do it myself, but I think your idea would make me more disciplined about teaching and letting them learn.

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    1. I have the same problem: wanting to do it myself. :) It's so much quicker that way.

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  5. this is just so amazing. first, i love how this LOOKS - you are so creative and artistic!! i appreciate so much your amazing organization ... i am inspired {and maybe a bit jealous as i feel so off the wagon in this area?}

    thank you, thank you for sharing. your blog is such a sweet space :)

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  6. How do you keep up with their rooms/play/school rooms? We have 4 (9, 6, 4 and 16 mo.) and I'm struggling to find what works for us. Love your layout for this year!

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  7. How do you deal with the cleaning and picking up the bedrooms and play/school room? We have 4 kids (9, 6,4 and 16 mo.) and I am scrambling to figure out a system that will work for us. :)

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    1. Mikey~ We have room clean-up every Saturday. And sometimes throughout the week I'll remind the kids to do a 5 or 10-minute clean up in their rooms. We school mostly at our kitchen table or living room couches, so when we clean those areas, that gets done! I think it's fun to set a timer for 10 minutes and "see how much we can all get done!" That works good for all ages. :)

      ~Stacy

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