Workin’ It – The Summer Chore Chart

Every summer the kids and I come to some sort of arrangement regarding their chores. I’m more lenient during the school year when they should be focused on the academic work, but come mid-June, it’s time to get them cracking. There are lots of great reasons to give kids chores. For one, it shows them responsibility. Secondly, and you may disagree, depending on where you stand on allowances, it teaches them the value of working for rewards, and thirdly, it keeps them from being idle.

This summer, I have decided that the kitchen and laundry will be my primary domains, and the kids can handle most of the rest of the work between the three of them. I looked at a number of chore systems on Pinterest. Here are a few of the photos:

I found several that had aspects that I liked and decided to create one that incorporated the things I liked and that fit our needs.

These were the materials I used:

One poster board

A packet of card-stock paper in different colors

3 packs of peel-and-stick-letters

2 packets of instant laminate (the kind that doesn’t require heat)

Sharpies, a glue stick, and some decorative ribbon.

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Then I was ready to go. First I put some letters on the poster board to set up the premise, and then I made pockets for each of the kids. Then, I made up the chores, listing a chore on the front and the compensation on the back. In addition to money, there is also a “Special Prize” pocket for more tedious and (for them) challenging tasks. Once they complete these jobs, they can choose from a special prize box, which will be filled with little things I have been collecting from stores like Five Below, and the dollar sections at Michael’s and Target.

After I wrote all the cards, I laminated them with some sticky laminating pouches I found at Staples. This was an okay method, but you have to be careful not to cut the cards too closely, because they will fall out of the plastic if it’s not properly sealed.

I had a little fun with it too. Sure, these are things that the kids probably should be doing anyway, but sometimes you need to put a little extra incentive out there.

Then I put the whole thing together using glue sticks and tape.

Once a chore is done, a child can put it into his or her own pocket to be compensated at a further date.

So far, they seem excited to start the process. We’ll see how it works, and perhaps I will give you an update in another month.