Training kids for chores is a whole lot of work. It's also an enormous blessing to our family. I've made chore charts for the kids for several years. I think I started with Claire when she was 4.
I'm a huge believer in chores for kids. They help make the mess; they should help clean it. It also provides good training for when they leave the house as well as when parents are busy or ill and need some additional assistance.
Chores within your home will look different depending on whether you have younger kids, older kids, kids in public/private school, or kids at home who homeschool. Schedules and abilities will vary...be flexible. It's a complete trial and error process until you can find something that works well for your family. We've done it several different ways. What I'm describing here is what is currently working for our family.
I used to make new charts for the kids every few weeks so that the kids wouldn't get bored with their chores. And then, I read about a woman who had her kids do the same chores for an entire year. Wow! Being someone who likes variety, I didn't know if this was for our family. Then, I had Olivia, and I did my best to simplify virtually everything in my life...including chores.
I decided to give the kids daily chores and weekly chores that they would do the entire year. I knew that once I taught them how to do their chores, I wouldn't have to teach new chores again for a year. Doing the same chores for the entire year would give them routine as well as allow them to master a specific chore/skill. This year, I'm training in the summer so that everyone will be in their routine by the time the school year starts.
I typically choose chores for my kids that help our household run smoothly. I try to think about what drives me most crazy by the time we make it to 1:00 in the afternoon {which is about the time we do chores}, and I base their daily chores on those things. Usually, the entryway is a mess, there are toys/games/things all over the kitchen and family room, the main area of our kitchen and the bar area are covered in crumbs of food, the kitchen counter needs attention, etc. You get the idea. This year I added dinner/after dinner chores for everyone as well. This is a first for us...prior to this year, I have always wanted the girls to be able to get all of their chores finished during our "chore time." It's working well so far.
On a side note, this is the first time in a couple of years that no one has had a "mom's choice" chore. I've had those on our charts a lot, and I'm always thankful for that specific chore. I can choose anything I'd like, and there is usually something random that needs done. Consider adding this to your own kids' charts if you need an extra idea.
I always give my kids a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores. I assign their weekly chores to specific days, or the kids would wait until the last day, and everything would turn into a huge fight.
Here are our chore lists for this year:
Claire {10 years old}
daily
make bed, pick up bedroom floor, load dishwasher after dinner, wash pots and pans
weekly
Sunday: make dinner with Meredith
Monday: one load of laundry {pinks...I know you're not surprised to know that we have a full load of pinks :)}
Tuesday: sweep and steam the entire kitchen floor, clean the bathroom
Wednesday: vacuum all carpeted rooms
{This year, I allowed Claire to choose the days of the week in which she wanted her weekly chores. I know she is going to have more school work this year, so she will have the flexibility to "make up" her weekly chores on Thursday and Friday if she doesn't get them done on the first couple of days of the week. We'll see how it goes once school starts.}
Meredith {8 years old}
daily
make bed, pick up bedroom floor, sweep main area of kitchen and under bar, pick up entryway/hallway, kitchen counter clean up with Mom, wipe table and main counter after dinner
weekly
Sunday: make dinner with Claire
Tuesday: sweep entryway and hallway
Thursday: one load of laundry {light colored towels}
Amelia {5 years old}
daily
make bed, pick up bedroom floor, pick up family room floor and kitchen floor, pick up 50 toys/things in the playroom, set dinner table, clear dinner table with Mom
weekly
Tuesday: dust family room
Wednesday: load of laundry with Mom {dark colored towels}
Me
daily
make bed, pick up bedroom floor, declutter kitchen
weekly
Monday: kitchen {The kitchen usually gets a bit crazy over the weekend, so Monday is a good day to get it back in order.}
Tuesday: straighten/clean master bathroom
Wednesday: declutter laundry room, office, hanging rack in entryway
Thursday: lesson plans/school prep
Friday: wipe cabinets/appliances, prep laundry
Saturday: laundry
If everyone gets to work, usually they can finish their chores in about 30 minutes. The complaining, moaning, and distractions usually add to the time. Some days, my kids really get right to work and are done in a flash...other days, not so much. As of now, I'm pretty much walking along side of Amelia to keep her on task while she's learning. She gets overwhelmed easily, but if I'm helping her, it's not so bad.
While I'm really good at getting my kids to complete their chores, I'm not the best at getting my own completed. I've been doing better in recent weeks, but honestly, the laundry room and the office are huge collecting spaces in our home. We're working on it. I try not to get too overwhelmed and just try to put out the biggest fire at the time.
Here are some good links for chore chart printables or fill-in printables to make your own:
http://www.designfinch.com/2011/07/31/sunday-planning/ {I'm using one from this list for Claire and myself this year.}
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/9a/95/6a9a953c46a238cd327918ee3ef6b1c6.jpg {I'm using this for Meredith and Amelia.}
http://blog.worldlabel.com/2012/organizing-labels-for-more-stuff.html {I used these last year.}
I always print them, laminate them, and hang them near the kitchen.
Happy cleaning!
