Our Chore System

My friend Manda asked a couple of questions about my chores, so I thought I would go ahead and elaborate. One of my goals over this summer was to streamline our chore process, because every day was a bigger-than-I-preferred ordeal. So I spent alot of time looking at what other larger families put into place for their chores. I liked the look of "Accountable Kids" but that wasn't in our budget. I also liked the idea of "Chore Packs", but the frugal side of me also thought I might be able to come up with something along those lines without spending too much money (although I do wish I had the Managers of their Chores book for some more ideas, I really appreciate the Maxwells' materials).

So, after much brainstorming, I came up with "our own thing". And its been working wonderfully! Here's what I did. I got index card boxes, colored index cards, white index cards, and adhesive tab labels. It cost about $10, I think. For us, we have chores that are done daily and also chores that are done weekly. Our daily chores are broken down into several portions of the day - before breakfast, after breakfast, afternoon, and after dinner. The weekly chores are done in the afternoon, as well.

So, I color coded the daily portions - before breakfast is on pink cards, after breakfast is on orange, afternoon on yellow, and after dinner on green, and they are all sorted in the front of the index card box. Weekly chores are on white cards, and are behind the daily chores, divided up by cards that have the adhesive file tabs on them with each day of the week listed. Confused yet?! Its much easier visually than for me to explain it, so here's some examples:


You can see the different color daily cards in this picture:

The weekly chore dividers:


On the front of each card is the name of the chore, and on the back are any specific instructions - to help those who don't remember easily, and also to help Michael to check that things are done correctly if I am not available. I also write the day or time of day on the bottom of the cards, in case of a chore box spill, which has happened more than once ;-)

The two oldest boys use this system, and it makes chore time really "hands-off" for me. We used to have a chart, but it was hard for them to read, and they always asked me 101 questions about each chore. Or it seemed that way, anyway. Now they know what to do, when to do it, and how it should be done. I just have to tell them its chore time, and they're off and running! Joel (who is 4.5) needed something more visual, since he is not reading yet. So he has a visual chore list posted on our bulletin board:


Also, I found that while this made the "what" of the chore process easier, it didn't help with the other issues that would arise - distraction, dawdling, and the occasional grumbling. So we have a reward chart to go along with the system. For each portion of chores done with good attitudes, good effort, and staying on task, they get a star on the chart. If any of the above issues pop up (I have to remind them to get back to work too many times, I find them playing instead of working, arguing instead of working, or a job left completely undone), they get a red "x" on their chart.

On Fridays nights after our Sabbath meal, we hand out allowance. For every star, the big boys earn 10 cents, and Joel earns 5 cents. However, for every "x", they have to give us back a dime or a nickle. If they've been able to go all week without any "x"s, they get a bonus of 25 cents. The child with the most stars for the week also earns a bonus 25 cents.

Adding this reward system has done wonders for helping people stay on task and grumble less! I've been amazed! Joel has won both bonuses two week in a row, and he used to be the hardest one to motivate to stay on task and do all his work.

Since it has worked so well for chores, I've also decided to do the same for behavior issues. Any initiative that is taken to do above and beyond their assigned chores, without being asked, can earn them a bonus star. On the same hand, excessive bickering, disobedience, or bad attitudes can earn an extra "x". This has come in handing for the more "tricky" issues of discipline that aren't serious enough for a major consequence, but that I have been frustrated by having to repeat all the time. (For example, door slamming - we've practiced how to shut doors quietly, but doors still slam all the time around here. While its not a deliberate disobedience, it is carelessness and a disregard for a rule. So to make them more aware, I've been passing out "x"s for door slamming... and the slamming has diminished significantly!) These extra stars or "x"s go in the corner of the chart - here's an example:


I know the issue of childrens' allowance can be controversial, but we decided to do it for several reasons. One, it helps them to learn how to manage their money. Second, they all have very generous spirits and want to buy gifts for others, and are sad when they can't. I like to encourage their generosity by granting them the ability to give to others out of their own earnings. Third, there are often little extra chores here and there that they do for me without any compensation, so they are not getting caught up in the mindset of "I'll only do it if I get something out of it".

To see how our house stays orderly even with 5 rambunctious boys in it, check out my Chore Assignments post!