Just like most families, chores at our house can sometimes be a bit of a chore! The problem is not usually day to day stuff like taking care of their clothes or picking up toys, the problem is usually the bigger jobs that really add up for one mom to take care of for six people. We’ve used the Montessori approach to work and given the kids lessons on dusting, mopping, and a variety of other jobs but after they have left the sensitive period for that work I often forget to take advantage of those skills! Seeing as these are all skills I want my boys and girls to still have when they get to be grown ups it becomes even more important to make sure they are practicing…and pitching in!
Especially with Caleb in school, responsibility for one area of the house throughout the day wasn’t really fair any longer so I decided to switch to a specific after dinner chore for each capable child. (Logan’s chore remains to stick with me and shut the dishwasher door every time I turn around!) I wanted to ability to quickly see what each job was, rotate jobs as needed, and easily tell if they had completed their work.
Stripped Down Version
Nuts & Bolts
I used a piece of scrap wood from Tim’s workbench. Really any size would work just make sure you sand down any rough edges. You could paint or seal the wood prior to adding the clothespins. Using wood glue, attach clothespins in a convenient arrangement. I used the mini clothespins found at Montessori Services, but again any old clipping style pins would work.
Fasten names to the front of the clothespins and the make chore cards out of card stock. You can laminate for durability. I plan to rotate the chore cards seasonally just for fun- Tim says thats my inner cutesy teacher nerd.
How It Works For Us
During the afternoon I take a quick look around and see which jobs might need to be done that day. If you read closely, you will notice that the day this picture was taken the bathrooms needed a fair bit of work! I also hung the job board right above our child size mop, broom, dustpan, and feather duster (everything except the feather duster are also from Montessori Services). Each child has an assignment and after dinner they will add that job to their evening chores. When they are done with the job they flip the card back over so I know it is done.
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How do you handle chores at your house?
Do you have a specific formula or philosophy or more free form?
Thanks for stopping by my blog (parentinginthemoment.blogspot.com). I had a chance to look around yours a bit too. Looks great! I like the chore chart; Wheels likes to help, but isn't actually much of a help yet.