Make Chores FUN!

Two things that never usually come out of a child's mouth:
"Mommy can I do my chores".....
or...
"YES, I get to clean up the dishes today".

Well these are the exact words that have been coming out of my 5 year old's mouth lately, and man am I one happy mommy :) Let me go back a couple days for you so you understand why he is saying these "crazy" things.

Sunday, while at dinner I promised the children that I was going to make them chore charts again and they would be ready in the morning. Well, I know Yacko and I know he would keep me to that promise so I was brainstorming all evening what I was going to do.

If you have ever done chore charts with your children before, you know that making up chores for them and keeping up with the chart is a big chore all by itself. So I really wanted to make sure I thought of something that was going to stick and I wouldn't be overwhelmed and done with it after a couple weeks. So I went to my much loved magazine's online site, Family Fun and searched for Chore Charts. They had many many ideas, which many I have tried before and never stuck, but then I found Chore Dice ! I changed our up a bit because I did not have any cardstock, so I printed them on regular colored paper and then glued it onto poster board and then cut it out and glued it together. This kept it very sturdy. Here is a pic of ours:


I thought it was such a great idea but knew I would also need something to keep track of the chores assigned and when they were completed because we give out allowance at the end of each week not everyday. So I printed out this chart and then so that I wouldn't have to print it out each week (or forget about doing so, like I often do) I laminated it! This way I can use dry erase markers on the surface and then just wipe it off at the end of each week and reuse. This also saves A LOT of paper and printer ink! Here is what ours looks like :
I have "straighten room" and "make bed" down for everyday because those have to be done everymore, no choices there and then on Sunday there is NONE because I do not allow chores on Sundays because it is the Sabbath and I make it a priority to honor that! Otherwise I just write whatever chore they have rolled on the di beneath the everday chores.

This has been so much fun. The children wake up every morning asking, "mommy what chores will I get today"? And it really takes the fight out of wanting someone elses chore or not being happy with what mommy assigned because I dont assign it :-)

I hope this can bring some peace and order to your home as well and make childrens chores enjoyable for ALL!

Before I go...here is a list of the chores we put on our chore dice:
-wipe down windows (sliding glass window and living room window)
-wipe down baseboards
-wipe down bathroom
-clean up dishes
-sweep under table
-set the table
-clean up playroom (twice)
-dust (with mommy's help)
-Choice (child gets to choose what chore they want)
-FREE DAY (no chores for that day for that child)
-Swap (they can swap their chore with someone else's)

God Bless you all and Good night!