The two big points in the book that I loved were teaching your kids to work and to understand money. The job charts in it were great for me- I need things spelled out and very basic for me- this had it. I made note cards for each of the girls, well I made a TON of note cards being very specific on what the jobs were, and what was expected. Then the next step is Training. It is not something you do one time and then expect them to do it, you train them on how to do it until they are ready, then you check. If it's not done right you show them again... really you should just read the book!
Here's what Lexi's responsibilities are:
Daily Tasks: Get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, put pajama's away, homework, practice piano, choose clothes for next day.
Bedroom: Make bed, pick up clothes, pick up toys, clean under bed, clean off dresser, closet clean and organized, *dust, *vacuum.
Bathroom: Clean off counters, *clean mirror, *clean bathtub, *clean sink.
** Living Room:Pick up anything that doesn't belong, *dust table, pictures, piano blinds, *vacuum.
Lexi after her room is all cleaned- even under her bed! She can't wait to have Carly's bed out of there!
Dusting the mirror, Mom had to help a little.Dusting the piano- well our version of the piano!
Ashlee's responsibilities are:
Daily Tasks: Get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, put away pajama's, homework, choose clothes for next day.
Bedroom: Make bed, pick up clothes, pick up toys, clean off dresser, straighten bookshelf, closet clean and organized, *dust, *vacuum.
Bathroom:Clean off counter, *clean mirror, *clean sink, *clean toilet.
**Family Room:Pick up anything that doesn't belong, *dust pictures, blinds, TV, DVD's, *vacuum.
Stretching to dust
Her room all clean!
Carly's responsibilities are:
Daily Tasks: Get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, put away pajama's, help clean playroom, choose clothes for next day.
Bedroom: Make bed, fold blankets, pick up toys, clean off dresser, straighten books, clean and organized closet, *dust, *vacuum.
Bathroom: Clean counters off, *Lysol wipe sink and toilet, help clean bathtub.
**Dining Room: Wipe table and place mats, put away anything that doesn't belong, *dust blinds, *vacuum.
Carly's clean room! We are going to take down the bunk beds now that the Wiser Hotel is closed- we can bring her bed back down stairs.
Working so hard on the place mats!
*- once a week
**- rotate monthly between kids
They get a monthly allowance- the first Saturday of the month- one dollar for each year. They get to pay tithing the next day, and learn to make that money last through the month, or save it for something big. If they decide to put some of their allowance money in their savings account(which we are getting in the next few weeks) we will match what they put in. If they want to earn more money they have Money Chores- hard chores. They are learning that we all have to work together as a family- we all have to work- it's not going to be just mom cleaning now. They have learned to do laundry- sort colors, start the washer and dryer and fold the right way. It's all on note cards- I help them when it's needed, but the laundry they have down, I just won't let them do anything that needs bleach. Through the school year I won't expect them to always do the laundry, but I will expect them to do their other jobs and help with laundry when they can. They love being able to help me do these things, and I've realized I'm kind of a control freak and need to relax and let my kids learn how to do these things! The first time we "Trained" they had so much fun and were so excited- Ashlee wasn't thrilled about cleaning a toilet, but she had fun after she did it! Then the novelty wore off and they aren't so thrilled, but they keep doing it with a little pressure from mom and Dad- I think that's really the key- Darrell helps them just as much as I do- they see we are ALL working on this!
10 comments:
That is awesome. I love chores for the kiddos. I really really really like your plan about matching what they put into the bank...that is a GREAT idea! Good job!
OOOOO! I get excited when I hear about kids doing their fair share. Good Work! I need to read that book. Kate and Max have morning and evening chores, but it is more basics like getting dressed and making their beds. It is good to see what you have Carly doing, since she is about the same age as Max. Maybe I should step it up a bit!
What good tips. I guess I need to read it, or just copy you. You know me and reading. I am having this dilema right now. I too am too much of a control freak. My kids have gotten away with too much because of it. My boys are older than your girls, they should be doing more. We all know how boys clean, it's a little scarey to me.
Yea, way to go. I feel like I am doing somthing good. I actually do that, and we pay them the same way. Except we pay them every two weeks. And it is half their age. So the total at the end of the month is their age. I tell ya money talks. I will have to read that book, it sounds motivating.
I LOVE the Parenting Breakthrough! I took pics of my kids yesterday to do a similar post. I love seeing them work! I love Carly wiping the placemats. She looks like she is working so hard!
Sounds like a great book. I'll have to read it. Our kids LOVE to help clean. I have jobs for all of them (even Clay--he loves to clean the windows and mirrors). It's so nice to have them help out, so it's not so much of a huge burden on mom all the time (even if you have to do a little more thorough job when they aren't around). You have to teach them while they are young, so they get in the habit. I LOVE the girls' rooms. They are so cute!
I think your post is truly inspired. In the last week or so I've been thinking alot about coming up with a more definitive chore list for my kids with the school year approaching. This parenting book sounds like a must read for me, along with another book I heard about this week called "Parenting with Love & Logic." Sounds like I'm off to the bookstore this week :)
Holy cow! Do they complain? I think that I need to step it up a bit!
My kids are pretty good about cleaning when I ask them to. I just need to be better about making them do the day to day stuff, like making their beds. They are great with the bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting, and picking up. Some days they are absolute lifesavers. They got grounded last week so instead of being grounded they agreed to work it off in housework. We spent the week cleaning blinds, oiling cabinets, cleaning out the cabints, and cleaning baseboards. We spent about a half hour each day. I would never have been able to get it all done by myself, especially at this point in the pregnancy. They even did it all wiithout complaint. Amazing!!!!!!
Merrillee K. Boyack. I bought her talk on CD, Teaching Your Children to Fly. It's probably a summary of her book. Ben's advice to me: Stop buying so many toys!
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