For
chores this year I can give you a run down of what we are doing. Keep
in mind though that we have been working on this for about 4 years now,
so we have built up gradually. In the beginning I tried to keep it to
about 5 items total and we just did them 2 times a day- things like
clean room, dress or pjs, brush teeth, put clothes away and one family
chore like "empty dishwasher". Now we only have "chores" in the morning
and then we have an all family clean up time in the evening that isn't
assigned to individuals but we all help. So, here are our lists:
Everyone does these: dress, make bed, clean room, brush teeth, read
Bible, pray, put away clean and dirty laundry, tidy one room in the
house (each child has an assigned room- like living room). Then after
that they each have an "assistant" job and weekly chores that rotate-
one chore each day- usually related to the assistant that they are. So,
for example-
Jonathon-11, is my kitchen prep assistant. That
means he comes to me and I assign him something to help with in the
kitchen, like yesterday he mixed up some zucchini bread and today he
cooked some pasta for a cold salad for lunch. The chores he rotates
through are: M- mix up muffin batter, T- mop kitchen, W- take out
recyclables and trash, H- wipe tables, chairs, and stools, and F-
sharpen knives (we have had extensive knife training with him- I
wouldn't recommend this one right off unless proper respect has already
been developed)
James (10) is laundry assistant- He usually
does something like switch over the laundry for me and start a new load,
then his weekly is: change 2 beds of sheets, put away all hanging
clothes and linens, tidy laundry hall and gather hangers, washer off
washer and dryer and sweep laundry room, and straighten the linen
closet.
Jeff (8) is bathroom assistant this year (I rotate by
year to give them plenty of time to learn and own the responsibility.)
He usually cleans the toilets and sinks in one bathroom each day.
Weeklys are: mop bathrooms, stick diapers and organize toothbrush
drawer, clean bathtubs, clean walls and floor around all toilets, and
change towels & stock toilet paper. (Keep in mind that when an 8
yr. old has a chore I expect an 8 yr. old level of work while always
trying to help him improve.)
Rachel (7) is Vacuum Assistant so
she vacuums one room every day- which, in our house of mostly hardwood
floors covers all the rooms once and the living room twice. Weeklys
are: vacuum Daddy's office, decobweb the house, gather all house trash,
straighten the bookcase, wipe stair rails and walls.
Joseph (5)
has chores, but I expect a very low quality of work from him. He's
just learning weekly jobs this year. He is kitchen cleaning assistant
which usually means he unloads the dishwasher once a day unless it's
done already and then I give him something else. Weekly chores: clean
kitchen sink, wipe stove and oven, clean out microwave and toaster oven,
wipe cabinet fronts and fridge, wash out one shelf of the refrigerator.
Renna (3) only has stuff to keep her busy while the others
are working and to feel included, so if she tries, I don't really care
too much how thorough she is with anything (but I don't tell her that.
:) She is toy cleanup assistant, so I usually tell her some particular
spot to clean up of toys. When her weeklys are: wipe under counter
where the kids eat breakfast, straighten movies, tidy jackets on hooks,
empty pencil sharpener, wipe door knobs and light switches.
The
biggest thing that I have found about chores in making them effective
is to oversee them- every time, every day, for every person. So during
chores, I usually have the master list and stay in the general area
checking on them, answering questions, helping them be successful and
checking each one to be sure they get done. I have a time in the
morning set aside for chores for all of us and I DO NOT plan to do
anything else during that time except maybe drink my coffee. This is
the only way I have found to make it successful for everyone, satisfied
myself with the work they are doing, and not exasperate them by giving
them so much to do and then not making sure they can do it. THIS IS THE
KEY TO SUCCESSFUL CHORES! And once they fall into the routine, they
can usually do everything they have in about 30 minutes or so.