	Highland Dove Homeschool

Chore Chart

How do I get my kids to do their chores?	What chores are appropriate for what ages?
Chore List	Tally Chart

How do I get my kids to do their chores?

Well, I insist on it. I've seen parents that are afraid to act like the parent - I'm not. They don't do anything fun until they do their chores. If they fight me on it (yell and cry) they go to their room until they're ready to do it -- joyfully. In our house, we believe our children are each a gift from God to our family. We also believe kids are capable of much more than today's society gives them credit for. I also treat them like children in that I use tons of encouragement and am satisfied with their best effort -- EVEN WHEN IT DOESN'T MEET MY ADULT STANDARDS. I'm not a drill Sergeant in making them make their beds over and over until it's perfect. On the other hand, I may make them re-sweep the floor if there are glaring spots they've missed. BALANCE, is called for and not making chores something they hate (they'll complain enough without us, as parents, making it worse.) If we're talking about a laziness issue -- that's a separate issue.

My daughter had this look on her face for over a year -- 12 was a rough year in our house and she didn't hesitate to tell me how put-upon she felt. THANKFULLY, 13 was a much more cheerful year!

As a tool that teaches to the heart, I've found that firm, but unemotional discipline coupled with loving times (pats, glances, chats) to be fantastic. We made this Virtue-Vice Chart as a tool that slows down the discipline process and allows me time to think how I want to react rather than having to react immediately when I'm angry and can't think.

Basically, I'm the parent and since I believe chores are GOOD for my children, I make them. Some children naturally respond to this better than others. Do I allow them to go outside without their coat in winter -- even if they want to? Nope. And I don't allow them to shirk their responsibilities to each other by not doing their chores.

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The first thing I did was to go through my house and list (by room) what chores needed done. Then I decided how often they each needed done (Daily, Weekly or Monthly.)

*Chore List*
Family Room	2 Clean under & behind couches	w	Office	1 Pick up room	d
	1 Clean around end table & behind couch in Family room	w		2 Wash each leaf on a fake plant ( 1/3 liquid fabric softener & 2/3 water in a spray bottle. Spray the leaves heavily with the solution. Spray 1 leaf & wipe)	m
	1 Clear off Mantle	w		1 dust	w
	2 Clean behind kennel	w		1 Vacuum	d
	1 Clean Fireplace Screen	m		1 Wash baseboards	w
	2 Sort & put away videos	d		1 Wash windows	m
	1 Pick up room	d	Library	1 Put away all books	d
	1 dust	w		1 Clear off Built-in	d
	1 Wash Walls	m		1 Wash Walls	m
	1 Vacuum	d		1 Clear off Mantle	w
	1 Wash baseboards	w		1 Pick up room	d
	1 Wash windows	m		1 dust	w
Kitchen	3 Scrub Dining room chairs: seat, back & legs	w		2 Clean under & behind couches & end tables	w
	1 Scrub Dining room table legs	w		1 Vacuum	d
	1 Clean off fridge	w		1 Wash baseboards	w
	2 Clean out fridge	m		1 Wash windows	m
	1 Sweep Floor	d	Up-stairs	1 Pick Up Hallway	d
	1 Vacuum Floor	d		2 Scrub Tub & Walls of Shower	w
	2 Mop Floor	w		1 Vacuum	d
	2 Scrub Floor on Hands & Knees	w	Back Patio	2 Wash windows in Back Patio	m
	1 Wash baseboards	w		2 Pick-up Room	d
	1 Wash windows	m		2 Sweep & vacuum back patio	w
	1 Wash Walls	m	Entry	1 Vacuum Entry & Stairs	d
1/2 Bath	1 Vacuum	d		1 Wash baseboards	w
	1 Wash sink, cabinet, outside of toilet, washer & dryer	w		2 Scrub Floor on Hands & Knees	w
	1 Wash mirror in 1/2 Bath & Entry	w		1 Organize Entry Closet	d
	1 Scrub Floor & Baseboard on Hands & Knees	w	Misc.	3 Match up younger kids’ Clothes	w
Back Yard	1 Scrub Outside Chairs	m		1 Sort 2 loads of Laundry	d
	1 Pick up Back Yard	d		1 Match 10 pair of socks	d
	3 Clean up Dog poop	w

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What chores are appropriate for what ages?

They keep their daily jobs for a year and then we switch. We cross-train in the spring when school has ended for the jobs they'll have for the next year. That way they have all summer for me to follow-up on them and remind/retrain on the right way to do their job before they're just expected to do it on their own when school comes in the fall. I try really hard to make the retraining part not be a time when I'm frustrated and yelling at them for what they're not doing right. I want to empower them to do it, not frustrate them into discouragement.

This is "trash boy" at 6yrs old

My toddlers ALWAYS want to help. It's the hassle of my life (along with car seats). Even so, I let them help me. I give them a hand towel to carry while I carry the rest of the laundry. I pick up their doll and have them put it away. We make a game of picking up their blocks and toys. I reward them for their efforts, even when it's less than adult standards.

[vacuuming.jpg]

By the time the kids are in preschool (ages 3 or 4) they have their own daily chore (helping set the table) and are expected to pick up their own toys, sometimes with help.

The chores my kids have had are...

	5yr old : sweep kitchen daily
	6yr old: trash Tuesdays, sweep floor W, pick up shoe closet Th, etc.
	7yr old : empty dishwasher daily
	8yr old : clean 1 bathroom per day, mop floor once a week & one other job
	9yr old : laundry for the family
	10yr old : Mow the lawn - we end up having a "catch-up" year in here somewhere - a kid will prefer a job and ask for an extra year on it before going to the next harder job -OR- they need more practice on a job and get stuck on it for another year until they've mastered it.
	11yr old : do dishes daily
	12yr old: make dinner with Mama each night to learn to cook - (I plan and they learn to cook dinner each night. I feel like it's such a challenging task to get all the dishes to come out at the same time and on the table hot (or cold) that it takes a lot of practice)
	13yr old: handle the meals for the family

There is lots of information on this online.

	http://www.printablechecklists.com/checklist11.shtml
	http://www.thefamilycorner.com/parenting/growingpains/3.shtml
	http://housekeeping.about.com/od/chorechart1/a/ageapprchores.htm

They also have to clean their rooms (no allowance for that -- it's just an expectation), clean up after themselves, and whatever chores I ask them to do during the day. If they do them joyfully, they get an allowance.

My long-term goal is that they'll know how to do just about everything in the house by the time they're 13. Then, in the teen years, I'll teach them to juggle and multi-task to pull it all together. So far, we're mostly on track!

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Tally Chart - I have a different chart we put with our calendar with columns of the kids' names at the top and rows of weeks and months listed. Then we use tally marks to keep track of credits.

	Child 1	Child 2	Child 3	Child 4
	Laundry	Empty dishwasher	Sweep floor	Set table
Week 1
Week 2

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