Homeschool Creations

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Our Chore System & Chore Chart Printables

We’ve had our new chore system in place for about a month now and so far it’s working well for us. In the past we have tried to use the chore system from Managers of Their Homes…but cards started getting lost, the younger ones had trouble getting them in and out of the pouches and overall it just didn’t work as well for us as I had envisioned.

I also want to explain a little bit of the ‘why’ behind our chore system and how we’re implementing it in our household. You may {or may not} agree with our reasoning…and that’s ok, but this has developed after a lot of talking and merging of different ideas. The full page chore chart goes along with our Weekly Workbox System Grid and is the same size, so it fits as the top page of the set and hangs on the wall.

The Basics of the System

In life there are things that we do on a day-to-day basis that are unpaid and things that result {generally} in a paycheck. Rick mows the lawn, does upkeep on the house, takes out the trash…but other than a thanks from me, it’s an unpaid job. :) He has a paid job that involves him showing up to work on time, completing certain tasks, etc… Neither of us want our children growing up thinking that money is just handed to them. We want them to develop a good work ethic and understand the balance between work and pay  ~ if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. If you DO work, there are benefits to that. We also want them to learn how to budget their money and manage it before they are in their teens or 20’s and don’t have a clue what to do.

The system that we’re using has two parts: expected chores and paid chores. The two sets go hand in hand though. The expected chores need to be done in order for the paid chores to get paid out. That means that no money is earned unless the basic chores are completed {and Mommy checks to make sure they are done!}.

There are certain things that we expect our kids to do around the house because they are members of the household ~ making of beds, picking up of rooms, etc… Those are the basic chores. Each of our kids has a set of 3 morning expected morning chores and 3 afternoon/evening chores.

Our chore charts are attached to our Weekly Workbox Grid and hang on the wall so the kids have easy access to them. They are laminated and have check boxes next to each of the chores so I can check off with a Sharpie when they have completed a chore {and remove the Sharpie marks later with nail polish remover}. The last column is the “Today I Earned” column where we they can see how much they earned that day. Payday is Saturday and Sunday is a day of rest and no earning. :)

Workbox Grids Cards and Chores 2010-2011

Laurianna’s Chore Chart

Each of the kids has 3 additional chores a day that will earn them money. The money varies from child to child ~ the older they get and the more ‘responsible’ the chore is, they earn a little extra…but we’re still cheap!. They cannot earn the money unless they complete their daily chores {i.e. if they miss one of the daily chores, no cash even if they complete all of the ones they can earn on}. It might seem a little harsh, but the kids are quickly learning the importance of completing what has been put in front of them!

The Chores

Here’s a list of the daily/expected chores that we have for the kids on their charts. They obviously have other things they need to do during the day, but these are the key things we chose to focus on and they may change out if we are having difficulty with certain things being done. For example, oral hygiene is high on the list for a certain 5 year old....

Laurianna {age 9}: make bed/pick-up room, water plants, devotions, pick-up school stuff, clean up basement {family room}, shoes/jacket away, clean off dresser and under bed

McKenna {age 7}: same as above

Zachary {age 5}: make bed/pick-up room, brush teeth, devotions, pick-up school stuff, clean up basement/family room, shoes/jacket away, clean under bed

Kaleb {age 3}: make bed, pick-up room, devotions, wipe table/chairs, pick-up basement/family room, shoes/jacket away

The paid chores change daily, and again there are things that the kids are still expected to do {like put away their laundry}, but these are the extra paid chores by child.

Laurianna: Clean out bathroom sink, start load of laundry, vacuum basement and spare room, clean toilets, dust living room, and yardwork {25 cents a chore, max of 75 cents day}.

McKenna: Wash breakfast table, laundry from washer to dryer, vacuum bedroom, wash bathroom mirror, clean bathroom counters, and yardwork {20 cents a chore, max of 60 cents day}.

Zachary: Load the dishwasher, clothes out of dryer, clean out the van, vacuum bedroom, wash patio door, wash bathroom mirror/clean walls, and yardwork {15 cents a chore, max of 45 cents day}.

Kaleb: Help sort dirty clothes & help start laundry {with Laurianna}; vacuum living room & kitchen; empty bathroom trash; wash patio door; help with dishes; and yardwork {10 cents a chore, max of 30 cents day}.

Payday

Saturday is payday at our house because there aren’t any chores that earn money on Sunday. When we pay the kids for their chores, we also divide out the money that they have earned as follows: 20% giving {we want them to be generous from the start!}, 40% savings and 40% spending.

Rick and I are huge fans of Dave Ramsey and have led his Financial Peace class at our church several times because we have experienced first hand the importance of being debt free. We were deeply in debt {not including our house} to the tune of almost $65,000 around the time Zachary was born. We got serious about paying off that debt {gazelle intensity as Dave would say} and paid it all off in 19 months! We made many dumb money mistakes over the years and really want to teach our children how to deal with money now while we can ~ so they don’t repeat the same mistakes that we made. If you are interested, I would highly recommend the book Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. That was a bunny trail, but I think it’s important that you also understand a little more of the why behind what we do!

The Charts

Obviously your house and chores may not line up with what we have listed, but if you’d like to use the grid that I made, you can download the blank chore chart templates, write in your chores and then laminate them to use. The Chore Chart printables have 5 pages, all the same format, just different colors ~ purple, pink, blue, green and white.

I’m revamping Kaleb’s a little bit, since he can’t read yet. His will be a picture version of the chore chart and I’ll be sharing that soon with you all too! It’ll be more ‘preschool-style’ when all is said and done. :)

You can download the Chore Chart printables pdf file by clicking on the image below.

Blank Chore Charts

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47 Comments:

  • HI, I love this! I struggle with the issue b/c I have the same philosophy--I feel like they should so some things just b/c they are members of our household & should not be paid for those, but I also like the idea of having them EARN an allowance. This is a great way to address that! thanks for sharing :)

    By Blogger cutiepiescustomcreations, At August 12, 2010 at 8:02 AM  

  • I really like this! I have just started a new chore system but I'm not sure how well it's working. We've been struggling with the idea of allowance- should we? shouldn't we? and after seeing this I relly like the idea of having chores that aren't paid and some that are. I think that teaches them to contribute to the home without feeling entitled to payment but also to feel motivated to work extra to be able to save up for things they want. Thank you for sharing!

    By Blogger Cheryl, At August 12, 2010 at 8:34 AM  

  • Wow, these are great! Thanks.

    It's so nice to meet another sister in the Lord's blog! Love it!

    Let's connect. I found you over at in courage. Love that place.

    I'm following your blog. I blog over at Ordinary Inspirations: http://www.ordinaryinspirations.blogspot.com

    Love,
    Traci

    By Blogger Traci Michele, At August 12, 2010 at 8:57 AM  

  • There are children's books by Dave Ramsey. I picked them up at Chick-fil-a several years ago to help teach economics to my second grade class. Now that I'm at home, I use them with my own children. I'm sure they can be found online somewhere. Maybe even Dave's website. I haven't looked there to see since we already have them all.

    By Blogger Brandy, At August 12, 2010 at 9:21 AM  

  • I love it thanks! I need to get our chore chart back up, we slacked over summer and the kids still did chores, but unless they said something we'd forgot to pay them LOL! Oops :0)

    By Blogger Confessions Of A Homeschooler, At August 12, 2010 at 9:45 AM  

  • I am using chore cards on rings, which is working well for us, but I can't believe how similar our systems are! I am working on getting my own post up soon. We do the extra chores for pay also. Congrats on getting out of debt too! We are currently working on the very last step, and hope to have the house paid off by 2012. Lots of work but so worth it!

    By Blogger Bekki, At August 12, 2010 at 10:03 AM  

  • Love it! Did you call in your debt free scream? We never did, but I dreamed about doing it. We had a debt free party.

    Back to this topic, perfect timing. Jeff and I are trying to figure out what we want to do for chores.

    By Blogger Ticia, At August 12, 2010 at 10:13 AM  

  • Thank you so much for sharing this and also for sharing a bit of your debt-free journey.

    Chris and I are currently striving to live on half of our income so that we can purpose the rest toward getting out of debt w/ gazelle intensity in the new few years. It is comforting to see another family that paid off a high dollar amount in a short time - gives me hope that we can do it, too :-)

    Love the chore charts ... will be exploring this further! Thank you!

    Best Wishes, Kara

    By Blogger K E Fleck, At August 12, 2010 at 10:35 AM  

  • This is wonderful. I share the same beliefs about some things being just a part of contributing to a family. I was trying to figure out a way to include an allowance for my 4 year old. I may use your idea about adding some extra chores he can do for money.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 12, 2010 at 11:23 AM  

  • I agree with some chores simply being part of living in the household. My girls don't do enough of those, and hubby & I have already discussed how that needs to change. But some chores are a little "above & beyond" so we want to pay for those. So I like the system you've got working here. I need to figure how to customize it for our own family. Downloaded your charts; thank you! :)

    By Blogger Jamie {See Jamie blog}, At August 12, 2010 at 11:26 AM  

  • Great idea! Thank you for the link to the printable chart! I am going to give this a try with my son.

    It's so nice to 'meet' you today! I found your blog via inCourage! :)

    Have a blessed day!
    Melanie
    ~ melscoffeebreak.blogspot.com ~

    By Blogger Melanie, At August 12, 2010 at 11:35 AM  

  • Thank you! I have been waiting for this.

    By Blogger Carole, At August 12, 2010 at 12:19 PM  

  • oo love it.. all of it!! Can't wait to see Kaleb's I think we will be implementing something like this soon!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 12, 2010 at 1:21 PM  

  • I enjoyed reading this post. We have done a lot of thinking in this area and decided to separate expected contribution to home life from allowance that we plan to initiate. But I think that we have to be a bit more explicit about our expectations - we still have some compliance issues there :)

    By Blogger Natalie PlanetSmarty, At August 12, 2010 at 1:33 PM  

  • Thank you!

    By Blogger Sam, At August 12, 2010 at 1:56 PM  

  • Thank you so much for the inspiration. I took your ideas and tweaked it for our needs. I'm printing them right now!

    By Blogger Amy, At August 12, 2010 at 2:07 PM  

  • I really appreciate this. The one thing we haven't liked about our current system is the fact that there was no way to differentiate between what is paid and what isn't. I'm so glad you thought of this :).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At August 12, 2010 at 2:54 PM  

  • We haven't formalized chores yet, because our boys are both so young and for now think helping out for the most part is fun, so I am going with that for as long as it lasts! But I love the balance you have between expected and paid chores. I agree kids need to learn both - that some things you just have to do and there is no pay out, but they also need to learn money management. Thank you for sharing this, I will definitely come back to this when it is time for us to figure out our routine.

    By Blogger Kami, At August 12, 2010 at 3:05 PM  

  • I think this is great stuff! Way to go on paying off that much debt that quickly. That is gazelle intensity! My husband and I have also taught FPU a few times. We believe that great things could happen for the kingdom of God if His people were debt free!

    By Blogger Amanda, At August 12, 2010 at 3:09 PM  

  • This looks great! I look forward to seeing your preschool version! Thanks for the great insight as to the "Why" behind what you are doing!
    Blessings!
    Jessica

    By Blogger Our Family for His Glory, At August 12, 2010 at 3:44 PM  

  • I love this system! I have been trying to come up with something that would work for our kids, 8,6,5. Without them thinking they needed to be paid for everything... as we expect things out of them just cause they are part of our family. I also like how you keep the money reasonable. Thanks for sharing!

    By Blogger The Bertone's, At August 12, 2010 at 7:08 PM  

  • You are amazing! I am completely impressed that you paid off your debt in a year! WOW! Way to go! My husband and I are in a similar debt situation and are working with the Dave Ramsey coach right now. I am intrigued if you don't mind me asking, how did you do it? Do you have any tips, advice, etc. to help propel things? I'd love to hear what worked for you. Congratulations. What a Godly and wonderful example you have set for your children.
    Blessings,
    Di Ryan
    diryan@gmail.com
    http://sowing3seeds.blogspot.com/

    By Blogger Di Ryan, At August 12, 2010 at 10:50 PM  

  • We just implemented an almost identical system to this several weeks ago. The only difference is that we have said that if they don't complete their required chores, and we have to ask one of their brothers to do it for them, THEY have to pay their brother for doing the chore and it comes out of their "account". We don't pay each week, but instead are keeping a bank ledger of what they earn. We did this because they decided as a group that they want to save for a play station.

    By Blogger Unknown, At August 13, 2010 at 7:39 AM  

  • Thanks for posting this. I have been stuggling with coming up with a good system. I loved the tiered pays by age. It's easy to forget how much money that is to a little one. I love that they must complete the initial chores to move on to paid chores. Thanks again!!

    By Blogger Andria, At August 13, 2010 at 9:02 AM  

  • I LOVE THIS! We revamp our chore system every once in a while as we find what works and what doesn't. The basics are getting done (barely), but I like the incentive of having a couple of paid chores (those things that should be done but aren't) that can be an incentive to get the basics done. Time to switch things around a bit so that we get used to them before school starts! Thanks for the ideas!!!

    By Blogger Mindy, At August 13, 2010 at 10:16 AM  

  • Oh, I like this. We've been trying to implement a 'pay for chores' system rather than just handing them an allowance, but ultimately a lot of the time they just decide not to do the chores at all. Massive fail. I like the idea of chores that they have to do in order to have the paid chores get paid.

    By Blogger Rea, At August 13, 2010 at 10:52 AM  

  • Great tips! Thanks so much! And thanks to Sheila Gregoire for Tweeting your link :)

    ~Jodi
    www.magicalmouseschoolhouse.com, where Disney IS school

    By Blogger Unknown, At August 13, 2010 at 1:18 PM  

  • Thankyou so much for such a wonderful blog full of information, I myself started homeschooling just 4 weeks ago and still feel quite lost at the moment, your blog has really given me so many fabulous ideas, especially in the way of getting organised.

    By Blogger Pretty Petals, At August 14, 2010 at 4:30 AM  

  • I love this! Thank you for sharing. We have tried chores before and I want to start again. DD is going to be 4 in November and there is no reason why she can't start to do some things. I struggled with paying her to do some chores, which you solved this problem to. I want to get her the Crown piggy bank with the 3 separate banks in one (tithing, saving, spending) so she can see the differences. I can't wait to see your chart for Zachery, as I need a more preschooler version for our DD.

    By Anonymous Michelle @ Traditional Simplicity, At August 15, 2010 at 9:20 AM  

  • I really like your ideas!! I have been struggling between paying for chores and wanting them to contribute as a member of a family! You have reached a happy medium! I will be implementing this plan soon!! I have just recently found your site and have been using many of the printables! This is my 2nd year hs'ing, but first year using workboxes. Thanks for all of your great ideas and making them accessible!! ~Maggie

    By Blogger Maggie Elliott, At August 16, 2010 at 1:14 PM  

  • what a great system. My husband and I have tried all kinds of things when it comes to chores, and sometimes it almost seems like our oldest son expects to just be paid for whatever we ask him to do...which doesn't happen. I really like this system because it incorporates both the expected and chores he can earn with...and the giving part is the best. Thank you for sharing. I'm kinda excited to get this going.:)

    By Anonymous Mel, At August 16, 2010 at 1:27 PM  

  • I love this. The wee ones are edxpected to do a lot, but they don't earn an allowance - yet. This is perffect how it bridges the gap. Great job - and I'm stealing this!

    By Blogger Michelle, At August 16, 2010 at 3:40 PM  

  • Thanks for sharing! I am always curious about what people find appropriate for chores for all the different ages! I was also wondering if you have ever considered using a Vis-a-Vis pen instead of a sharpie? They come off with water but stay really nice until then! Just a thought, in case you didn't now! If you already knew, and prefer your sharpie, then ignore me- I'm probably rambling anyway!

    By Blogger Chic Mama, At August 16, 2010 at 4:32 PM  

  • Love this and am printing it off now!! Just one question, how did you decide on the amounts to give each child and when does the pay increase for each child? Thanks for your great blog. I love it!!!

    By Blogger momtime, At August 19, 2010 at 10:51 PM  

  • My children are all the same age as yours with the exception of the 9 year old. My oldest is 14. But this still is a great guide for me to get started with my chore system. I only had one in place for my oldest which even includes a magnetic board I created for her but now I will get the older ones involved and include the pay as well!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At October 4, 2010 at 4:56 PM  

  • Thank you for this!

    By Blogger Jessica Snell, At October 7, 2010 at 6:07 PM  

  • Thank you for this!

    By Anonymous Jessica, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • I love this! Thank you for sharing. We have tried chores before and I want to start again. DD is going to be 4 in November and there is no reason why she can't start to do some things. I struggled with paying her to do some chores, which you solved this problem to. I want to get her the Crown piggy bank with the 3 separate banks in one (tithing, saving, spending) so she can see the differences. I can't wait to see your chart for Zachery, as I need a more preschooler version for our DD.

    By Anonymous Michelle @ Traditional Simplic, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • I LOVE THIS! We revamp our chore system every once in a while as we find what works and what doesn't. The basics are getting done (barely), but I like the incentive of having a couple of paid chores (those things that should be done but aren't) that can be an incentive to get the basics done. Time to switch things around a bit so that we get used to them before school starts! Thanks for the ideas!!!

    By Anonymous Mindy, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • We just implemented an almost identical system to this several weeks ago. The only difference is that we have said that if they don't complete their required chores, and we have to ask one of their brothers to do it for them, THEY have to pay their brother for doing the chore and it comes out of their "account". We don't pay each week, but instead are keeping a bank ledger of what they earn. We did this because they decided as a group that they want to save for a play station.

    By Anonymous Michelle, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • I love this system! I have been trying to come up with something that would work for our kids, 8,6,5. Without them thinking they needed to be paid for everything... as we expect things out of them just cause they are part of our family. I also like how you keep the money reasonable. Thanks for sharing!

    By Anonymous The Bertone's, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • We haven't formalized chores yet, because our boys are both so young and for now think helping out for the most part is fun, so I am going with that for as long as it lasts! But I love the balance you have between expected and paid chores. I agree kids need to learn both - that some things you just have to do and there is no pay out, but they also need to learn money management. Thank you for sharing this, I will definitely come back to this when it is time for us to figure out our routine.

    By Anonymous Kami, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • Thank you!

    By Anonymous Samantha, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • oo love it.. all of it!! Can't wait to see Kaleb's I think we will be implementing something like this soon!

    By Anonymous Lindsay, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • I am using chore cards on rings, which is working well for us, but I can't believe how similar our systems are! I am working on getting my own post up soon. We do the extra chores for pay also. Congrats on getting out of debt too! We are currently working on the very last step, and hope to have the house paid off by 2012. Lots of work but so worth it!

    By Anonymous Bekki, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • There are children's books by Dave Ramsey. I picked them up at Chick-fil-a several years ago to help teach economics to my second grade class. Now that I'm at home, I use them with my own children. I'm sure they can be found online somewhere. Maybe even Dave's website. I haven't looked there to see since we already have them all.

    By Anonymous Brandy, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

  • HI, I love this! I struggle with the issue b/c I have the same philosophy--I feel like they should so some things just b/c they are members of our household & should not be paid for those, but I also like the idea of having them EARN an allowance. This is a great way to address that! thanks for sharing :)

    By Anonymous cutiepiescustomcreations, At December 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM  

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