OUR CHORE SYSTEM

I have tried many many chore charts and angles through the years for my kiddos.  They usually work for a little bit but fizzle out.  

Last year we just had Tuesday's as our "Life Skill" day and that was  my fancy word for cleaning lol  The children were not fooled.  I did make it more fun and give out fake money to Snuggle Bug and old checks to  Sissy and Bubba . I had a list of what each chore was worth and then they had to use their money to "buy" their lunch(a dry erase board that listed with lots of different options and prices).  They also had to be sure to tithe 10% and put 10% in savings.  They also had set costs for electric and water.

 Oh and I would occasionally throw in those unexpected things that happen.  Like I threw water on the floor and said the pipe bursts in Bubba's house or I dumped out some clothes in Snuggle Bug's room and positioned a monkey to look like it was eating them.  They had to pay up to replace or fix things.

I also gave them 3 choices of fake cars  and 3 houses that they had to pay rent on each week. From a car with no radio to a luxury vehicle and so on.  Bubba realized real quick he was living outside his means lol

BUT anyhow, cleaning one day a week with a family of 7 is a lot to do.  So we adopted a system from www.holyspiritledhomeschooling.net ( LOVE this blog!!!!!!).  Here is what we do now and it works wonderfully!!  For anyone that has been over during our winter break, please know that we fell of track with our routine  I would hate for anyone to think that's what the house looks like with this system lol

This system allows for the house to be cleaned daily and everyone rotating jobs.  It also allows the littler ones to team up with mom so we can TRAIN the kids how to clean.  Responsibility focus is for that whole day in addition to their daily chore.  I love it because I am not freaking out that my kitchen is a mess because I know that Weds. I will get to it! 

 I even have a day to declutter!!!  LOVE THIS!  I have organized cabinets, cleaned out the pantry, all that stuff there never seems to be time for, but now there is!!  My kids also throw their own laundry in the washer and put away their own clothes.  Snuggle Bug  just puts his away but he does help me with the bathroom laundry and my laundry.  Again, training him up!

If it is your day to do dishes( by hand), then you do them after lunch and after dinner.  It helps to lighten the load.  I have had to train up the older 2 kids to do dishes since this is not a system we have had since they were little.  

I also have checklists for each room that the kids grab out to be sure they do everything that is supposed to be done.  This saves that aggravating question,"What now?"  "What next?"  that gets asked 20 times.

I simply put each of the checklists and the schedule in a 3 ring binder and inside page protectors!  They can use a dry erase marker to check things off as they go.

We schedule an hour a day to do the assigned tasks( but the responsibility focus is through out the entire day), usually from 3-4pm.

My kids do not get an allowance.  We think that some things should just be expected in life.  Their reward is a house that they can move through with out stuff everywhere.  They also get a happy mommy. 

 I feel so much more at peace when my house is in order.  

With 5 kids, it is never perfect but that's ok.  I will settle for 'manageable'. 

Especially seeing as how the kids are home all day for homeschooling and continually adding to the mess.

Just a little glimpse in how we keep our house running!!

Have a blessed Christmas!!!!

The Mama