Softball and baseball have started while school is still in session so our chores and structure have gotten a little lax, and this is when I start losing my desire to enforce routines that work for us during the rest of the year. This is the beginning of the land slide that usually lasts through the summer until I am so ready for school to start up again in the fall just to be able to restore some structure and sanity!
But not this year. This year I nipped it in the bud, and came up with different chore charts for each child and a chore wheel for household duties.
And this year I am going to be the Mean Mom. Not a mom that's mean, but a mom that means what she says.
This year I have a plan. It's a good plan. Not just because I know it will work, it's because it's filled with GOOD stuff! Fun stuff! Fun stuff that we only get to do if chores are done.
The past few summers I have been the martyr and have done the majority of the chores myself so the kids could enjoy their summer and "just be kids."
Am I the only one that has bought into this false idea that mom doing all the chores is a good thing for their children?
We never end up having fun. THEY never end up having much fun. Because I'm always stuck inside doing all the chores until I am too tired to do anything fun. And that's beside the fact that they aren't learning responsibility.
And they get into trouble while amusing themselves. And I get mad. And more tired.
Hence the chore charts and chore wheel.
We will have a family meeting to come up with all the ideas of things we all want to do during the summer, and post it for all of us to see. And we are going to have a family challenge to see how many of them we can cross off before the summer is over!
But we can't do fun stuff if chores aren't done.
It's not a bribe. It's a fact. Chores finished first. FUN next! Yay!
I did a test-run with this theory and the chore charts on Saturday, with promises of a trip to a city park after. We were finished and to the park by 11:00 A.M.! We had even woken up late. It was fantastic and easily one of the best weekends we've had in weeks.
Sample Chore Charts (made in an Excel spreadsheet, mimicking bullet journaling):
For our eleven year old:
For our six year old (who can read):
For our soon-to-be four year old twins (these are made with simple clip art available online and are on two pages; one for morning chores, one for evening chores...they each have their own set):
The older kids color the box for the chore each day, and their charts are good for a whole month.
The younger kids get a sticker that they put on each picture as they complete the chore. Their charts will be replaced weekly.
Each week their charts are more filled in than not, they will receive a "pass" for a movie night. They love to have the opportunity to stay up a little later and do something special. Movies aren't allowed for 'date night' with Mom and Dad, so this is the perfect incentive. I intend to increase the expectation (with prior notice) to earn their pass so that their responsibility and ownership for their chores increases through out the summer.
I made a wheel chart similar to this one: Wheel Chore Chart Idea . Ours isn't nearly as pretty and uniform as the one pictured, but it should work. If it works well I might give it a makeover.
That's our plan! I'll post the summer fun ideas our family comes up with when we get that put together. Here's to a summer filled with fun, while continuing to teach responsibility!
