by Donna | Jun 21, 2011
Last year in our experiment to post 365 blog entries, I realized that I wrote a lot! A whole lot! And some things I wrote are good to hear again–or to be reminded of occasionally. With everybody scrambling to find their new normal for the summer, I wanted to re-post an entry from last year that has links for charts that you can create/use for designing your new normal–your summer schedules and goals. Hope they help today be a better day for you! 🙂
https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/2010/07/day-186-links-for-charts-for-reading.html
by Donna | Jul 12, 2010
I have posted tons of information on chores (see link for all of them together: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/search/label/Chores ). Likewise, I have posted a lot about reading with your kids, having your kids read, etc. (Reading instruction link: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/search/label/reading%20instruction ) And building daily habits that teach good character to our kids. And, the other day, I described how you can create your own “summer reading program” for your kids.
Today I am going to post some links in which you can get free charts, checklists, etc. to use for developing these good habits of chores, reading, daily routines, etc. Some of them have charts that can printed and filled in while others have “editable” ones—that is, those that you can open in WORD or Excel and actually alter on the computer then print it out all created for your needs. Happy chart making—and character building! Remember, it will be much easier to start some of these habits now when you do not have the busy-ness of school days/kids going to school/after school activities, etc.
*Tons of them—some editable and some that you print and use as is—great site: https://alenkasprintables.com/free_printables.shtml
*Site with hundreds of charts of all types for all ages: https://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/
*Printable reward charts and coupons! https://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/reward_certificates.htm
*Chore charts of many varieties: https://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/chore_charts_11+.htm
*Reading charts!!! https://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/reading_charts.htm
Tomorrow—tips for reading WITH your child!
by Donna | Dec 31, 2016
You’ve heard the speaker tell about how to improve your day. You’ve taken detailed notes. You feel empowered—even optimistic.
Then you get home and start to make the charts, create the checklists, and hold the family meeting…and you suddenly have questions. A lot of questions….
(more…)
by Donna | Oct 19, 2015
One of the most important things to do in going “back to school” is definitely incorporating chore sessions (including having trained everybody in their chores during the summer). I have been writing (and podcasting) a lot about this topic this summer, so rather than re-inventing the wheel here, I will direct you to some of those for more help.
I remember vividly the two summers before my August and September babies were born. I had double the motivation to get the chore schedules updated—a new school year and a new baby’s arrival. I made mini posters for above the washing machine, and we had “laundry lessons” for several days. I upped the look of the chore charts to try to excite the kids a little bit about the new divisions of labor. We timed the tasks to be sure they could be done in the allotted time. We instituted “room to room” for three to five minutes before each chore session to ensure that everybody’s things were up out of the way before the cleaner or assistant chef or little laundry lady started her tasks.
(more…)
by Donna | Sep 7, 2013
 |
| When our children got older, I moved out of colorful chore charts on poster board types of display and into typed charts created in Excel in report covers. |
When it comes to chores, I am thankful that I learned the approach that we have used for the past twenty years plenty early in my homeschooling tenure:
1. Attach three different chore sessions to twenty to thirty minutes prior to each meal.
2. Use one of your “chorers” for meal preparations for that upcoming meal. (Eventually, our kids did breakfasts and lunches completely by themselves for the family–and either did dinner with me or rotated through and took a different night each week as they got older.)
3. Put the most crucial chores in the first chore session–the things that need done every day regardless. For us, this meant one load of laundry, one load of dishes, trash throughout the house, wipe down bathrooms, get out/start something for evening meal, and fix breakfast. This way you will almost always get to the priorities (“dailies”)
4. In the second chore session, put more dailies and a couple of weekly tasks. (For us, this meant another load of dishes, laundry, and trash; lunch preps; possibly baking; and another weekly or two, such as dusting and vacuuming, cleaning out fridge, etc.)
5. In the third chore session, I put the things I only dream of getting to and dinner preps. (I always had a child in the kitchen with me each evening as I prepared dinner–unless the child fixed it himself or herself!)
6. Before each chore session, I called out “Room to Room”–which meant that each person should go through the main rooms and pick up what they have out. This allowed the chorer for that room to dust, vacuum, etc., without having to pick up first.
The key to successful chores, in my opinion, include the following:
A. Do dailies daily! Do not skip dailies. Do not try to do anything else until the dailies are down pat.
B. Never miss the first two chore sessions!
C. Have everybody work the entire chore session. (If someone got done early, he came to get another task or helped someone else. This wasn’t a race–it was a daily lifestyle that helped us have time for homeschooling and all of the wonderful teaching, heart training, and family times that we wanted to have.)
D. Don’t make it the least bit optional. After a couple of months of this lifestyle, my kids never even questioned whether they had to fold and put away three loads of laundry that day or fix lunch every day or cut up a fridge full of veggies. It was a way of life–a way of life that made our family successful.
E. Don’t eat until the work is done!
F. Have I mentioned not to skip?
