Click here to buy colorful, printable chore lists for toddlers through tweens.
If you want more chores, efficiency, and organization help, check out the podcast episodes listed here.
I recently published an e-book titled Age-Appropriate Chores with printable posters for each age group (containing Chores to Do With Someone and Chores to Do By Themselves). It had a forward of several pages of chore tips. It was a freebie in January but is now available at our stores for a small price.
People have been enjoying those posters, so I decided to publish shortened versions of the posters (just the Chores to Do By Themselves) on the blog and for Pinterest. With that, I am going to run several chore tip blog posts as well. So stay tuned over the next few weeks as I write about chores and as we share these colorful memes.
Donna Reish, author of fifty language arts and writing books and the Raising Kids With Character seminar and blog, brings you this “chore” episode of Wondering Wednesday. This week Donna answers readers’ questions about age-appropriate chores. Donna introduces some keys to teaching children chores at all ages, including the importance of a set chore time, thorough training, and the difference between working with the child vs. the child working independently. Then she delves into various age groups and what are appropriate expectations for each one—with thorough, consistent training and follow up.
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.
Listen to the podcast here.
I get asked a lot about getting kids on board. Helping them not to see chores as a means to an end (i.e. do chores, get computer time) but rather as something that builds the family up, that we do because we are unified in our love for our family, etc.
