what to do, what to do...

I've been wanting for a very long time to start a consistent list of chores for the kids to do. Teach them responsibility, give them concrete ways of contributing to the household. And give me opportunities to reward them for exceptional performance. I've looked online for printables, read dozens of other peoples' charts, and haven't found one that worked for me. So I was relying on good old paper and pencil. But then within a couple of weeks the paper would get lost, my memory would fail, and all the hard work (aka: self-discipline) quickly went by the wayside. Then three or four weeks later, I'd pull out a fresh sheet of paper and start over.

This week I finally buckled down and just did it. Made my own chart. Got to tickle my nerdy uber-anal squares-and-lines funny bone. :) Here's what my kids are up to every week until school is out:

Still have to come up with a consistent rewards program. Whether it's an allowance for consistent happy performance, or some other "deposit" that can be saved up and traded in for good stuff, or some other less concrete/more abstract system. But at least this is a start!

I must add that Nora took it upon herself to add my name to the bottom of the last handmade chart I had made. Mondays it was my job to "CLeN up BAC YORD", Tuesday I was to spend in the "LONgery ruM" (think grade 1 phonetics), and Wednesdays I was to "CLeN up LuNch." My first reaction was to be offended...she obviously has no idea how much work I do around here! But then I realized that she probably just thought it wasn't fair that all the kids had jobs to do, and mommy's name wasn't on the list with her own set of jobs. If she only knew! :)