Teaching our children valuble life skills

I'll be the first to admit I want my kids to be kids. There were times growing up that I hated my parents for giving me chores and I swore if I ever had kids I'd never make them do chores. Well it's been many moons later and I can say "Yep my kids have chores". Now their chores aren't big or strenuous for them, I believe that even at a very young age your child can pick up after themselves. I didn't start having my kids even pick up their rooms till they were about 6 and that was a big mistake, I'd still be cleaning their rooms if they had their way.  This chart has floated around the web for sometime now and while my Monsters now have a firm grasp on their chores, it has helped to make sure they are not doing more than they really can handle.

My kids do just about everything on this list and it's nice to know I can count on them to help around the house. 

Cadence is 12 and does most of what is on the list. He likes to shop with me and run up to the gas station if I run out of milk. He makes dinner and some weeks he cooks more than I do because he loves it. Now he can't sew but if it needs hammered, screwed, or stapled he's on it. If it's his normal daily chore... he's no where to be found but he'll help any other time.

Tydan is 11,  he'll do his chores if I'm watching but anything more is like pulling teeth some days. He'd rather be sitting on the couch in front of the tv or playing outside. He does a pretty good job when he puts his mind to it and even comes up with some great short cuts.

Daytona is 9 and Daddy has babied her a bit too much. I finally put my foot down with her chores so for now she's a chore floater. Since the boy's have set chores everyday she is to help them both. I even went and got her her very own pet to take care of. (Oreo the guinea pig)

While you may think my that list is super long we break our chores and even the house cleaning into days of the week.

Monday - Kitchen and Laundry Room. Everything scrubbed, organized, and a weekly fridge cleaning. Monthly we pull out the appliances and clean behind them.

Tuesday - Office and Pantry. This is a organize take stock type of area. Monthly we defrost the freezers.

Wednesday - Living Room and Entry - Big purge areas! You would not believe what my kids can pack into the entry way bins in a week. Dusting and monthly couch moving is a must.

Thursday - Bedrooms, Bathrooms, and Hallway. Now if all goes as planned during the morning and evening getting ready for bed these  areas are already clean. If not now is the time to deep clean.


Friday - Dining Room - Another room that if cleaned daily is not a problem, but we tend to use this area as a catch all for projects.

Weekend - Yard work when needed.

The Monsters have a chore binder in case they 'forget' what they are suppose to really do in an area. Their binder even has a place to keep track of books they've checked out, T.V time, how much they have in allowance, and because I'm a cool Mom a place to ask a sibling to change chores with them. And just in case the binder goes missing, they have charts set up in the dining room that tells them what is to be done, when, and even for how long. We are big fans of the 15 minute pick up.

Chores are always red while fun things happening are green. This month's board is all about prepping for a Halloween party.