My Dad always told me growing up that making my bed everyday would positively effect my attitude, outlook, and productivity for the day. He also told me that if I didn't make my bed, the reverse effect would also happen. I used to think this was ridiculous, until I realized it was TRUE! Still to this day if I don't make my bed in the rush of the morning, it completely changes the flow of the day! My Dad believed this principle so strongly, that I was sent home several times from school to "make my bed" or to "clean my room." Well this discipline must have stuck, because I function so much better as a Mother when basic principles like "make your bed," and "do your chores," and "clean your room," are DONE at the beginning of the day.... so of course I wanted to start my kids helping at a young age to help share the burden!
After much pondering on how I could motivate my kids to become self-sufficient and helpful, I created a system over a series of months and I am finding that it WORKS. Now don't get me wrong, I still get an occasional whine or complaint, but this system has cut down the whining to at least half, if not more! They love the reward system and I am finding that they are becoming independent and pulling their weight to help around the house. Just look how happy this little sweet face is! Here's how it works:
1- MAGNET BOARD: I created this by purchasing a cookie sheet at the dollar store, and then designing this scrap page through my website. I ordered the magnets from Etsy (TrainMeUp) and also had some custom ones made to fit our goals.
HOW IT WORKS: Every morning, my children know that before we do anything else, we get our "Morning Magnets" done. This consists of: reading scriptures, saying prayers, brushing teeth, making bed, getting dressed, putting laundry in the hamper, cleaning our room, do chores (kitchen), and hug mom. After they get all of these items done, they get a "star." This routine has to be done before we leave for school, or in the Summer, before we do anything else.
When late afternoon hits, we do the "NightTime Magnets" which consists of: Practice Music, Gymnastics, Do Chores, Schoolwork, and Reading. Then after dinner, we finish the last few that are for bed time: brush teeth, put on pjs, put laundry in hamper, clean room, hug dad, say prayers. They earn another magnet for doing their "NightTime Magnets."
They LOVE to pick a star from the "Star Board." I found this board at the Dollar Store as well and it just so happens to be magnetic! The stars also came from TrainMeUp on Etsy. It's a great easy way for me to keep them all in one place. My children can earn up to 3 stars a day. 1 for Morning Magnets, 1 for doing their Kitchen/House Chore that day, and 1 for NightTime Magnets. And of course I will give "bonus stars" for good behavior or example setting.
The stars go on the "My Reward" Magnet Board. I purposely created 20 round spots that fit the size of the star magnets. If you look closely, you will see the faded circles under the stars. This is so my children know where to put the stars, and they can also count and see how many stars they still need to earn. Once my kids get their board filled up half-way with 10 stars, they get to pick a prize from the "Prize Box." This is just a big plastic tote filled with a variety of Dollar Store prizes. They LOVE to pick a prize out of the box! This is a good middle incentive because it keeps them excited and moving forward towards 20.
If you look in the middle of the "My Reward" Board, you will see a card. Each child gets their very own deck of cards and gets to pick which card they want to "earn." They stick the card in the middle of their board so they can see it as a visual reminder each day what they are working towards.
Each card has a different reward such as "Stay up late and Star Gaze with Mom and Dad at your favorite Spot in the yard" or "Good for One Mommy and Me Icecream! You pick the place and the Flavor!" or "Good for one outside adventure at a New Park!" or "Princess for the Day! Good for: Breakfast in Bed, No Chores, and Play All Day!" There are 52 cards to choose from, and each activity is different.
These cards were made on my website. You can look through all 52 Reward Cards here: Girl Deck. Or if you have a little strapping lad, here is the Boy Deck.
Once they fill up all 20 Stars, we celebrate with a happy dance and pick a day to do the activity on the card. We then pick a new card according to their age. This means since Cade is 3, he gets to pick 3 cards from the deck, I read them, and then he chooses the one he wants. Mia is 5, so she gets to pick 5 cards, and then we narrow it down to 1. This keeps me from reading all 52 cards, and it helps the kids to truly be excited about the next card, because they got to choose their "favorite." We put the new card up with a piece of tape, and then they can start earning stars again immediately!
And as you can see, this kid is excited because he just earned his "Cupcake Challenge" card where we bake and try to decorate cupcakes like the Pros!
The "To Do" Magnet Board and the "My Reward" Board are set up with ribbon hanging from a shelf with knobs or hooks in each of their rooms. I have the shelves low enough so they can reach the magnets. In the middle, I made a Goals Board. The frame came from Hobby Lobby, and I made the page on my website. I'm a big believer in the power of goals, and I never think it is too early to start them.
Even though Cade can't write out his goals yet, he can draw pictures! So that's what we do :). At the beginning of each month, we have a Family Council on Sunday where we set goals individually and as a family. I have another giant poster similar to this for our Family Goals (that's a whole separate post to come!). Chalk markers make it fun for the kids, and they are thinking of ways they can improve themselves.
We re-evaluate at the end of the month and see how we did. I let them determine if they feel they achieved their goal. If they think they gave it their best effort, they get a bonus star for each goal they achieved. The goals listed on the Poster are: Health, Home, and Heart. The idea is for a healthy goal, a home goal (something that will help the environment at home), and a spiritual goal (heart).
And one more quick tip on Chores! I felt overwhelmed by all the work to be done around the house, and I am a Mommy that loves my home to be CLEAN, and it drives me crazy when it's not! With that said, I was trying to think of a system that would work, even with my kids so little. I decided that each child should have 2 Daily Chores: 1 Kitchen Job, and 1 House Job. I made these ornaments through my website, and then found this nifty shelf at Hobby Lobby. I thought it would be fun to put their pictures in the frame and then hang their 2 job ornaments from the hooks. It's a fun way to present chores, and they get to rotate and choose a new ornament every 2 weeks! I love to let them pick their chore, because if they gave me flack, I can remind them that THEY chose it! Once they have completed their chore for the day, they get to flip it over to the smiley face side that says, "I did it!"
Here's the chores I have on the individual ornaments:
Kitchen: Unload Dishwasher, Do the Dishes, Clean the Counters, Sweep the Floor
House: Mop & Trash, Dust & Glass, Vacuum, Bathrooms
Since they have a magnet called "Do Chores," they know they have to get this done to earn their "star" for that portion of the board. It works really well!
I hope this has been helpful for you and gives you some ideas to help produce sanity in the chaos! Feel free to create this with whatever materials you've got at home- you don't have to make it exactly like this, but hopefully you've got enough ideas to do it the way that will work for you! It does take a lot of Mommy Time initially because you have to teach them how to do each assignment correctly, and if they are really young like my kids, they will need your help as their Mother on most of the magnets and chores. But I promise you if you stick with and be consistent, it will pay off, and they will soon be doing it on their own! And if you really made it to the bottom of this long post, you deserve a cookie! Now go have a wonderful day and give that child a chore!