Why I LOVE My Chore Cart

Last month while browsing blogs, I discovered a new chore chart that I was really excited about.  Part of my excitement was the fact that I already had the pocket chart (though mine is WAY too big and I had to fold it in half and pin it to make it shorter), so all I had to do was print out the cards, laminate them, cut everything out, and get started!

My girls were excited about the chore chart as well!  They loved the tickets they would earn, stars on a reward card, the idea of earning prizes or money that they could save up and go shopping with.  If they complete every chore by their name then they get a sticker on their reward card.  6 stickers fills the reward card which can then be exchanged for a prize/reward.  If they only do some of their chores then they get a ticket for each chore they completed.  Tickets are supposed to be traded in for really small prizes, or money.  My biggest concern when I first hung up the chart was the fact that the tickets could be traded in for small prizes.  With clean up prizes already being given out, I didn't want a surplus of small useless odds and ends laying around.  I was also a little worried about the cost of the larger prizes adding up. 

I decided that tickets could be exchanged for quarters, and completed reward cards could be traded for either a trip to the dollar store, or larger prizes from a prize bag.  They usually finish all their chores every day so there aren't a lot of tickets being handed out, but a lot of stickers make their way onto those reward cards!  My "big" prizes have been found mostly in the dollar section of Target, so they are cheap but the kids don't know it!

The girls also like that everything is visual - they can see exactly what chores they need to accomplish that day, and it's satisfying for them to physically move the chore cards down to the "all done" row.  They also like that their chores are not the same every day, except for the homework and pet-related cards.

I also love that it changes every day.  Chore charts in the past haven't worked because our chore needs change all the time.  I needed to be able to customize it every day.  Every night or morning I can decide what I want them to do based on what needs to be done.  If I know there will be a load of kids laundry that needs to get started in the morning, I can assign that chore to Sweet Pea.  If the floors aren't too dirty but could use a light mopping I can assign it to Babydoll.  If I have a sink full of pots and large stuff to wash, I'm not going to assign dishes to either of them... it's just too much for them to get clean.  I love the daily customization it allows! 

Every day Sweet Pea (age 8) is assigned the same two chores: Homework (which includes her daily reading aloud, spelling practice, and the once-per-week worksheets that come home), and filling the dog and cat's water bowl.  Then depending on the day she usually has 2 more chores, but if it's going to be a really busy evening I'll only give her one more so she has the best chance at succeeding.  Every day Babydoll (age 4) is assigned "feed dog" and "feed cat" and is given two other chores based on our needs that day. 

Some of the chores Sweet Pea gets are: clean litter box, start laundry, fold laundry, clean bedroom, vacuum, sweep kitchen, mop kitchen, make bed, and empty dishwasher.  Some of Babydoll's have been: sweep kitchen, mop kitchen, fold laundry, pick up bathroom (keep things put away and tidy, not actually cleaning it), dishes (sort of), make bed, clean bedroom, and set the table for dinner.

There are also "best bee-havior" cards that are supposed to be handed out for especially fantastic behavior.  Babydoll earned one when she voluntarily cleaned their very messy room without any kind of coaxing or help from anyone. And she did a very good job, so I gave her a "bee-havior" card.  She then got to exchange that for something fun - she chose a playdate with her friend, who then came over to play the next morning.  Sweet Pea earned one, though it was a month ago now and I can't remember what it was for.  It was something above and beyond typical expectations.  She also chose to have a friend over for the afternoon.

The very best part of this new system? I haven't had to beg/plead/nag at all!  I simply ask (if I even have to) if they finished their chores, and with a quick look they can either answer that they had, or can choose to do the chore.  It isn't a power struggle, I don't fret if they don't get every chore done or punish them for it, they simply get a "lesser" reward (which really isn't even a lesser reward consider the "bigger" prizes are still pretty cheap!)  They have been doing their chores now for one month without complaining or grumbling, except a couple times when they were bummed to have the same chore two days in a row. 

So there you go folks, a chore chart that actually works and is fun for the kids!  I wish I could take credit for it but I can't.  I found it at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  You can find the link in my initial post about this chart, here.

The Secret to Cleaning with Little Kids

I have a mental list of projects that need doing.  One of which was to clean my room.  This was going to mostly involve putting a lot of laundry away, and probably re-washing laundry as well, since most of the problem that was there was some stacked up laundry baskets full of clean clothes that hadn't been put away, and a box and laundry basket of the kids stuff and some odds and ends that had been put in our room "until we got around to dealing with them".  Add to that a pack-n-play, a chair, and the disconnected footboard of our bed, and it was really annoying me.  The baskets were all stacked against the dresser and closet, the pack-n-play in another corner near our tiny non-functioning tv, and the footboard was leaning against our bed during the day and against the pack-n-play during the night. 

The main issue was that I was always having to move the footboard around twice a day and I couldn't really get at our tiny closet.  I'm not as able to straighten up our room because either A) someone is sleeping in there, or B) someone is sleeping directly accross the hall from there.
Then last Saturday night something rare happened.  All three kids slept over at Spencer's parents' house!  Not because we asked them to watch them so we could go somewhere, but just because they wanted to have the kids over.  The girls spent most of the day with Nana and Papa and Little Man joined them at dinnertime.  That night after seeing Black Swan with Spencer, I started my project.  There was a lot of laundry washed, dried, folded, hung, and actually put away that night!
Between cleaning our room, doing 8 Billion loads of laundry (between our dirty clothes, clean-but-sitting-too-long clothes, daycare bedding, and the kids clothes), and straightening up the living room which had been laundry/organizing central all evening, I was astonished at how quickly I could get things done without little kids in the house! 

I read somewhere that Rule #1 to having a clean house is Not to have young children.  Well, crap.  I have 3 young children of my own, and 5 others that come on various days at various times to live here during the day.  I've come to the realization that I can NOT keep up all the house cleaning while taking care of all these young children!  I can choose to have a spotless house, or have young children in the house... I definately choose the kids!  If I spend a Saturday cleaning...my kids are mostly left to entertain themselves, and this typically means they will mess up areas which I have just cleaned.  I can not just ignore my daycare kids while I scrub down the house and do a couple billion loads of laundry... their parents do not pay me to clean my own house while their children wander about all day.  The only thing that works is a balance of sorts, and getting the kids involved in the process.

When I have an interview in the evening, I can't just wait until the kids are in bed to get my cleaning done, it has to look nice before dinnertime.  This means I have extra cleaning to do during those days.  What I've learned to do during those days is give the kids lots of cleaning jobs throughout the day.  Extra clean-up times, sweep the floor, dust the living room, and one of their favorites (and a total time-sucker) cleaning stuff with baby wipes.  Asking a 4-year-old to sweep the floor will not earn me a totally swept floor.  It will, however, earn me time to load the dishwasher or clean the mirrors, while they are busy doing something that is NOT spreading every kitchen toy througout the house.  I give them extra table activities (clean ones) that are both educational and fun so I can run a vacuum around the carpet edges.  I have the preschoolers read to the toddlers (if they'll sit for it... which they usually don't) and help them clean up toys. 

Even the toddlers like cleaning with baby wipes.  I'll give them one of Little Man's wipes and they find random toys, areas of floor, and walls to "clean".  The kids all learn to help out, they like doing chores they don't usually get, I tend to bring out table activities they haven't seen in a while - which is always more fun for them, and I get a few extra minutes to wipe down the bathroom.

I have a "perfect pick-up" chart where the kids put stickers in the row by their name when they work hard to clean up every single toy at clean up times.  Sometimes we play the "clean up game" where I pick a toy in my mind that is not put away, and then I say, "Go!" and they work like mad to clean up as many things as they can, because if they are the one that winds up putting the secret toy away, they get 2 stickers on the pick-up chart!  Once they get 10 stickers they get to pick a prize from a bag I have full of things like happy meal toys and party favors.  Cheap stuff that will make them feel like they've earned something for all their hard work, and their parents can toss when the kid gets bored with the item after a week.


So, while the secret to keeping a house clean all the time is really to not have young children in the house, getting them involved in the process - no matter how little they are actually doing to get the house clean - will result in a house that is at least "lived-in clean", and will give them the practice they need so that at some point they will be able to really mop/sweep/vacuum/do dishes.  Letting them help also is good for burning off energy and building up their confidence in their ability to do "grown up" stuff. 

If you've got little ones at home, get them involved when you're cleaning and you won't have to pull your hair out because while you just spent 20 minutes cleaning out the refrigerator - your child just dumped every stinkin toy out onto the living room floor.  Your little mess-maker will eventually be a big help to your daily chore list!

I need to update you on how the new chore chart is working. I love it even more than I did when I hung it up and I can't wait to tell you more about it!

All that said, if you have a toddler in the house... you're just going to have to come to grips with the fact that things will not be smooth sailing until they are a little bit older.  There are days like today, where keeping the house clean just doesn't really happen because half the family is sick, and the toddler is cranky and climbing on tables every chance he gets.  Though your toddler will make things difficult to keep up with, give yourself a little slack - preschoolers on up can, and want to, help out quite a bit! 

I can't wait until the kids are old enough to be trusted with doing the dishes.. because keeping up with the never-ending supply of dirty dishes and dirty laundry is still my biggest struggle.

Wishful Wednesday

It's wishful Wednesday, and I'm not as cranky this time, so that's good. :o)

I wish my kids, and my daycare kids, were all healthy.  Lets hope these viruses scoot out of here quickly!

I wish I wasn't sick with a cold... not good when the caregiver of the house gets sick!

I wish I had a tall glass of ice cold water.  Or a bottle of diet dr. pepper.

I wish Little Man would quit whining.

I hope Babydoll stays dry tonight, she's been working on staying dry at night and earning some Squinkies and a Squinky house!

Your turn! What are you wishing for this week?

"Into the Woods" I Went!

I don't know about you, but I had a pretty fabulous weekend!  It started Friday night when I went with some theater friends to see Into the Woods.  It is a musical by Steven Sondheim and it was fabulous!

Although the night was wonderful, it didn't start out that way.  When I walked out my door and into the dark garage, I didn't see a folded up metal dog kennel which had fallen right in my way.  I tripped on it, and started falling.  Of course my eyes hadn't adjusted and I couldn't see anything to grab on to so I just put out my hands and hoped it wouldn't stab myself on anything.  I landed right on my knees, my left knee in particular. 

Bad words were spoken, and not under my breath by any means.  There were no kids around and it hurt like hell so there was no holding back.  I managed to get up, stagger to my car door and get in so I could assess the damage.  My left knee was pretty scraped up but not really bleeding, and more importantly my pants had not ripped! So I started the van and moaned and groaned all the way to Target where I was meeting friends to go see the play.

Once in the Target parking lot I put some bandaids on (I always have bandaids in my purse) and waited for the others to arrive. 

This is me waiting. Can you tell I'm excited to be going out?

Here is a description of the play, copied from the Bloomington Civic Theater's website:

What happens after “happily ever after?” Into the Woods brings together some of the most well known Brothers Grimm fairy tale characters to help us find out. While the characters are familiar, their stories intersect through unexpected plot twists.

When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the bean stalk). Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later.

Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning score thrills us with cleverly crafted ensemble numbers as James Lupine’s ingenious puzzle of a story guides us to take a look at the inevitability – and treachery – of our innermost wishes.

What follows is a bold, darker look at what happens after the wishes are granted and the fairy tale ends. What began as a clever diversion touches deeper nerves. Ultimately, the characters end their journey aware of the moral consequences of their actions; each having learned valuable lessons about power, tolerance, personal sacrifice and the strength of shared community.

The play was fantastic and aside from an unnecessary costume element for the VERY MALE wolf we enjoyed it very much.

Although Rapunzel's voice left little to be desired, and Cinderella was.... eh, the very difficult music was performed exceptionally well. 

If you get the chance to see it, I'd recommend you do... but dont bring the kids. 

Here is a clip from the show, I believe this is the Broadway cast visiting the Rosie O'Donnel show.  It is The Baker's Wife singing with Little Red, and The Baker singing with Jack "No One is Alone".



"Into the Woods" I go!

Tomorrow night, or tonight depending on when you're reading this, I'm going to see Into the Woods.  I don't know a ton about this musical, except that some of the songs I've seen youtube clips of are pretty awesome, and it has to do with a different look at some well known fairytales. 

I'm sure I'll tell you about my evening out next week, but for now check out this Into the Woods song!

Babydoll is at it Again

Look what I found on the burner of our kitchen set.  It's a pot with a lid, and something inside.

Apparently Babydoll was throwing the Little People girl in the air and catching it in the pot...

And decided to cook her.

She tells me she wouldn't cook a real person, just a Little People toy.

So that's good at least.

Wishful Wednesday

Wishful Wednesday! A little late, because I forgot it was Tuesday last night, and my sister asked about it this afternoon... so here it is!

I wish kids were as simple as goldfish... without the whole short life-span thing.

I wish I wasn't so cranky today.  Some days just don't start off right and then you spend the rest of the day trying to keep up with it all.

I hope tomorrow is better.

I wish my kids' poop didn't stink.

I love my kids, their voices, and the things they say... but sometimes I wish they would just quit talking for a few hours.

wow, today's list was a downer... can you tell I'm cranky?

Your turn! What are you wishing for today?