Charts, stickers, charts...

So apparently, experts say that kids love and need a routine! ... Though we generally had a 'routine' in the morning (on school days) anyway, since moving to our new house, I thought I should make some posters to be a visual aid for my children to help them get ready in the mornings and to know what they needed to do in the afternoons. It was more of a check list style, asking questions about their progress of getting ready :)

When my kids first started school, we had a different kind of visual chart to help them, but the order went something like: get up, make bed, get dressed, have breakfast, brush teeth, pack bag... And for a mother of messy eaters, I quickly found it necessary to change that order so the kids got themselves dressed after eating breakfast!

Downside of the afternoon poster - when my children came home from school on the very first day they were put up, they expected cookies and milkshakes! So, the updated version now includes fruit. Sometimes, I will even make cupcakes for them as a surprise :)

I have these hanging up in our hallway, and many who have come into my home comment on the idea of having them for kids to know what they need to do.

Right next to these posters are a list of chores for Ben and Tamara to complete Monday to Thursday to receive money for their Dollarmite bank books on Friday. These have worked really, really well, and while we were working out which chores to add, I concluded in my head that they needed to be chores that make my life easier! ... And they needed to be chores than can be done daily... Which disappointed Ben, as he wanted mowing the lawn and watering the garden (not that we really have one) on his list...

This is my 'chores for money' poster:

KEY, along with the time of day its to be done:

= Open the blinds

= Feed the dog

 = Unpack the dishwasher

 

= Pick up dog poo

= Feed the dog







= Set the table



Ben and Tamara have responded so well to these posters, and more often than not they don't need to be reminded. And, as usual with things that work really well, I ask myself the question 'Why, oh why didn't I start doing this a long time ago?'

When Jonathan is a bit older, I will squeeze him into the chore chart, somehow, too. I don't think it will cause him too much grief, though, as he is already fairly keen to pick up dog poo... Which, at the moment, causes me grief, as he doesn't use a nappy bag! *sigh* :)