Rewards for Chores

What's this I see?



Is that my younger son washing the dishes???

.....

And what about this?



OLDER son washing the dishes too???

WHY are they doing the dishes?

Well, you see...

Along with washing dishes and/or loading and/or emptying the dishwasher, they have an entire to-do list for each day that includes vacuuming, putting their clean clothes away, helping cook supper, cleaning bedrooms, keeping downstairs clean, packing phy-ed clothes, packing library books, studying spelling, and on and on and on...

For each of these chores they successfully complete, they earn a star.  For every 5 stars, they earn a TICKET.

For every thing they do that is MAGNIFICENT in our eyes, they get to skip the stars and just get handed a ticket.

For instance, oldest boy earned a brick at school, a brick to build God's kingdom on the hallway wall.  Bricks are given for something that the teachers find exceptional.  Instant ticket.

Youngest boy has woken up the last 3 mornings IN A ROW and let the dog outside without being asked.  Instant ticket. (this had previously been a HUGE problem in our household.)

Oldest girl has gone an entire week without any accidents in the middle of the night.  Instant ticket.

Good things earn tickets.

Bad things get tickets taken away.

And when they start saving their tickets... this is what happens:






Thank you to Kingdom Twindom for this wonderful idea!  I took it and ran with it, tweaking it a bit to work for our family :)

The kids love it, and it makes things SO MUCH easier for me!  Especially the putting-away-of-clothes.  I typically do 2 loads of laundry each day, just so I can stay on top of it.  So every night, I'm the one going from closet to closet putting everyone's clothes away.  Now, I have 2 baskets that are no longer completely my responsibility!

And the dishes?  SO NICE to have helpers!

It has also helped with school stuff.
I am no longer going from child to child asking nightly, "Do you have gym tomorrow?  Pack your gym clothes..."
or
"Is it you that has a spelling test tomorrow?  Gotta study..."
or
"I know one of you goes to the library tomorrow...  better pack those books..."

It's ALL charted and hanging on the 'fridge!

It has only been a week, and already every evening after school they go right to their chore chart and check their list.

We all know children thrive on routine!

What a great idea!

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS???




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