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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 9:33am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| my own aversion to their earning money for brushing their teeth |
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Just a quick clarification - we do NOT pay for teeth brushing, or getting dressed, or any daily hygiene attention. We do pay for contributing to the family: chores like vacuuming the house, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping garages, tidying shoe messes, etc.
Having said that, when the kids are little, things like *brush your teeth* and *get dressed* have to be listed for them on the chore chart....or for some odd reason they DON'T DO THEM! "You didn't tell me to brush my teeth. Since it wasn't listed on my chore chart, I didn't think I had to do it anymore."   So, I can see that with a crew of littler guys, the bulk of morning chores may revolve around hygiene and so offering a little daily allowance seems to imply.....brush teeth = cash.  In which case, if you were CONSIDERING a small allowance, and you were working with your preferred system, perhaps hygiene cards could be a different color from household jobs that might earn a little allowance or might work toward the family reward.
I had one more thought on your family reward idea, and how to make it more equitable in case someone didn't pull his weight. If the family reward is a trip to the ice cream store, then those that have not pulled their weight don't get to go, while the industrious chore workers get to go with dad (who brings home something decadent for mom to enjoy later since she will be falling on the sword with the children who are just realizing the consequence of not sweeping daily!)
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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The glory of the CHORE PACK is that it goes with them EVERYWHERE....they don't have to keep coming back to a spot in the house to look at their list, which is WONDERFUL, especially if you are living/working in a 2-story house or bigger space. WASTED STEPS! Not to mention, opportunities for distraction. And, it IS all about being EFFICIENT, isn't it???
And, then, yes....you can just switch the cards out if something needs to be changed.
For the bigger kids, I don't put each chore on ONE CARD...I just make ONE LIST and slip it in the pack. The older kids don't like switching the cards like the younger ones do. So, on one side of the little pocket, I slip in morning chores, one the other side are evening chores. Chores that happen at other times of the day are only 2 or 3 at a times, so we don't do PACKS for those...they are just listed on the fridge.
Our "chore area" is smaller....b/c we live in a rambler and basically most chores are done within 800 square feet of each other, so after a month of a new chore cycle, they kind of don't need the pack anymore, now that they are older and less prone to distraction.
But, the chore pack is a GREAT concept because they are WEARING it. And, yes....I've thought many times how I would benefit from a chore pack!
And, I think it's normal to constantly be re-thinking your chore system. I read my "Managers of Their Chores" book about once / year to get re-oriented and see if there is anything that needs to be re-considered as the abilities and combination of my children changes. It also helps keep my attitude and expectations in check.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 9:45am | IP Logged
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And, our "monetary system" for chores, is if they aren't completed, then they "pay the maid."
My kids get an allowance "no matter what." Basically, they get an allowance so that I have something to take away. If a chore isn't completed then they pay me .50 or whatever. Of course, for a kid who doesn't CARE about money, this won't work. But, so far all of my kids appreciate having a bit of money. So, they do NOT like it when they have to pay the maid.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 10:37am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
CrunchyMom wrote:
| my own aversion to their earning money for brushing their teeth |
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Just a quick clarification - we do NOT pay for teeth brushing, or getting dressed, or any daily hygiene attention. We do pay for contributing to the family: chores like vacuuming the house, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping garages, tidying shoe messes, etc.
Having said that, when the kids are little, things like *brush your teeth* and *get dressed* have to be listed for them on the chore chart....or for some odd reason they DON'T DO THEM! |
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Right. Sorry, I didn't actually think you were paying your kids to brush their teeth. 
BUT
As I'm entering things into the online system (which will actually print out a chart as a list for reference  So, I only have to enter things once there instead of also creating a spreadsheet in Office), I'm thinking, hmmm, with the money I pay the dentist, it might be worth 5 cents to have them brush their teeth or floss.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Erica Sanchez
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Maybe *I*need a chore pack? 
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Exactly! The missing piece of our chore puzzle over here. :)
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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3ringcircus
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| Posted: Jan 06 2012 at 11:22pm | IP Logged
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Hope I'm not hijacking here.
I'm just, just starting w/ chores w/ my guys. Since the eldest are just now 6 & 4, and the elder isn't really reading, we don't yet have a rhythm going. They have helped here and there, but I haven't invested the time and energy to insist on consistency. Would you all recommend chore packs for a newbie, to kick off the beginning of family chores?
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Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
Started HS in Fall'12
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jawgee
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3ringcircus wrote:
| I'm just, just starting w/ chores w/ my guys. Since the eldest are just now 6 & 4, and the elder isn't really reading, we don't yet have a rhythm going. They have helped here and there, but I haven't invested the time and energy to insist on consistency. Would you all recommend chore packs for a newbie, to kick off the beginning of family chores? |
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First, if he is not reading yet, the chore packs should have pictures, of course.
When I introduced to my son (who was around that age), I told him that I had a new way to help him remember what he needed to do in the morning. He likes to hook the lanyard onto his beltloop and bring it back to me when he is done.
When chores are first assigned, you will need to work with your little ones to show them how to do the job properly. Then for the first several weeks, I would have my son show me what he did with regards to each chore. (For example, if he got dressed, but he left his pajamas on the floor I would point that out).
I try to reiterate to my kids that their chores really help me so much, and that they are an important part of the team around here.
Hope that helps some.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 07 2012 at 5:57pm | IP Logged
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I've been sharing a lot lately about apps which might be useful for a mom that makes use of technology to assist her in the home.
I wanted to link some neat apps that are intended to help organize and manage chores in the home. I don't have any of these apps, but a few of them look really intriguing to me! I wanted to post them here for your consideration. Most of these work on iphone and ipad, but you'll need to look to see if a particular app will work on your preferred platform.
I'll come back and review if I decide to use one of these!
HomeRoutines
You Rule Chores
Chore Pad
Chore Hero
Home Chores
And slightly more featured and useful for the mom with lots of things to keep up with, organize, list, manage:
Outliner for iPad
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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CrunchyMom
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Outliner looks REALLY neat!!!
The other Chore apps don't look quite as nice as the one Amy linked, though, if you want them on your mobile device, I'm sure they're fine. I really like the clean interface and non-cartoonyness (yes, I made up that word) of www.myjobchart.com
The boys like it, dh likes it, and I like that they all like it, lol.
I still hope to put together the chore packs today, though. I'm sure it is a matter of training, but as Suzanne pointed out, I think the chore packs will help with the training aspect. They all are SO eager to do their chore that they keep trying to do them all at once, e.g., let's wait until AFTER breakfast to sweep the dining room since, in theory, you just swept it before you went to bed 
Anyway, I think that it is a useful tool for incentive, keeping track of chores so I don't have to worry about a markable checklist system, but while it has only been a couple of days, I can already see that it isn't the most efficient system for building the HABIT of doing the chores. Its been sort of piece meal.
I REALLY like that we can assign the point value and create a "store" from Amazon for them to spend their points. We assigned their points to be worth a half cent each and then kept the value equal for the Amazon links. I kind of like that 100 points feels like a lot to them and only costs us $.50. It also makes me feel better about assigning things to check off and they get a point for it that only actually is worth a half a cent. Its worth $.14 a week to me for them to make an effort to wash their face and comb their hair without my nagging them.
I'm considering entering in my own account for some of the key habits I want to do and not allowing myself to buy any "extras" until I've "earned" them. Things like supplements (I'm terrible at doing this consistently), saying the Angelus, and even making my bed
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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AmandaV
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| Posted: Jan 09 2012 at 3:18pm | IP Logged
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Just a quick note to say this is a really helpful thread! And I've only skimmed. Home Routines looks really neat, Jen! We got an iPad in November and I am trying to get it more towards useful than toy and e-mail use. :) It looks like the iPhone and iPad app would be separate.. but I'm not sure I'd have the kids use, it would mostly be fore me.
Regarding chorepacks- do you really need to purchase or are they easily made on your own? Thinking of this by Maryan: Maryan's chore lanyards
Are chore packs much better? I've heard about but never read any of the "managers of their homes, etc" series
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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jawgee
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AmandaV wrote:
Regarding chorepacks- do you really need to purchase or are they easily made on your own? Thinking of this by Maryan: Maryan's chore lanyards
Are chore packs much better? I've heard about but never read any of the "managers of their homes, etc" series |
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No, you can definitely make your own chorepacks. In fact, I bought Managers of their Chores but I didn't end up using the items they included to make chorepacks. I made my own, similar to Maryan's, but I put one chore on each tag and laminated each.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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keac
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Mackfam wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
So you like your lists that are already laminated and you want to be able to change them up without too much work?
VELCRO DOTS. |
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That's a good suggestion! I can't remember if I was just thinking this or actually posted it, but I thought maybe you could cut your pages up into cards and keep the cards that were working. It fits with Jodie's idea of velcro dots - just cut up your current system, and set up a page of names with velcro dots, and velcro the chore you want each boy to do next to his name. |
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Another thought along these lines is to use page protectors as an option instead of laminating which retains the ability to use dry-erase markers.
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Karen
I cut off the strip on the side of the page protector with the 3-hole punches. Partly to make it looker neater, and partly so that the page protector fits onto a clipboard without overhanging edges. Then I put the page protector on my clipboard, taping the bottom edge. (Just because I like it to stay straight and not wiggle around). When its time to change the chart you can still remove the top edge from the clipboard without removing the tape on the bottom edge and switch out the page inside with the chore chart. Most clipboards can hang from a nail for easy access/viewing.
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CrunchyMom
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keac wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
So you like your lists that are already laminated and you want to be able to change them up without too much work?
VELCRO DOTS. |
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That's a good suggestion! I can't remember if I was just thinking this or actually posted it, but I thought maybe you could cut your pages up into cards and keep the cards that were working. It fits with Jodie's idea of velcro dots - just cut up your current system, and set up a page of names with velcro dots, and velcro the chore you want each boy to do next to his name. |
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Another thought along these lines is to use page protectors as an option instead of laminating which retains the ability to use dry-erase markers.
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Karen
I cut off the strip on the side of the page protector with the 3-hole punches. Partly to make it looker neater, and partly so that the page protector fits onto a clipboard without overhanging edges. Then I put the page protector on my clipboard, taping the bottom edge. (Just because I like it to stay straight and not wiggle around). When its time to change the chart you can still remove the top edge from the clipboard without removing the tape on the bottom edge and switch out the page inside with the chore chart. Most clipboards can hang from a nail for easy access/viewing. |
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BRILLIANT!!!!
Really, what a GREAT idea! You could do so many things with that. There are lots of DIY ideas out there involving a picture frame, but I think that changing out a picture frame is a PAIN, and I LOVE my clipboards. We're already experimenting with the chore packs, but I will definitely keep this in my arsenal for a host of different uses!!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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jawgee
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| Posted: Jan 10 2012 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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keac wrote:
| Another thought along these lines is to use page protectors as an option instead of laminating which retains the ability to use dry-erase markers. |
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Is that the secret to making something dry-eraseable?! I never knew. I always laminate the kids' schedules, but when they use dry-erase markers on it it always ends up staining. Thanks for that tip!
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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keac
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| Posted: Jan 11 2012 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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jawgee wrote:
keac wrote:
| Another thought along these lines is to use page protectors as an option instead of laminating which retains the ability to use dry-erase markers. |
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Is that the secret to making something dry-eraseable?! I never knew. I always laminate the kids' schedules, but when they use dry-erase markers on it it always ends up staining. Thanks for that tip! |
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In my experience, the ability to use dry-erase markers on page protectors varies by pen --- both by brand, and by color --- and I don't have any particular recommendations per se. It's been hit and miss. Some just wipe "cleaner" than others...and that goes for my dry-erase boards as well.
An option perhaps might be wet-erase markers such as Sanford's Vis-a-Vis pens? We use these to mark a laminated map. Since we are adding notations to it over a longer period of time, I prefer these to the dry-erase markers because our hands do not accidentally erase or smudge. When we're done and ready to move on, a damp sponge or paper towel quickly cleans it. (If it's been quite a long time...like nearly a year...a little rubbing alcohol always does the trick.)
HTH!!
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Karen
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JodieLyn
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we find a bit of goo-gone will get off the dry erase off harder to erase page protectors or laminates. Alcohol might also do the trick.. but the goo-gone also works on crayon and grease pencil types.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Mackfam
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When I need to get residual dry erase off anything, I use alchohol prep pads. Wipes almost any stray mark off easily - from sheet protectors, laminated surfaces, walls, hardwood floors, toilet lids (I'm just sayin'! ). It will wipe sharpie marks away if you get there quick enough!!!! You can find a smallish box of 100 in any brand name/generic name in the pharmacy section of any story (grocery, Walmart, pharm). I COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT THESE!!!!
I do use goo-gone for a lot of things, but often, a quick swipe with an alchohol pad is easier because goo-gone will leave a greasy film which I have to clean up with alchohol anyway. 
I keep a box of alchohol pads in my purse, kitchen drawer, my book repair kit, in my desk drawer, in every bathroom, and in my van. EVERYWHERE! If I were Martha Stewart, alchohol wipes would make the top of my *It's a good thing* list!!!!  Yes, you could just use a bottle of alcohol with a paper towel to wipe up (and I do that for bigger messes), but the little square pads soaked in alcohol, sealed in their own little envelope, are self-contained power houses of cleaning!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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JodieLyn wrote:
| but the goo-gone also works on crayon and grease pencil types. |
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At the risk of serial posting on the benefits of alcohol as a cleaning product ( ), I will add that we use alcohol to clean up crayon and grease pencil marks (which we use in lab materials), and I find that alcohol works well on these marks, too.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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MicheleQ
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JodieLyn wrote:
| we find a bit of goo-gone will get off the dry erase off harder to erase page protectors or laminates. Alcohol might also do the trick.. but the goo-gone also works on crayon and grease pencil types. |
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Magic eraser works well too. 
With chores, I have also found that if I take a picture of a completed task (made bed, neat drawers) it is very helpful to them in getting things done and done well. I haven't done it in years but I think my little kids need some picture chore cards made! It's a bit of work but it can be fun too and it really helps them to know exactly what you expect. I even took pictures of them combing their hair and brushing their teeth --these are fun to look at now that they are older. We tend to be very visual here so something like that works well for us.
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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kristacecilia
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Alcohol pads!? I had no idea! I want to try them now. Thanks for the tip!
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Chores
