Hello everyone,
Today I want to share a recent system that has been working really well for us. My son is 4yrs old and has been able to do many tasks on his own lately, when we ask. Yet our day to day routine for cleaning was lacking mostly because I am pregnant.
I just entered my 2nd trimester and I’m starting to feel a lot better. Before that I pretty much let my kids play and eat wherever they wanted and our house was a bit of a disaster.
Finally I decided to create a chore chart for both my kids. My daughter is only 2yrs old so it’s not as exciting for her but she is able to complete all the tasks with some guidance and her brother gets her excited.
My son however has shown significant responsibility since we’ve implemented this! He is now up, dressed and his bed made before I am! I only had to prompt him for a few days. He is also a lot more willing to help now without being asked. My husband was amazed when he picked up his toys on his own before bed.
Right now I’ve been using character stickers from the dollar store but I plan to order bulk stickers from amazon. Like this set, this set, or this one.
Eventually I want to create a magnetic system, like a command center, but since we’ll be moving in 7 months this is what will work best.
We have it on our fridge in a page protector. I made a simple sticker chart that I can print off each week and replace. You can also stick stickers on the page protector like I do in the back but since I have access to a printer it seemed easier to not peel them all off each week.
Here is the Boy and Girl version of the chore chart (ages 3-5). Here is the Toddler Girl and Boy version of the chore chart (ages 18months-3yrs old) and here is the replaceable sticker chart for each week.
My son has the chores he’s expected to do each day and then the ones that are extra and we only do 3-4 times a week. The stay dry (at night) is a new goal we’re working on and encouraging. I didn’t want it to be discouraging though by putting it on his every day chart. We only have put dishes in the sink twice because we don’t always use dishes for lunch.
I would love to hear what chores you have your kids doing around 2-5yrs. I have the documents in easy to download/print pdf format and all the images were from google/clipart. I know everyone’s household is a little different but hopefully this one you can either use or get an idea from.
Happy cleaning,
Marks of Motherhood 