New Regime

I lost it on my family two Fridays ago.  Or to be more correct, I lost it on each individual in my family at some point during the day (Ken's turn came at 11:30pm).  I was feeling overwhelmed, unappreciated, dumped-on.  You know.  There was plenty of warning this was coming - I could feel it building up.  I made a few cries for help:  "I'm not getting enough help around here!"  "I am seriously coming up with a chore chart for summer."  It's too bad I had to have a break-down before I was moved to action.  The next morning I got up at 8 a.m. and hammered out a system.

Every kid has a daily checklist that covers things I don't want to have to tell them every. single. time., as well as other responsibilities and chores around the house.  I call the checklist their 'ticket' because it is the ticket to whatever else they want to do that day.  Some days have longer tickets than others, here are some examples:

Chloe - Friday

 Shower

 Brush & floss teeth

 Get dressed

 Tidy room

 Make bed

 Read B of M

 Daily Prayer

 Other reading

 Practice violin

 Practice 2-wheeler

 Basic math facts

 Zone 

 Water vegetable garden

Carmen - Sunday

 Shower

 Brush & floss teeth

 Get dressed

 Tidy room

 Make bed

 Read B of M

 Daily Prayer

 Other reading

 Journal writing

 Article of Faith #2

 Prepare for FHE

Steven - Saturday

 Shower

 Brush & floss teeth

 Get dressed

 Tidy room

 Make bed

 Read B of M

 Daily Prayer

 Blog post

 Learner’s license

 Sunday shirt

Jaclyn - Thursday

 Tidy room

 Make bed

 Read B of M

 Daily prayer

 Pack lunch

 Summer job

 Badminton with Steven

 Zone

 Floss teeth

 Practice organ

The 'Zones' (name borrowed from the Eyre's chore system - have you read any of their books?) are rotated weekly and are, as follows:

Laundry Zone:

Monday: Help sort, wash, fold family clothes

Tuesday: Towels and bathmats

Wednesday: Jaclyn and Steven’s sheets

Thursday:  Carmen and Chloe’s sheets

Friday:  Mom and Dad’s sheets

Saturday:  Throw pillows and blankets

Floor Zone:

Monday:  Vacuum main floor and up the first 7 stairs

Tuesday:  Vacuum upstairs and top 7 stairs

Wednesday:  Mop upstairs bathrooms

Thursday:  Vacuum main floor and bottom 7 stairs

Friday:  Mop main floor

Saturday: Vacuum basement and wood stairs

Bathroom Zone:

Monday:  Mirrors and sinks

Tuesday:  Mom and Dad’s shower and tub

Wednesday: Toilets

Thursday: Kid’s tub

Friday: Garbages and wipe down front of drawers and cupboards

Saturday:  Polish up for Sunday

Cooking Zone:

Monday:  Meal plan

Tuesday: Grocery shop

Wednesday:  Make dinner and clean up prep dishes

Thursday:  Make lunch and clean up prep dishes

Friday:  Make dinner and clean up prep dishes

Saturday:  Make breakfast and clean up prep dishes

(As I made up the zones I wished I had more children for a garage zone, a backyard zone, a dusting zone, a back entrance zone . . .)

All of this is in a folder on the kitchen counter along with a list of habits to be improved (shoes on the shoe rack), grocery list the kids can add to (personal items and/or special requests), blank to-do lists for mom and dad that the kids can fill in, and a list of *money makers* (chores that can be done for pay like painting the trim around the deck).

We've done it for one week and so far so good.  The system will continue on into the school year - my hope is that it will be so natural by then that it won't be any additional burden when homework and school activities return.

We haven't had a chore system since Jaclyn and Steven were very small.  It's ridiculous that I have been doing (or closely directing) it all for years, and it's my own fault.