The Dread Pirate Grasshopper will be turning two on the 19'th and The Equuschick, in the generous spirit of all mothers everywhere who believe that the best gift you can give a child is self-sufficiency, is going to give him his very first chore chart.
You know the sort of thing. Brush your teeth, feed the dog, pick up your toys.
Had The Equuschick more Skillz she would make it herself and she may attempt it after all, but suggestions are welcome. She was looking into something like this but really, stars are so old hat.
If The Equuschick is going to pay money for a chart at all, she wants Dinosaurs. Or Fish. Or pirates with glittering daggers fighting scary sharks. Every time you fail to do a chore you walk the plank. Something like that.
Buaha. The Equuschick finds herself inspiring...
Ooh, my baby turns 2 on october 7th, so I will be watching replies to this post with interest.
ReplyDeleteDear Equuschick, Please, please, please, don't use a chart that says "Reward" on it! That word implies that contributing to the family workload is a act of virtue so heroic that it deserves special recognition and praise.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll climb down off my soapbox now and make some suggestions. You could make your own on a sheet of paper or posterboard, depending on how big you want it, and have it laminated for a few dollars at an office supply store. It could be illustrated with your own drawings, or clip art, or pictures cut out of catalogs and magazines. The checking-off could be done with dry-erase marker, or by gluing fuzzy velcro dots in each square and the corresponding hooky velcro dot to the back of buttons (shaped like dinosaurs or pirates or sharks, if you want to buy those).
You could make a feltboard version, with the chart lines made of glued-on ribbon or rickrack and the chores labeled with a word on a felt rectangle, or a felt cutout shape, or both. This might be more flexible in the long run, because the chore labels could perhaps be replaced as the DPG's duties change. The markers would be felt dinosaurs or pirates or sharks.
You could make a magnetic one by painting the back of an old steel baking tray. For the markers, glue cut-up fridge magnet ads to the back of, oh, I don't know, maybe little plastic dinosaurs.
If you want to buy one that doesn't say "rewards" on it, look on amazon for the Board Dudes Magnetic Dry Erase Chore Chart. It does use stars, though.
I saw a rewards chart in a classroom once that was race car themed. The chart was circular, and each student had a car. The car moved ahead on the track with each accomplishment. Perhaps you could adapt that idea to the pirate theme? A pirate ship, with a little movable figure DPG could move to different parts of the ship as he accomplishes his chores (with velcro dots up the mast, for exmple)? Or collect gold coins in a treasure chest? You could even have a plank to put his pirate on when he need a 'warning' to get back into good behavior?
ReplyDeleteCute post!
ReplyDeleteMy DD and I were just talking on these lines the other day.
She has a 3 1/2 year, though he is obedient at the moment, lacks his own chores. I was telling her she must be quick to start implementing some of these things...before he is 30 and 1/2 and his wife has a strong dislike for her (my DD) ...LOL!
I say, The focus of the chores must be geared to what they are capable of doing at their current age; not what they CANNOT DO.
...enjoyed it!
You can get customized printable ones here: http://dltk-cards.com/chart/ Click through Spongebob, I promise they have Dinosaurs!
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for something more hands on, you can make one out of foam or cardboard and clothespins. Write (draw) the chores around the edge, and when completed, he can clip his own clothespin onto the word/picture to mark it.
Here is an example of the posters we used: http://tinyurl.com/3ncveg8 They came laminated at the teacher store and I had each of my kids pick out their own. Before they could read, I wrote their chores and drew a little stick figure next to it so they knew what it was. They moved the removable stickers from the edge onto the chore once they completed it. You could also make a cool dinosaur poster or whatever and laminate that.
ReplyDeleteMuch better then rewards charts, is the chore pack system. Its easy to make at home whit out buying it though.
ReplyDeleteA small baggie with pictures of the requaired chores in it.
Each picture has a velcro on the back.
As each chore is finished, the picture is stuck on the chart spot showing it has been finished.
What about a Connect 4 set?
ReplyDeleteHe can pop a token into the slot for each task he completes. The grid is 6x6, so if he had six responsibilities for each day, then a column or line would fill up by the end of the day (if he was good). At the end of the week, you can celebrate his success or remind him to try to do better as the two of you empty the grid and put the pieces in a jar.
And if it made it more interesting for him, you can put stickers on the tokens that either represent each task or that he finds motivating.
I love the connect 4 idea! You could maybe paint the connect four pieces to represent the chores he has to do.
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of a chore wheel, where the child gets to spin the wheel to see what chore he gets. You can do a google search on that and get tons of examples...most homemade, but I've seen at least one that was one you could purchase.
I'm brainstorming some sort of chore chart for Big Littles' birthday and found some great ideas here! Thanks!!
ReplyDelete