Week 10: Chores

I must admit, I have completely been thrown out of wack by my all of a sudden highly energized and needy 1.5 year old, as well as feeling the pressure to try to find quality time with both of my girls. It seems to be few and far between.

I think we all have been frustrated at how the last few weeks have been going, there have been a few gleaming moments, but for the most part, my life seems completely chaotic...

(Yes, that is a bike ramp in the middle of our living room...such is my life)

What can I do about this?

Enter me.

I have decided to partake in creating Rhythms in my children's lives. This includes scheduling (just a little) more than I have been, as well as creating some 'responsibilities' for Lily.

Over the next week, I will be posting my weekly schedule as well as Lily's Responsibility and Earnings Chart.

Our baking week was great! I just updated it with some pics too. It actually turned into 2 weeks, and for that I am sorry, but that's just the way my life has been going! I will be posting pictures as soon as I can find some time to do so. The Rhyming Week craft has also been updated with pics.

This week, I will be implementing some chores into Lily's routine. I wanted to separate Lily's chart into activities that are 'expected' because she is a part of this family, and then there will be extra activities she can do to earn money.

I will also be implementing the 3 bottle money management system for her. The bottles will be labeled "Giving", "Spending", and "Saving". I feel that this life tool is so important, and this is one way to start early.

Here is what I've got planned:

CHORES

Books:

Once upon a Saturday by Lammle, Leslie.

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores by Jan Berenstain

Chores Chores Chores! by Salina Yoon

The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain

Chores to Do by Kawanna, L. Hagood

Activities and Crafts:

I found a great site for free printables. I am choosing the Dora chart found here. We will be talking about what chores will be on the expected activity list and what chores will be on the earning list. Here is a list of age appropriate chores.

The next step is to discuss money, and how much she will be paid when she completes an 'earning' activity. My girlfriend just started this exact system with her daughter, and she pays $.05 a chore. She keeps all of the change and at the end of the week, they divide it up evenly into the three different jars- Spending, Saving and Giving. I don't think Lily is at the age level where she will understand monetary value and amounts, but I do think she can grasp giving, saving and spending... there are actual 'piggy' banks that are meant for this type of saving, but we are just going to use baby jars, and Lily can decorate them.

If you think your child is ready for a money lesson, here is a great one!

First School has a great lesson on Bumble Bees- There is a short story on there about the Buzzy Bee and her chores. There is also a Valentine's Day Bee Mine craft that we will do.

Songs:

I have had a hard time finding songs about Chores, but one of the first things I thought of was the "This is the Way" song...I can then ad lib whatever chore we decide upon.

If I Were a Farmer ( Sung to Did You Ever See A Lassie)

We'll pretend we are on a farm..doing farm chores

Oh, if I were a farmer, a farmer, a farmer

Oh, if I were a farmer, what would I do?

I would milk the cows each morning

Each morning, each morning

I would milk the cows each morning, that's what I'd do.

Continue using:

I would feed the baby chickens

I would gather eggs for breakfast

Snacks:

I figured since this is the first week we will be implementing chores, that I would offer a little more incentive.... Ice Cream. If she successfully completes her 'expected' chores for the week, she can have Ice Cream...this might actually entice her more than earning money!