Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Chore Jar

A few weeks ago I made a "Date Night Jar" -  another great idea I found on Pinterest!  It's full of fun ideas for when the Mr and I need some inspiration.  More on this cute little jar later : )

After I finished making the Date Night Jar I had some supplies left over so I decided to make a "Chore Jar" for my sweet boys. They are pretty good about helping out around the house when asked but once in a while I need to get creative about my approach.


We've done charts with stickers, chore cards, and just plain 'ol nagging.  All of these methods worked for a short period of time but eventually lost their effectiveness - and as the Mr puts it, they were all a little too complicated for the boys and us to keep track of over time.  I know, how complicated is a chore chart?  Well, the problem for us was keeping track of the reward/allowance and keeping the boys motivated to want to do the chores.

The Chore Jar seems to have answered our problems.  Each child has their own color sticks. This way I can make sure the chores are age appropriate. I used a permanent marker to write different chores on each stick and then on the back of each I wrote how much would be earned by completing the chore correctly.

At first, we thought we would hold onto the chore sticks as the boys finished them and then pay them once a week.  We quickly realized we were falling back into our main problem - keeping track and maintaining motivation.  So now we pay the boys as soon as they complete the chore.  Once the boys are older I think we will be able to move to paying once a week but for now this works perfectly.

The boys love picking a stick and the surprise of finding out the chore.  Once they have finished their chore I check to make sure it's been done (within reason).  Lots of praise and encouragement is given while chores are being done and when completed - everyone feels good about helping out around the house : )



By paying them right away I no longer have to remember anything and they get the satisfaction of being paid for a job well done while it's still fresh in their mind.  They can do as many chores a day as they want - this is especially important for my oldest, who is saving for a special Lego set!

We are now in week 4 of using the Chore Jar and it's still working great! The boys have even asked that I make more sticks with new chores!

I'm curious...Do you have a chore routine in place that works for your family?


6 comments:

  1. Great Idea! I wish I had that jar when my kids were younger.

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  2. The jar could work with older kids too : )

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  3. We've been having a hard time getting our children to do chores. I will give this idea a try! Do your chores include brushing teeth and getting dressed or do you just have household chores on the sticks?

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    1. I don't include basic care (teeth, dressing, bed making). The Chore Jar only has household chores. The Mister and I didn't want the boys to start to think they would be paided/rewarded for every little thing they did. It's important to us that the boys remember that we are a family, a team and we do things like empty the dishwasher or collect the trash because that helps our household as a whole. Making it fun, simple (age appropriate), and adding lots of praise has helped everyone want to pitch in when asked or when they pull a stick from the jar.
      Good luck, Judy! I hope you find a system that works for your family - I think that's the most important thing to keep in mind - every family is different.

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  4. These are great! Our kids are just getting old enough where they can start helping out. Thanks for linking up to "Strut Your Stuff Saturday!" We hope to see you again! -The Sisters

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  5. Great idea with the sticks! I found the same with paying my girls for their chores - they need to see instant results for their hard work!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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