Is keeping up with your children’s daily chores becoming a burden?
If you had asked me that question this time last year, I would have responded with a hardy “yes!”
Now, I’m a firm believer that children need to have some responsibilities around the house. Even from a young age, they need to know they are a valuable part of the household running well. Children are a part of the family. They contribute to the mess, and they need to learn how to help clean it up.
I have had my children doing age-appropriate daily chores since they were toddlers. However, as they’ve gotten older, their chores have progressed. Because of this, the system we used when they were younger was no longer working.
Our Previous Chore System
Previously, we had a list of chores that never changed. Things like dishes, taking the trash out, cleaning the bathroom, making beds and cleaning rooms, straightening the throw pillows and blankets in the family and sitting rooms, so on and so forth. Each child was assigned a chore each day. By the end of the week, each child had made a complete round of all of the chores.
Unfortunately, it became too difficult to keep up with who had done what each week. One day a child would be assigned to the dishes (the most loathsome of all the children’s daily chores) only to say they had already done dishes that week. Of course, no one wanted to own up and say it was their turn to do the dishes. So as you can imagine, chores became a source of contention each day.
It seemed that not only was I trying to keep up with what I needed to do each day, but I was trying to keep up with what my children were to do as well.
Sure, I could have created a chart that kept us more organized. However, that would have been another thing to keep up with. We have daily to-do lists for school, and it seems the kids are always misplacing them. And that means I’m always having to stop and reprint them!
It finally occurred to me as I was planning for our homeschool winter “break” that I should assign my children’s daily chores similarly to how I assign our homeschool work throughout the year — in 12 week seasonal terms.
While some schoolwork remains consistent throughout each term of our school year (math, grammar, spelling, etc.), some subjects (science, art, geography, etc.) vary throughout each term.
So why can’t the boy’s daily chores work that way too?
The truth is, they can.
So I decided to make the children’s daily chores similar to how we do handiwork in our homeschool. Each child is assigned one chore per term. This helps them to always remember which chore they are to do during chore time. It helps them to master the chore before moving on to a different one. It helps to simplify their day and week more. Not only that but it helps to create more peace in the house due to less bickering over chores. It even helps me to feel like our home-life is being managed a bit better.
My Children’s Daily Chore Rotation
So each day, Monday through Saturday, each child is responsible for cleaning their room and making their bed. They also have to put their dirty clothes in their laundry basket and wash them when full. Lastly, they have to pick up their belongings throughout the house and put them away where they go.
In addition to that, the children’s daily chores for the winter season were as follows:
- Judah: boy’s bathroom
- Isaiah: dishes
- Uriah: house trash
- Ezrah: family room pick up and car trash
Cleaning the boy’s bathroom consists of picking trash off the floor and putting it in the trash can. Cleaning the mirror, wiping down the sink faucet and counter, closing the shower curtain, and cleaning the toilet.
Doing dishes consists of unloading the dishwasher and putting the dishes away. Reloading the dishwasher and starting it. Rinsing the sink out and wiping the counter around the sink.
Gathering all of the house trash consists of the following. Emptying all the little trash cans from bedrooms and bathrooms into the kitchen trash cans. Emptying kitchen trash cans into the outside trash cans when full. Taking the outside trash cans over to the shop dumpster when full.
Doing family room pick-up and car trash consists of the following things. Clearing trash and dishes from the family room, putting it in the trash can or the sink. Picking up throw blankets and pillows and putting them where they go. Putting all toys on the family room table for brothers to sort and put away later. Cleaning one grocery bag of trash from the car.
Each term or season, the seasonal chores rotate and each kiddo has a different chore to keep up with. We’ve been doing this for three seasons now. And it’s worked so well that I can’t see going back to doing the children’s daily chores any other way.
At some point, I’ll probably change up the chores a bit. But for now, these are the things that need consistent, daily maintenance.
Saturday Chores
On Saturdays, I have the boys help with household tasks that only need doing once a month. This could be having them all work together to wash the walls in their rooms or wipe the kitchen cabinets. It could be washing all of their bedding or clearing things out of the yard. It could even be thoroughly cleaning under their beds and organize dresser drawers, etc. This isn’t an every Saturday thing, but it is something I try to keep up with. This way, we don’t have to worry about these things piling up or doing them during the week.
Alright, friends! I hope it’s been helpful for you to read through this new seasonal chore rotation system. It truly has been working so well for us! If you are looking to rework your children’s daily chores, I’d highly recommend giving this a try.
Also, if you want to know more about my daily chores system, let me know! I’m more than happy to write a blog post about it.
As always, if you have any comments, feel free to share them in the comment section below. You can also contact me here.
Love and light,
Meagan