WFMW

At my house chore time can be extremely painful, but every once in awhile things click and it actually goes smoothly, sometimes it is even fun! Recently we bought a dry erase board and put Em and Soph's name at the top. They are now collecting tally marks for chores done in a joyful and I mean joyful manner. They understand there are certain responsibilities that come with living here and they aren't necessarily going to get a tally mark for every thing they do. But when they go about their tasks with a smile on their face and what I am sure is joy in their heart, they get to put a tally mark by their name. My five year old loves to now say "Yes, ma'am" enthusiastically when asked to do something. They also have a choice, because of courseI believe in choices around here, to get a tally mark for doing an extra chore or two. These are chores that are going above and beyond the call of normal duty. They don't want to do it fine, but no tally mark.

This weekend we went to a museum they were wanting to go see and get the latest Barbie DVD. This was for a weekend marathon of cleaning and tally marks. Now when they get to ten they'll get to pick a coupon from the coupon drawer. Coupons say things like, spend an hour with Mommy or Daddy alone, or play a board game with family, etc. For twenty tallies we'll go somewhere like the museum. I've found that gently reminding them of what they are working towards keeps them on track.

Also, you can get tallies for things like getting dressed for school quickly and happily (this has been a great motivation for Soph, and it cuts down on the time spent in front of the mirror for my seven year old!)

So for now this is our system. It will hopefully give me a few months before I have to think up an even newer and more exciting system!

For more great ideas head over to Rocks in my Dryer!