Toddler Chore Chart

Recently, I’ve started teaching my just-turned-4-year old that unpacking his backpack after school is his “job.”  It is kind of a big job too because it means carrying the bulky bag in from the car, there is a snack bag and a lunch bag to unpack, with freezer bags to put into the freezer, plastic containers that go into the sink and sometimes trash to throw away.  Then, there is the folder that needs to be emptied.  Everything goes back into the backpack for the next day.  He often complains that he’s, “too busy” to unpack his backpack, but I tell him it’s his job and when he’s finished, he’s pretty proud that he did it by himself.  I started implementing this because it’s difficult for me to carry in his backpack along with all the other things I’m often trying to bring into the house at the same time (my purse, water, groceries/gym bag, whatever).  I realized I actually need his help!  
I’m also having him get himself dressed in the morning before school and put his own pajamas on at night, so I figured now is a good time to set up a chore chart.  He gets a “smiley face” or a number at school each day depending on his behavior, and it’s a great incentive because he’s always anxious to check his folder to see if he got the smile.  
I figured I’d do something similar at home, so I made a chore chart that he can put a sticker on after he’s done his job.  Together we talked about the things he has to do to help out as part of the family.  He was pretty good at naming his responsibilities that should be included in the chart.  Prayers aren’t a chore, but I wanted to add it so that we always remember that it’s important to pray each night.  
I broke it down into two pages (the first one goes on the fridge downstairs and the second one upstairs in his bedroom).  I grouped some of the chores into one block so that he only gets the star if ALL of the jobs are completed.  
Since my son is learning to read, I put clip art images (that he chose) into the chart under the words. The first chart is a weekly chart so that he can put one star on the chart three times a day after completing each set of chores. The second chart is a monthly chart since he gets just one star for completing the “before bed” tasks. 

My son is super excited about these charts!  I picked out some fun stickers too, so I could change up the stars. 
There are lots of printable charts online, but I like to customize my own: 
TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHART

1)  I use a Mac, so in Pages (Word equivalent), open a blank document and go to “Insert” and then “Table”
2)  The box below will pop up and you can select how many rows (cells across) and columns (cells down) you want in your table.  You can change the cell background color by going to color fill in that box and just selecting another color.
3)  To add the clip art, I googled each chore and did a screen shot of it (Cmd + Shift + 4).  For example, “brush teeth clip art” and then click “images” so you just get the pictures.

4)  Then, I open “Finder” and drag the image into the document.  (On my computer, all my screen shots go directly into my Dropbox, but you can save them directly to your desktop.) 

5)  From there, you can resize it to fit your page.  Then you can print it. 

How do you get your kids to do their chores? 

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On Honey We’re Healthy:  Operation “Get Lean” Week 6 Recap.

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

11 Comments

  1. Super cute. My 8 and 6 year olds have a token jar that we use for extras. Once they earn five marbles, they can pick from a treasure box. As for daily chores, we don't have any sort of chart, but to keep track of who's turn it is to do something, like set the table for example, we use even and odd days. Our daughter is Emma, so she gets even days. Our son, Carter, gets odd. We also have a two year old, and she's learning from the older two. Mostly how to whine about chores. Ha!

  2. Love this! My son is 4 as well, and I have been working with him on a lot of the same things. At night, I pick his clothes out and hang them on his closet door. He knows that as soon as he wakes up he needs to get dressed and then brush his teeth. It's so helpful when they start to become self-sufficient. Great job making it a fun process with the charts and fun stickers! *Cool Mom Award* 🙂

    -Lindze @ Interior Fun

  3. Love this! I just started something similar with my 2 yr old twincesses for the morning routine, wash face, brush teeth etc. It might be a little early for them but I they actually like looking at it. Now if only it actually motivated them to brush their teeth! lol

  4. Good for you! This is so valuable for their self esteem and how they take care of themselves as adults! I can't wait to do that with my kids but they are a little too young right now. My 18 month old gets really excited about putting her clothes away but can only carry 2 items at a time 😉

    I've actually been meaning to ask you, how do you keep your son from tearing things apart in your house? Did he ever go through that stage? I know your house probably stays cleaner than mine because you work full time so he's in preschool full time but did anything help you to keep him off of things? My son is almost 3 and tearing things apart so I can hardly put anything out 🙁

  5. That is such a cute idea! My little one is only 11 months but I'm an elementary teacher and implement those types charts in the classroom too! Thanks for sharing!

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