Being a task oriented person I look at chores as something to get done as fast as possible so you can move on to the next thing. When you're training a child in a chore, it doesn't get done as fast as possible. It. takes. forever. When our kids were real young I preferred to do it all myself because my patience was so limited that it was tortuous to have something take twice as long as normal and then have to re-do their work anyway.
Well God in His infinite wisdom kept giving us kids and perhaps one reason of the many is to get me to the point I couldn't do it all by myself. The speed in which a house gets messy with 8 people is rather astounding. Without lots of people pitching in, we're all miserable. So, I had to cling to the Lord and depend on His might to give me patience.
Meanwhile as I struggled through the frustration of training kids in chores, my husband saw one way of divvying up chores while I was doing another. Let me just tell you that is frustration on top of frustration. After we communicated and pushed through in figuring it out we are able to see the benefits not only of a less crazy house but also in our kids growing perseverance and character.
My kids chores are not about me. It's not about having it done perfectly and in a timely fashion. It's not even about what chores I think they should do. It's all really about being a surrendered, willing vessel to the Lord and letting Him have opportunity to grow my kids in doing hard things
Chore Help for Your Kiddos
There are a lot of ways to do chores and it took us years before we found a system that works for our family. I'm happy to share how we do it though it may or may not work for you.
At the beginning of the month we write down all the chores the kids can do. We write each chore on a 3x5 cards with the amount it gets paid for the month. (Doing this every months allows us freedom to make changes). Then the kids take turns picking the jobs they want for that month.
Then I put it into a daily schedule. Each day (except Tuesday which is when we are at our homeschool group) and Sunday they do their chores after lunch (though this can be at any regular time of the day). It ends up only taking like 20-30 min. (Unless they have a new chore they haven't done before and they are still getting in the groove.) We have some jobs that only our oldest can do, so they have to pick from that pile first. (The ones with stars).
Below I have made a printable you can change to fit your family. Since it is editable, the fonts may not come through on your computer and you'll have to change it to something you like. Just click the picture and it should come up. If you like receiving things like this, sign up for our newsletter and get 3 free ebooks as well as regular emails with other good resources.
Laura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has six kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries since 2002 serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Staff Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 women, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks many times a year. Laura is an author and creator of ministry tools and resources. You can find her books and resources at the Missional Women store and connect with her on facebook,twitter, pinterest, youtube, instagram and her author site.
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