{31 Days To organize the "hidden" areas of your home} Day 27~Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it's off to work they go...Kids Chores!

 I love teaching my kiddos to take responsibility around the house and rewarding them for their efforts. Every week for years, I would make lists or print out free chore charts from the Internet. The first few weeks all went well. Then week after week I would forget to print out a new list/chart or we would be out of ink in the printer. One day while browsing in a local children's book store I saw something called "My Magnetic Responsibility Chart" made by the Melissa and Doug company. I love Melissa and Doug stuff to start with but when I saw that this chart not only had chores listed but also character qualities- Sold! When Abi finishes a chore she puts a smiley face in the right spot and when I see that she has demonstrated the character quality she is working on, I add the smiley face. She gets a pre-determined amount of money at the end of the week for each smiley face she has earned. This is motivation to really work on the character quality because mom doesn't put the smiley face on the board for a one time a day effort. We can change the chores every week or keep the same ones for several weeks. But the best part of this is....I have one less thing to remember each week!