Chore Charts - DCWV Brooklyn Stack

About a year and a half ago, I created chore charts for my boys. You can read my tutorial for making them here, but basically they are a framed piece of paper backed with a thin sheet of metal. The circles are patterned paper covered with epoxy stickers, and secured to the boards with neodymium magnets. The two oldest boys rotate their chores each week, which is easy to do by switching the magnets. This system has worked really, really well for us.The boys still love to move their magnets from the "to do" column to the "done" column. However, our schedule has evolved, the boys' skills have evolved, and the poor chore charts took a beating with all that daily use. So, please welcome the Buys' family chore charts, version 2.0:

These are the changes we made to our system:
1. We re-evaluated what needed to be done during the week and what needed to be done on Saturdays. To compensate for changing family schedules, we made the weekday chores a bit easier and the Saturday chores a bit more involved.
2. Some "chores" were just expected behavior before, such as getting ready for school the next day by preparing clothes, brushing teeth/showering, packing backpacks, etc. Those things were slipping through the cracks many nights, so it became a magnet on the chart. Having that visual reminder has helped.
3. We gave the little guy more chores. Can you believe he turns five this week?

4. We put more emphasis on cleaning up after yourself, taking responsibility for your own actions. For example, we eliminated the bedroom as a chore. Instead, each boy is to pick up after himself. This eliminates the "he left a huge mess for me to clean" dilemma and reinforces personal responsibility.
5. Saturday chores are now paid chores. Weekday chores are not paid. If a weekday or Saturday chore is left undone, the boy must pay Mom or Dad to do it for him. This is helping the boys to learn that when they choose not to do their work, someone else has to make up for it. Making the boy pay for it hurts just enough to make him think twice about slacking.

6. Saturday chores are chosen from a list, not assigned. This gives the boys the chance to do "favorite" tasks instead of assigned tasks like during the week. However, we reserve the right to request a job be done by a certain boy if he needs to build certain skills or learn a certain responsibility.

These are the changes I made to the charts:
1. I used a new font at the top (Jenna Sue).

2. I added a quotation about work to each chart. Colten saw this and said, "Mom, I like the quotes. They remind me what I'm doing this for." Yay for 11 year olds who "get it"! Well, most of the time ;).

3. I added a strip of patterned paper to the bottom for more pattern and color.

4. I re-made the chore magnets with the same patterned paper.

And what is that super cute paper, you ask? It's by DCWV, from the Brooklyn Stack. The Brooklyn Stack is filled with fantastic textures and images. Think city, travel, hipster. It is a great stack for masculine projects and many of the pages have a glossy, embossed texture. I can't wait to put more of the patterns to use on other projects for my boys.

If you need more information, How the Buys' Do Chores is my first post about our chore system and the tutorial for making these charts. If you give this system a go, I'd love to hear about what works for you and what doesn't. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa