Our 3 year old daughter has recently become interested in helping with the daily chores of keeping up our home. Folding laundry, feeding the pups, organizing our recycling, watering the plants, are just a few things she’s eager to help us out with. So it got me thinking.. preschool is starting up this September (cue the ugly cry) and what a great time this would be to start a little more of a structured routine for her each day in preparation of preschool. I wanted to create something that was visually attractive, relatively easy to put together with affordable supplies and could manage being handled by a toddler. Being my best friend.. Pinterest is where I took my idea to first. There are so many options of course, but I loved the idea of her being able to visually see a picture and/or word of the chore to allow her to practice saying the word and over time recognizing the word and action along with it. Now of course some days go better then others, but our only goal in this was that she was having fun tagging along as we do what can feel like mundane chores and most importantly learning the value in taking care of our belongings and our home.
Now for what I used. I went to our local Dollarama first and found some great things! Initially my plan was to use a clip board as the base of the chart, but instead I found this awesome magnetic chalkboard that could be easily hung if you wish. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use magnets or velcro to attach the chore clipart so I purchased both, but found the velcro dots worked best. To decorate we used washy tape to create the Do’s and Done columns, a few stickers and just a chalk pen. As for the chore clipart I found this great site Home Creations that provided the printable. My only big purchase in this project was the Scotch Thermal Laminator and thermal sheets found on Amazon (another one of my great friends). Having to reprint the chore clipart weekly didn’t seem practical for how we wanted to use it, so I felt laminating the chores, hole punching them and keeping them on a book ring when not in use would in the long run be our best bet.
What You Will Need:
- Clipboard or magnetic chalkboard
- Small magnets or velcro dots
- Washy tape, stickers, chalk pen and anything else you would like to decorate with
- Hot glue gun
- Chore clipart found here
- Laminator and thermal sheets
- Hole punch & book ring (optional)
So what do you guys think!? Do you use a chore chart in your home? How do you feel about rewarding.. it’s not an every day thing for us, but we do reward her with a special treat from time to time. I would love to get your feedback and hear what works best for you and your family.
Note: To receive the chore clipart from Home Creation’s website there is a free email subscription required, however she provides some awesome freebies to subscribers such as editable meal plans, flashcards, and variations of the chore chart. I highly recommend checking her site out!
Andreana xo
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission. All opinions are 100% my own.
the best kind of busy 