Printable Chore Chart for Kids

I saw a funny quip the other day that read:

"Cleaning with children in the house is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos."
--unknown

With three kids in our house, it certainly feels like that at times. Can anyone else relate? Whew! The lunch dishes get finished only to walk out from the kitchen to find toys strewed across the living room floor. Sigh.

Before vs. After Kids

I'll admit it! I have always been particular about my house and the products I use to clean it. I managed to keep the house immaculate after my first child. I would have described it as spotless after the second. My husband even felt like he could eat off the floors at that point in time--his words not mine. Haha! Enter child number three and...let's just say that I'm doing good that day if the main area can be called presentable.

Although I can't boast on the house being as clean as it once was, we all pitch in and do our best to keep things tidy. I'm a firm believer that being a part of a family means that everyone has responsibilities and jobs to do. 

The same was true when I taught in a public school classroom! Each student had a job to do whether it was sharpening the pencils each morning, delivering attendance to the office, wiping off desks, or cleaning the board at the end of each day. These jobs gave the students a sense of pride over our classroom and taught them accountability. Now that we are a homeschool family, our home serves not only as the place we live, eat, and sleep, but it's also a classroom--a messy classroom that needs to be cleaned daily.

Kids and Chores

There is great value in teaching children to do age-appropriate chores in the home. It promotes responsibility, fosters a strong work ethic, instills in kids a sense of accountability, and teaches life skills. When everyone works together, we get the chores accomplished so we can move on to more important things like...play dates at the park and trips to the zoo.

Forget wiping up Oreo crumbs as the kids are dropping them. I get the kids on board to help with those chores. That's why it's especially important for me to have cleaning products like Lemi Shine that use safe, non-toxic, biodegradable and phosphate free ingredients. The Lemi Shine cleaners are powered by 100% natural citric extracts which makes them safe for the kids to use. No worries there!

Chore Chart

Having a motivational tool really helps too! For awhile, I used sticker charts. My two older kiddos loved earning stickers for each chore they completed. The sticker charts just weren't working for my youngest son though. He needed something more visual and interactive. That's why I made a chart just for him. There are pictures to represent each chore. When a chore is completed, he can move it over to the "Done" side. Previously, he wasn't making the connection between a sticker and a chore, but the pictures are more concrete. As it turns out, my older two love this system too!

Guess what?! I have two surprises for you today. The first one is that I'm sharing my chore chart so you can print off a copy for yourself. Just follow the directions below to make an interactive chore system for your kids! Oh, and keep reading for the second surprise...

Printable Chore Chart for Kids

What You'll Need:

• printable
• scissors
• self-adhesive magnetic strips
• magnetic surface

Instructions:

1. Save the chore chart to your computer. Print off a copy on heavy card stock.
2. Cut out all of the parts.
3. Snip off pieces of magnetic strips to put on the back of the chore cards.
4. Place all of the pieces onto a magnetic surface. Make one chart for all of the kids to work together as a team to complete or print off a few to assign individual chores for each child.

Surprise!

Do you remember me saying that I have two surprises for you today. The second surprise is coupons for some amazing Lemi Shine products. I love how hard these products work for me. As a busy mom, I'll take all the help I can get. The Lemi Shine products power through grease, build-up, dirt, and grime. The Glass + Surface Cleaner is smudge and dust resistant--making surfaces easier to clean for future cleanings. The Shower + Tile Cleaner even creates an invisible barrier preventing new build-up. That extra effort from my cleaning products means less work from us and more time for play!

Grab the Lemi Shine coupons and a copy of the printable chore chart, and let's get the cleaning done--until the next mess!

Happy cleaning!