Magnetic Chore Chart for Littles

One of the biggest challenges we face as parents is training up our children in the way they should go. Yes, I do understand that this is talking about their little spiritual lives...but we take this stand with every aspect of raising our little people. I want my daughters-in-love and son-in-love to one day thank me for raising superb husbands and a fabulous wife someday.

We begin teaching our littles early on, that it takes a lot of time and energy to run a family and that mom and dad can't do it without their help. The littles have assigned chores...but do they ever get done without complaints, constant reminders or making them do it over again?  A big, huge, resounding...NOOOOOOOO!!!!! I have tried chore charts in the past, complete with stickers and pretty paper; all working toward a large goal or prize at the end. Needless to say, this wares off quickly...for all of us. If you are wondering that we might be a tad A.D.D., wonder no more...I confess. O.K., so now you get an idea of battle number 1.

Battle number 2...my boys are gaming freaks! No, not just enthusiasts...no...they are full.on.addicted little gaming fanatics. They could play for 72 hours straight and still complain at the end of it all, that they never get to play (insert a roll of the eyes). In an effort to reduce the brain-dead effect of gaming, we cut their gaming time and gave them specific days with set hours. However, the boys were not getting their chores done before turning on their games.  I set out on a quest to find the perfect chore chart system that would help us claim victory over both battle number 1 and battle number 2.

Introducing our new chore chart system:  Instead of the boys working to earn money, they work to earn gaming time.  "Ahhhh!!!  You are such a smart mom!!" I know..thanks for the compliment. ;)  Each chore has a different amount of time they can earn, depending on the challenging nature of said chore.  Every other day they turn in the chore magnets they earned, we calculate the time and that is how long they are able to play.

You can use this system in whatever way suits your family's needs.  For our Boo-Girl, we assigned each little chore a small monetary amount, since she is not a little game-head like her brothers.

So today, I will share with you how I made our awesome chore chart system.....

What You Need

•  A chore list
• Printable labels (I used full sheet)
• Self-adhesive Laminating Sheet
• Wooden Disks (I used 1.25" diameter that I purchased from etsy)
• Self-adhesive Magnetic Buttons
• Scissors 
• Printer    

The Process

• Print out your chore list with their assigned values on adhesive labels 
• Overlay the printed labels with a sheet of of self-adhesive laminating sheet
• Cut out each chore in a circle the size of your disk
• Peel and place label on one side of the wood disk
• Place self-adhesive magnet on the other side of the disk

I hope this chore chart system helps make one of your parenting jobs a tad easier.