Chore Cards

In the past year or so, we have started giving the kids an allowance, which we tied to their chores. They have "morning chores" and "day chores." Every morning, all three kids must make their beds, clean their rooms, and put away any of their own folded laundry. During the day, Hannah feeds one of the bearded dragons, Ben feeds the cat, and Becca sets the table and organizes the shoes on the shelves by the back door. Hannah and Ben also alternate washing the dishes from breakfast and lunch and sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. I keep a weekly calendar listing their chores on a white board, which hangs on the door leading to our basement. At the end of each week, the kids receive their allowance. For each day that they complete all of their chores, they earn $0.25, and they get an extra $0.25 bonus if they do their chores every day that week.

This system has worked well, with just one drawback - I did not have an adequate method for keeping track of which days they did their chores. At first, I tried making them put a check mark next to each chore on the white board, but they often forgot and then argued about each quarter they thought they should have earned. I also tried giving them their allowance each evening, but I prefer to distribute it weekly. Finally, one night, I had a sudden inspiration.

Using Photoshop, I created punch cards, modeled after time cards a person might use at work. The middle of each card has the child's name, a place for me to write the date, and the terms for redeeming the card for their allowance. Then, along each side of the card, I put black dots the size of a hole punch, with the days of the week listed next to them - one side for morning chores and one side for day chores.

Each day, the kids use a hole punch to punch out the dots for that day when they complete their chores. At the end of the week, the kids turn in their chore cards in exchange for their allowance. So far this system works quite well. The kids have fun punching the holes, so they are not as likely to forget, and they have a visible reminder of what they must do each day. Plus, I have no more haggling over how much money they should receive. I love ideas that make our daily duties easier (and more fun)!