Working Their Little Fingers to the Bone…

…Or at least that’s how the hooligans see it. I think we run a pretty tight ship here, but the hooligans’ share is age appropriate. Their “chores” include getting dressed, brushing their teeth, making their beds, and eating breakfast. After school they have to do homework and straighten their rooms. Not exactly over-taxing them, despite what they think.

They seem to have trouble remembering their daily jobs, although they have memories like elephants when it comes to something they WANT to do and I’ve promised them. I decided to make them a “chore chart” to help them out. I’m very caring that way.

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I found some chalkboard decal vinyl at Hobby Lobby when I was buying my new chalkboard markers, and couldn’t resist it. It was on sale for 40 percent off. I’m only human. The cookie sheet was about $5 at Walmart, then I just cut the vinyl to size and smoothed it out.

I created a sheet of chore icons in Word, printed them, punched out circles, and glued them to the back of some big glass pebbles from the craft store. After attaching magnets to the back, they were ready to motivate!

I think you can print this, but if not and you want a copy, just comment below or email me.

chore-chart-icons
To hang it, I tightly tied 2 pieces of ribbon, also using E6000 to hold them in place on the back. Although you can’t see it in this photo, another loop of ribbon goes through the top of those loops to hang it on the wall. This is going to hang in our upstairs hallway, where the sun never shines, so it’s too dark to photograph it in place.

We’ve only been using this a few days, but it’s definitely helping so far. I made some other magnets with vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, cleaning baths, and putting away laundry which I’ll use as needed. What a nice little weekend surprise those will be!

I’m linking up to the Project Pinterest Challenge hosted by The Taylor House and Two Yellow Birds…what a fun idea to get us to actually use those pins!  Here’s the photo from Pinterest that inspired this chore chart.

http://media-cache4.pinterest.com/upload/254312710177927868_04cs5WNh.jpg

About Megan

My various hats: mom to three crazy teens and one quirky dog, wife of 27 years to my retired GI Joe, and high school math teacher. After my husband's retirement from the Army, we've settled in the Pacific Northwest. Crafting, cooking, photography, and reading keep me sane (that's a relative term!) and I hope you'll enjoy following along as I navigate the chaos of life!
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20 Responses to Working Their Little Fingers to the Bone…

  1. Danielle B. says:

    LOVE this!!! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m definitely going to make one of these.

  2. Megan says:

    Thanks for the comment…I know you’re a slavedriver, too, so this should get those kids whipped into shape!

  3. Gretchen says:

    Love it! I was building an excel spreadsheet for the daily do overs and gave up! I just needed a better execution, so thanks for the idea and clip art! Can I really spare one of my 2 cookie sheets though? Hmmnnn….

  4. Dania says:

    Such a neat way of keeping track of chores!

  5. Kathy V. says:

    Hey, Miss M, ‘spose this would work for my hubby? On second thought, wonder if this would work for me? Ha!

    Very cute and clever. But what more would I expect from you. I hope those little guys appreciate what a neat mom they have.

  6. Anonymous says:

    I love this! I need to make a chore list for my daughter who can’t read yet, this is perfect.

  7. Anonymous says:

    This is a great idea – and not because 2 of my sons have the same names as yours!! I like best that you can easily put the board away in a pantry or shelf when people come over or if you want to move it upstairs.

    • Megan says:

      Thanks, and exactly what I was thinking…I don’t always want my kid stuff out when actual grownups come over! ANd I guess great minds think alike on names…I love our boys’ names, even though Aidan is so popular…we waited 10 years for him, so we named him what we wanted, popular or not!

  8. Anonymous says:

    You can get metal cookie sheets for $1 each at the Dollar Tree, as well as a bag of glass beads for only a $1 too!

    • Megan says:

      Thanks…great idea! My Dollar Tree had neither when I wanted to make this (and heaven forbid I plan ahead), so I had to go with the next cheapest I could find. Thanks for checking out my blog, too!

  9. Anonymous says:

    Love this idea so how did you make the magnets???

    • Megan says:

      Thanks! I used large flat clear marbles from Michaels…they’re with floral stuff. After gluing the clip art on, I cut a strip of magnet tape (from Walmart, I think) in little pieces and attached to the back of each.

  10. Jenny S says:

    Megan-I love this idea. The Moms Club will be doing this for our next craft club. Thanks for this great craft!
    Where do you get the glue you mention using for so many of your projects?

    • Megan says:

      Cool! I get E6000 at any craft store, but I think Walmart also carries it. It’s a silver tube, about 5 or 6 inches long (mine’s all rolled up, so I can’t measure it!). It’s kind of expensive, but a little goes a long way.
      So sorry I missed the meeting last week…again, time got away from me!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Could u send it to me
    livin1954@msn.com
    thks Carolyne

  12. That is the BEST idea!! I totally need to make this for my little ones! Great job! Thanks so much for entering this into the Project Pinterest Challenge!! Best of luck to you!
    Jill
    twoyellowbirdsdecor.blogspot.com

  13. Annette says:

    my chalkboard vinyl will not stick to the nonstick pan. should I use sandpaper and rough it up first? or maybe just use chalkboard paint? HELP! annettestandrod@gmail.com

  14. Pingback: Top 10 Posts of 2012 | Chaos Served Daily

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