WFMW--Kids' Chore Wheel

Over the years I've used different systems for doling out and keeping track of chores for the kids. Some have worked better than others; we have been using the current method for a couple of months and it's been quite successful.

I call it The Wonderful Wheel of Work because the kids just love it so much! What, don't believe me? Okay, really I call it that because it (the name) kind of bugs them (snicker...bad mom!)

These are just basic daily household chores; it does not include stuff like making their beds or tidying their rooms. It also does not preclude me occasionally asking them to do something else that needs to be done. (As you can see, I blocked out my kids' names. I've gone to a lot of effort to use pseudonyms for my blog and I wouldn't want to spoil the mystique!)

I have three kids, so I came up with 6 chores, a morning and afternoon or evening one for each of them. I tried to pair them up more or less equally so that each day includes an easier and a more difficult/unpleasant job. Each day is always the same; i.e. Empty Dishwasher always goes with Set Table (if you enlarge the photo you can see that there are days A, B, and C). The only variation is that on day C, the afternoon chore for my oldest is to scoop the litter box; for the other two it's clean the bathroom.

I made a larger circle out of cardstock, pasted a different color on three of the pie wedges to differentiate morning and evening, and attached a smaller circle of a third color with a brad. The red circle has the kids' names, and every morning I rotate it. This system has cut down, though not eliminated, a lot of arguing and complaining. They can plainly see what is expected of them, and for the most part get it done without [too many] reminders. Works for me!

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more practical ideas!