Chores aren’t fun

Here’s the deal: chores aren’t fun. They’re not fun for me… they’re not fun for kids. It took many summers of me trying to make them fun (charts! stickers!) and failing, in order to accept this fact. After the first week, the chore charts start going unmarked and then they feel like more work than just doing the work myself. SO, this summer, I’m doing it differently. We’re embracing the fact that chores aren’t fun but leaning into the fact that they are a necessary part of living our best lives. I’m simplifying the charts and there’s no reward system. There are just 5 things that each kid needs to do before we move on to the fun part of our day. They’re reasonable, easy, straightforward, and hopefully don’t feel like one more thing for ME to do this summer. The goal is to make all of our lives EASIER… which means less nagging from mom. I’m changing the script from “Please do x, y, z” on repeat everyday to “Come on guys, you know we can’t leave with the house like this. What do we need to do to be able to leave?” And then we aren’t leaving until it’s done.

Here are the SIMPLE chore charts I created for my PRESCHOOL GIRL, GRADE SCHOOL GIRL, and PRETEEN BOY. Feel free to use them for yourself!