1. Prepare for Success- In the beginning, I had to slow down myself a little to teach the kids how to do some of the chores on their chart. For example, I had to show them the right way to Windex the windows. It didn't automatically occur to them to start at the top and work down, and as you can imagine they needed to know that it only took a few squirts of Windex to clean the windows. So there was a small investment of time in the beginning, but it helped them to feel good about a job well done now, and I'm reaping it back now that they can do these jobs on their own!
2. Be generous/Helping is Helpful- Remember how when I started this, it didn't come from a desire to keep the house more clean, but about wanting to add some structure and responsibility to Anna's summer (i.e., help encourage an attitude adjustment)? Well, because of that I wasn't so much focused on making sure that the house was picked up and tidy, or that the chores were necessarily even getting done perfectly. Instead, I was just trying to create and encourage a more helpful attitude. For that reason, I made it a point to acknowledge and reward all helpful behavior. Even if I had to help get the chore done, I still thanked them and reminded them to mark it on their chore chart. For example, Alaina needed help making her bed, but whenever she wanted to do that helpful behavior I just did it with her and then had her mark it. It didn't really save me any work (in fact it forced me to do something I would have otherwise left undone), but it did encourage a helpful attitude in her, which has encouraged other helpful behaviors. Sometimes she does things that are really small, like putting her socks and underwear back in the drawer after they come ouf of the dryer. Again, a small job, that doesn't save me a lot of work, but by allowing her to mark it on her chart I encourage a positive attitude about helping, which in turns comes back to help me later. Also, some of the helpful behaviors are becoming habits (Yeah!), which means they often don't think to mark it on their chart anymore. I was tempted to let it go without reminding them, but I realized if I want the behavior to continue, I need to continue to acknowledge and appreciate it. So, even if they forget, I remind them to mark their chart. In short, what I am saying is, helping is helpful, and it doesn't have to be a big help to be acknowledged and appreciated. Over time all those little things are adding up and helping our day to go smoother.
3. Morning Routine- Okay, this might be my favorite part of it. During the summer while I was printing out their very first chore charts, I was also thinking ahead to the fact that school was starting soon, and I was dreading the circus that is our morning when I am trying to get everyone up and ready and out the door on time. I was also remembering that not only did that usually include a lot of nagging and loud, frustrated voices, but we were still rushing out the door at the last second and pulling up to the parent drop off line just in the nick of time. Anyways, I ended up using the exact same website, and the same chore chart format to make a Morning Routine chart. This chart has the days of the week across the top, and the things they have to be ready down the left column. (Get Dressed, Fix Hair, Eat Breakfast, Brush Teeth, Socks/Shoes, Gather Belongings) Now, whenever we have to be up and out the door at a certain time, the girls follow their morning routine chart, marking off each task as they complete it, and then check to see what else they still need to get done. Instead of nagging and yelling, now I say, check your morning routine and see what else you need to do. They like being in charge of the process, and I like not having to "push" them through the morning. The original plan was that if they could get up and ready before we had to leave the house they could watch t.v. before we left, but I found they responded so well to the chart that most mornings they don't even ask to watch it. The best part...we've been in line without a rush consistently so far this year (a fact that didn't even seem conceivable last year.)
So, that is what is working for me right now. Do you have any helpful tricks for getting kids out the door in time or for encouraging helpful behaviors? If so, leave me a note.
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