Kid's Chore Chart

We've been talking with the kids for a while now about the chores they need to do on a daily basis and how they can contribute to our home. They are receptive to doing chores and wanted a chart to keep track. Both kids are highly visual so I was not surprised by this but I wanted to make the chart appropriate to their age, not too childish.  

I used a cork board I purchased a while ago. The line separations were made with crafting/washi tape.  The tags are from the Martha Stewart collection at Staples - yellow for Emily and blue for Matt. I also bought some small tags for extra jobs. The chart titles are "scrabble" style letter tiles I hot glued to the board. 

Now, every one has different feelings regarding allowances and you may not agree with ours but this is the system we have set up. The kids are assigned personal daily jobs - the things they should just be doing like making their bed, homework, getting laundry to basement, etc. They are also assigned two home jobs to complete each day (the number of these jobs will change based on time available and age). They must complete all the jobs for the day in order to get that day's allowance. If they miss one job, they don't "earn" their allowance. Oh and reminders by mom and dad are not part of the program....they need to be accountable for looking at their jobs and getting them done. The kids can also "earn" extra by completing additional jobs that have been written on the small hanging tabs.  

Emily was so excited when she saw the board. Already she has complete her jobs for the day, looked at the "extra" tags and asked "how do I do the laundry by myself".  With just a little "technical" help (where to set the dials and the amount of soap needed), she did the kids uniforms start to end. Oh she did also ask for help in telling  the difference between her and Matt's shirts while hanging them.  

Many times the kids ask for something they want and are told "it costs money".  There are things we get for the kids because they need them but as they are getting older their wants far outweighing their needs. So, we decided on an allowance system in order for them to learn not only about earning money but also to help teach them about tithing, saving, sharing and spending of money....those are hard things to teach if your child has no money to learn.  As I said, you may not feel the same as us and that is just fine, we can agree to disagree but I am praying this new system will help our home run smoothly and help my kids gain some financial "smarts".

Bunny Raid

Last week, we were able to start feeding Jingle veggies. He is now one very HAPPY bunny!!

The other night we were all upstairs for a quick moment leaving Jingle alone downstairs. Prior to our being upstairs, Dave had taken down a bowl of veggies he was going to Jingle and put it on the stairs just on the other side of our makeshift stair barrier.  Jingle loves climbing the stairs!!  

Well, that little bunny's nose when into overdrive smelling those sweet veggies. When Dave went to go downstairs, this is how he found Jingle. Jingle had knocked down the "barrier" to get to his yummy treat.  

W-H-I-S-P-E-R

Last Friday, Matt participated in his first ever Spelling Bee.

We practiced a few weeks prior to the bee. Sadly, Matt got stumped in the preliminary rounds by the word whisper. We were proud of his effort but even more proud when we heard that he had no negative reaction when he was told he was "out".  As a matter of fact when he came back to the room where I was waiting with the other parents, he told me he didn't make it because the word whisper gave him trouble but "that's okay". It was like he was letting me down gently that he wasn't going to the final rounds.  

Ironically, this week's spelling words include the word whisper.  

I took this picture prior to the bee starting ..... Matt was being a little goofy while waiting, no surprise there!!

I LOVE Matt's Heart

Matthew is a sweet, sensitive boy and I so love him for that!  

When I unveiled our valentine "Heart Pail" family project, Matt chimed in that we should have a pail for Jesus because we love Him. I loved his sentiment but didn't make a pail. 

The other day I told Matt he needed to write some hearts for the pails. Once again, he mentioned our need for a heart pail for God. Not having one didn't keep Matt from writing this heart to God which says, "I (heart) you  because your cool".

I cannot tell you how amazing it is as a parent to see and hear how much your child loves God.  

Next year, I think God will be having his own heart pail.   

Our Kind of Busy

Once again, I find it necessary to apologize for my lack of recent posts. 

It seems that the last few weeks have been filled with life's "normal" occurrences and busyness. 

Last week, I worked on and completed my first bulletin board for a fellow church. I was very pleased with the outcome. Then, I became busy making items for my church's winter bulletin board - it needed a little bit of "love". 

The kid's are busy at school, Dave at work and me, I'm keeping myself busy with projects.  All in all just the norm for our home this time of the year.