After many years of switching between the many different chore charts out there, I have finally found one that works best for us. There is no reminding them of what their chores are (only that they need to do them) and no arguments about who’s turn it is do which chore.

What is this sorcery you ask? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the chore wheel.

What is the Chore Wheel?

I can’t take full credit for this method. I first saw it in action when I used to babysit Rachel’s kids. It worked so well that I vowed to try it when I had kids of my own. The chore wheel helps us divide our home into four areas of responsibility. Under each section is a list to remind them of what needs to be cleaned in each section. They get that section for a whole week so there is no forgetting who is responsible for which area of the home.

Family Responsibilities vs. Paid Chores

In our home we have the required chores which they have to do as members of our household to help our home function in a (semi) orderly manner. These include cleaning their rooms, folding and putting away their own laundry, and cleaning up their workspaces (after homeschool or homework). Basically, they clean up after themselves. Also included in this category is their weekly chore.

After they have completed their required chores, they then have the option to do extra chores. They do these extra chores in order to earn extra tickets, which I will explain in the next section. These chores can be anything is not on their chore wheel or fall under the category of cleaning up after themselves. Most of the time they’re more excited to do these chores than they are their normal chores. But can you blame them? These are the ones they get paid for. And I’m a happy mama because I don’t have to clean my own toilet.

Motivating kids to do chores

I mentioned before that my kids get excited to do extra chores. In fact, they often beg me for extra chores that they can do. Why? They want the extra tickets. I place a value on each of the extra chores and when they complete each of the extra chores they get those extra tickets to spend at the “Mommy Store” on Friday. Check out this post to see how the “Mommy Store” works.

Our one rule for doing extra chores is that they are not allowed to do any unless their regular chores are done. This keeps them motivated to keep up with their normal chores so they can do the one that earns them tickets.

Do your kids like doing chores? How do you get your kids to do chores?

-Janice