At our old house we had "zones" -- each child was responsible for a zone for a week with the weekend including the big chores in the zone: dusting & cleaning one of the bathrooms, or scrubbing the kitchen floor. It worked fairly well. The big plus for me being whoever had the zone was responsible for daily pickup in that area.
Our new house doesn't have the same layout, nor does the family dynamic seem the same. So after a couple months of settling in and a few false starts, I present the new 5 Week Chore Rotation schedule!
This chart is in a page protector on the fridge, near a dangling wet erase marker. The children's initials are written in the first column. I say children's but it is actually my own, DD13, DS10, DS8 and DS5's initials. I'll explain why in a moment.
So each of us is responsible for something for the whole week. This week I am on Dishwasher -- I empty it in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Since DS5 is on Kitchen, I'm doing the bulk of that as well this week as well! Kitchen means you clean up after every single meal. That is a lot of meals! BUT you only have to do this job every 5 weeks.
Now, why isn't DD15 on the rotation? Well, she was. But she didn't like being told what to do. Welcome to the real world, kid? Yes and no.
We're a family. A family is about as real as it gets, since jobs come and go, houses come and go, friends come and go...but for better or worse, your family is always your family! And in a family, I believe, you should be able to shine where you're strong and grow where you're not.
And how does letting DD15 "out of the chore rotation" accomplish this? Well, she is already responsible for mowing the lawn. And she independently pitches in with preparing meals & cleaning the kitchen. And willing does whatever chore I ask of her -- take out the compost, hold the baby, take out the trash, etc.
And so, being a family and working with her strengths, I'm on the chore rotation and she's not. She is responsible for everything out of doors -- mowing, taking out trash/recycling/compost, watering plants, sweeping the deck, shoveling in the winter, etc. That is her domain. And she happily helps where she sees a need in the house. Which is primarily in the kitchen!
We're in the 4th week, and so far so good! I might add a "zone" component so that each area includes a zone to keep picked up. This would be good because with DD10mo walking she can strew toys and pick up small bits (Risk arrows? Dice? Paper scraps? Grape becoming a raisin? You drop it, she finds it.) faster and earlier than I expected!
What chore plan is currently working for you family? Because I know this won't last forever!
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