Teaching good citizenship is a big part of raising future adults that you can confidently send off into the world, knowing they’ll do their part and value the efforts of others. Hopefully we lead by example as often as we can – showing calm and fairness in conflict, respecting the property of others, and lending a helping hand, for example. Having responsibilities at home is a great opportunity to teach your littles (and bigs) how to be contributing members of society. Enter chores.
We’ve maintained an age-appropriate chore chart for each child for years, adding to it as we go and providing the kids with opportunities to earn a little allowance for being good citizens in our home. My youngest asked for an updated chart last night and I felt it was a good opportunity to share our system.
We print and laminate customized chore charts for both boys (15 and 10 years old), then post them to the fridge. Each day, they use a dry erase marker to check off a box to show that they’ve completed their chores for the week. At the end of the week, we reward them with an allowance. It’s pretty simple, and since the ball is in their court to track their own chores for the week, they have ownership that inspires them to stay on top of their chores. I love it because they get what they give! Their allowance is up to them, and without it they don’t have the funds to buy that pack of Pokemon cards or to go into their savings.
Allowance
Offering an allowance for chores completed around the home provides your child with an opportunity to earn something on their own and, ultimately, use it to buy something they want. In our house, we provide an allowance and expect that at least part of it goes into their savings. We reward them with their allowance once a week, placing it directly into a laminated budget envelope we hang from the fridge.
- this 12-pack of budget envelopes from Amazon are great! We have one for each child’s allowance, and one for each child to use for the money they’d like to save. I have found uses for the remaining envelopes around the house – for my grocery coupons, bank deposits, receipts, and more.
- these poly envelopes from Office Max are another great option. If you shop in-store, you can find them in a lot of different colors and patterns, oftentimes on sale for even less than they already are.
Chore Charts
I print a separate chore chart with customized chores for each child, paste them to a colorful piece of construction paper, cut to size, laminate, and stick them to the fridge with the best magnets on Earth. They are small but mighty! I even glue two to the back of the allowance envelopes to hang them from the fridge.
First, you’ll need to download all of the individual Chore Chart Images, which I’ve zipped for convenience. This folder contains a series of 17 editable PNG images that can be opened in graphic design software and customized to suit your own family. You can also use them as they are! If you’d like to maintain the font I used in these graphics, you can download Burbank Big Condensed Bold (aka: the Fortnite font) for free at the link below.
- Chore Chart Images – ZIP
- Burbank Big Condensed Bold – Font
Next, download the Chore Chart file and open it on your computer using one of the links below. The formatting will be funny in Google Docs, so download the file and open it in Word.
- Chore Chart – Blank
- Chore Chart – Example with chores included
You can simply open the chore chart file, click inside of the square boxes, navigate to the Insert tab, and choose the Picture option. Navigate to the Chore Chart Images and place them in the boxes. Next, you’ll print your personalized chart!
Paste your chart to a piece of colorful construction paper, cut to size, and laminate! One of the best purchases I’ve ever made is an Amazon Basics Thermal Laminator and Amazon Basics Laminating Pouches. I use mine CONSTANTLY, between school and Scouts, and at the price it simply cannot be beat. Truly, you absolutely cannot begin to imagine how useful this particular tool is!
After you hang it on the fridge, your children can use a dry erase marker to mark off their chores each day of the week. Then, at the end of the week, you reward them for their work with an allowance.
Incorporate Scouting
We talk about good citizenship all the time at both the Pack and Troop level. In fact, many Cub Scout adventures include a chore chart and having responsibilities at home. I included a few nods to our Scouting responsibilities, in both Scout Night and Bonus – Do a Good Turn Daily chore chart images.
Here’s a quick list of the rank adventures that this chore chart might help your Cub Scouts to earn!
- Lion – King of the Jungle: Explain what it means to be a good citizen.
- Tiger – Team Tiger: With your family, talk about how family members each have a role in the family team. Then pick a job that you will do to help the team. Follow through by doing that job at least three times during the next three weeks.
- Wolf – Germs Alive!: Make a clean room chart, and do your chores for at least one week.
- Bear – Critter Care: If you have a pet, make a list of tasks that you did to take care of a pet for two weeks.
- Webelos – Project Family: Show your understanding of your duty to family by creating a chart listing the jobs that you and other family members have at home. Choose three of the jobs you are responsible for and chart them for two weeks. Select a job that belongs to another family member, and help that person complete it.
In Summary
It’s never too early to teach your children about responsibility and how being responsible makes you a good citizen. Having chores and rewarding them with an allowance provides them with a sense of their worth within the family and some pride in how well your home is run. Having a chore chart is a great way to help everyone stay on task and to better track their work throughout the week. I hope these downloads and product suggestions help you to create an easy to use chore chart that helps you and your children find tremendous success in the little things.
Yours in Scouting,
Rebekah
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