The Chore Bucket

In order to keep things fresh and exciting around here, we sometimes implement the chore bucket. This is something my mom actually started when we lived at her house. I write down a list of chores that need to be done, each on their own little strip of paper. The papers get folded in half and then into the bucket (or bowl or hat or whatever you have handy!) they go. The kids then pull out a piece of paper and go do the chore listed. Since I have 3 girls participating, I sometimes write the same thing 3x's and they know to throw that one back in if they've already done it. :)

Some of the chores we do:

• Find 10 things in the living room (bedroom, dining rm, wherever) to pick up and put away!
• Sweep the living room floor (or kitchen, dining rm, mudroom)
• Clean the bathroom
• Fold laundry
• Put away laundry
• Take your sheets off your bed, put them in the laundry room, and remake your bed
• Dust the entertainment center
• Empty the dishwasher
• Straighten the bookshelf
• Feed/water animal
• Vacuum rugs

Today I added some fun chores also. Things like:

• Give Daddy (or Mommy) a hug
• Say something nice to your sister
• Give Daddy a 2 minute back scratch
• Do 10 Jumping Jacks

I also add in school chores. They might say:

• Read for 10 minutes
• Do one page of Math
• Say your Awana verse (scripture verse) to someone
• Play the geography game with your sister
• Do a page of English

Sometimes we incorporate a little FlyLady love also. One a slip of paper I write "Hot Spot!" Whoever pulls that paper has to YELL "HOT SPOT!" Everyone drops what they are doing and runs to the kitchen (where we keep our bucket.) On the paper it will say what the hot spot is - ie. dining room table, bookshelf, kitchen counter, etc... any spot in the house where "stuff" seems to pile up! Then we set a timer for 5 minutes (or 10) and everyone races against the timer to get the area cleared off.

Under chores, we have the paper that reads "Find 10 things to put away." This one is great! Remember I have 3 girls, so that's 30 items in whatever room that get put away! There are some other variations on this one we've done over the years - specifically when cleaning bedrooms. These variations are great for helping kids learn counting, colors, and shapes. It can also break a big, overwhelming job into small, fun parts and shows the kids that it can be fun to clean...well, maybe that last one is exagerating! :) I usually am in the room helping clean up but will give the following directions (one to each child) as we clean:

• Find 10 pink toys to put away
• Find 8 purple toys with legs on them to put away (ie Barbie's, dolls, polly pockets)
• Find 13 toys with rectangles on them to put away (blocks, books, etc)
• Find 6 books to put away
• Find 4 things that you could wear to put away, etc, etc. (clothing, dress up clothes, shoes)
• Find 15 toys with wheels (toys cars, truck, doll strollers, riding toys, etc)
• Find something that could keep you warm to put away (blanket, clothing, shoes, etc)