Family Goals for 2013: A Better Job Chart and Warm Fuzzies

This year I wanted to incorporate a few ideas into our family that will hopefully be helpful to both kids and parents.  I am big on traditions or things that are repetitive for my kids (like things they can count on happening daily or weekly).  I wanted to improve our job chart (to make it something that was user friendly for my kids and made them more accountable) and I wanted to create a new daily tradition for our family for the dinner table that encouraged positive actions and words.  Here is what I did.

#1. The Job Chart

I found this chart at Walmart in their back to school clearance for .98 cents.  I modified it a bit by dividing the chores section into two columns (one for the to do's and one for the jobs done).   

I did a search online for job chart ideas and let me tell you there are plenty of them out there.  I needed something that was visual since my kids can't yet read.  I also needed something that I could make rather quickly.  I didn't want the process of making the job chart to be a waste of my time.  There were some really cute ideas online but I kept telling myself, "I want this to be user friendly and don't want to worry about my kids wrecking it in the process of using it."  I found this fantastic set of job pictures here at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I printed off two sets but had them print so that I was getting 2 pages on one (because I wanted small pictures to put on my glass rocks) and I also printed out the blank cards so I could draw some of my own job ideas.

 I cut out the pictures that I wanted from the job chart cards.  I picked jobs that would be my kids everyday jobs plus a bunch of others so that they could choose two extra jobs each week.  I used a glue stick, rubbed it on the picture side, stuck it to the flat side of the glass rock and added a magnet with some superglue.

 So the idea is that they have 5 jobs which are their everyday jobs (make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, pick up toys, and preschool).  Then they each choose 2 extra jobs for the week (fold laundry, put away groceries, clean the art center, clean dollhouse area, clean bathrooms, help mom cook etc.)  Each day when they accomplish a job they move their marker to the done side.  I want to make them more accountable with their job chart so that I can say things like, "no you can't have that until I see that you have 3 jobs done."  I think the visual reminder will be really helpful to them.  I also included jobs for mom and dad because in our house everyone does jobs and some family members (dad in particular) need a little reminder of what his or her jobs are as well.  Each week at Family Home Evening the kids will choose new "extra" jobs and we will assign mom and dad new jobs.

 Idea #2: Warm Fuzzies Jar

I came up with this idea to encourage everyone in our family to focus more on the kind and positive things in our family.  Every parent knows how easy it is to tell your kids to "stop", "don't", "quit it" and to find all kinds of things that are annoying, bossy, rude or unkind.  But it harder to recognize and acknowledge all the good things (well at least it is for me-I want to but I don't always do it).  The warm fuzzy jar sits in the center of our table.  Each night at family dinner we take turns sharing kind things that we saw happen in our family during the day.  Each family member can technically share as many kind things as they want to but at some point there may have to be some monitoring if the ideas are just being shared so that someone can hear themselves talk or put a cool pom pom in a jar.  When the jar is filled we will go and do a fun family outing like go swimming, go to a movie, go out for dinner and ice cream or go to a kid museum then we will empty the jar and start again.  I am hoping that what ultimately happens in our home is that everyone works a bit harder to be kinder and to notice the kind deeds we do for each other. 

What lurks in dark damp corners

The other day my sister in law posted that she had updated her blog.  I jumped over to see what she had written.  She blogged about getting organized thanks to A Bowl Full of Lemons 21 day home organizing challenge.  So I jumped over to find out about it.  I can describe it as inspirational, motivational and not overwhelming so I decided I needed to join the challenge.  I was behind but the areas she covered already were mostly organized in my house so I just had to do a bit of catching up.  (P.S. for anyone else that wants to do this but didn't start right at the beginning-jump on board.  Start today getting clean and organized)  First I had to clean under my sink.  That didn't take too long (I try and do routine cleanings of most areas, minus my craft room, on a regular basis).  Next was the linen closet-this was fun for me because my hubby was gone and the kids were asleep so I filled a garbage bag and tossed it and it felt wonderful.  Nothing like a good purging to sooth the spirits.  It wasn't a disaster in the first place but I LOVE it even more now.  That led to my dresser drawers where I once again pitched and purged.  In my all my purging I was in need of more trash bags and I usually have some stashed in a corner behind my dresser so I went to dig one of those out and what should I find hiding behind my book shelf...MOLD; fuzzy, black mold.  Now that makes me sound like I must be a slob who never cleans because how could I possibly have mold growing in my room and not even know it.  But that is not true because I clean my house weekly-vacuum, dust, do laundry, wash floors, clean mirrors and windows and clean bathrooms.  But one thing I don't do regularly is move big pieces of furniture to see what is lurking behind.  Ya well you better believe I unloaded that bookshelf and did a thorough disinfecting/vacuuming.  My husband came home late that night so I told him what I had found and we decided we better move more furniture just in case.  You know how it is (or maybe you all move your bed and dressers all the time) you move into a home, you arrange your furnishings and you leave em there and you clean on top of them and around them but you don't regularly pull everything out.  Well we pulled out our bed-more mold.  We moved my husbands dresser- more mold.  We headed to pumpkins room-mold behind the rocking chair and her change table.  Luckily after that we found no more mold but we did rearrange every room and disinfect everything.  Life lesson people: I guess the age old, thorough "spring deep cleaning" isn't such a bad idea after all.  I am going to be a furniture moving fool now.