the hammer. the update.

Thought I’d take a moment to update you guys on the hammer.

You know, the one that fell about three weeks ago?

The fact that I can even recall discussing the hammer, and it’s subsequent falling, is a very good thing for me.

Especially considering this heat I’ve been dealing with.

But, more than that, I’ve actually kept up with it.

I printed out chore charts. I put them in page protectors. I put the page protectors in the binder, one under each child’s name.

I know. I can’t believe it either. Just goes to show you how far out of your comfort zone desperation can drive a person.

I separated the ‘duties’ out as ‘upstairs duties’…

and ‘downstairs duties’…

Each floor has 5 days worth of duties, organized according to day of the week. With two kids per ‘team’: Asher + Isabelle and Dalton + Sophie.

This forces encourages them to work together, help each other and no one is ‘done’ until the entire chore is finished. I printed out two copies of both ‘floors’ of duties so each child has a copy under their tab in the binder. I spelled it out clearly, so no one can skimp on what needs to be done (as if my kids would ever skimp, pshaw!)


And having one big kid and one little kid per team works because the big kid gets to tell someone what to do. And the little kid can pull out the “too little” card for the big chores. So everyone, for the most part, is happy.


The littlest three have chores too, but since they can’t read, I didn’t print out duties for them. This also has an added benefit for me… I can holler out at any point during the day, “the dogs need water, Jude!” or “pick up the play room, Shepherd and Vivi!” and they’ll do it. Cuz it’s their chore.

And they can’t prove otherwise.

I’ve spent a good deal of the last few weeks having to actually show them how to do the chores they’ve never done before. But I think of it as time very well spent. I mean, if I can’t teach them how to care for their things, and their home now, how will they ever know how to when they’re bigger? And messier?

All in all, I’d say things are going much better than I had anticipated. The kids are really working together, most days, and managing to get a lot more done without my intervention. And I am loving all the extra hands around here for daily duties. When so much gets done during the week, we can spend our weekend, well… not cleaning.

Sounds like heaven around here, right?

Not so much. But it is much mo’ bettah than it was. There’s a heck of a lot more Comet being flung around than ever before. And I like to think that is a good thing.

If you’re sitting on some great tips for motivating kids to do their chores, please do share. I can always use all the help I can get.