Chore Chart

Does anyone else play 21 questions with their kids every morning and night? Have you brushed your teeth? Did you go to the bathroom? Where are your jammies? I wanted to give the kids a way to see what was expected of them, but also something that would give them a sense of accomplishment.

I looked at poster charts, but I wanted something that could be used over and over again and repurposed sometime in the future. What kid doesn't love stickers? I just don't want to keep buying them...

One day I was trying to fit all my sheet pans into their cupboard, and I got upset because this one with handles just never quite fits in my other jelly roll pans. Then it hit me...this was perfect for a chore chart! In there is some wonderful analogy about being different and meant for a specific purpose... 

I went into my spray paint stash - because everyone has a stash, right? If you're buying paint, be sure it's meant for metal. I was deciding between the teal, matte black, and gunmetal. I decided the teal would be too high-contrast with our wall color.

I settled on a 'hammered gunmetal' paint and set up shop in the garage. I didn't spray on the cooking surface, because I didn't expect to use that side. Painting on a box will help you get to the sides and will keep it from getting 'stuck' to your drop cloth.

Once the paint dried, I used masking tape to make a channel and used a silver sharpie to make a center line.

I printed out three basic 'chores' for each child that would be moved from night to day - brush teeth, go potty, pajamas (on or off). I 'laminated' them with packing tape, and glued magnets on the back. I also made a morning/night header that was taped down. I wanted everything to be visual, because my tiny people can't read yet.

 

I got two command strips (the velcro ones) and did a strip on the top handle and a strip on the bottom handle.

The kids love it! My son views it as a race, and he tries to 'move his pieces' first. My daughter could care less about winning, but it's great for her to visually see what is left to do (in addition to setting minimum expectations).  Instead of mom being the bad guy, I ask 'are your pieces moved?' and they handle the rest.

I like that this project can grow with us, as we add more responsibilities. It can go horizontal in the future for actual chores and days of the week.

The base concept can be used for all sorts of fun projects. You can use the alphabet fridge magnets for spelling practice, tie strings on washers to make 'mazes', etc.

Kid Museum

We have a prolific artist in our home and it all MUST BE DISPLAYED! I'm talking seriously hurt feelings. So, we busted out the painter's tape and this was the result on our living room wall.

It was SO messy, but I loved the enthusiasm and didn't want to squash any dreams. So, I decided we needed to come up with a specific 'area' for the art.

Like a good southern gal, I headed to Hobby Lobby!! Fortunately, all open-back frames were 50% off (don't ever buy anything full price there - pro tip!).

I strung yarn across and pulled it tight, securing with staples. Notice how I folded the yarn back over so it doesn't slip out. The tighter you can pull it, the better - as the weight of the pictures will pull it down.

Here are the 3 resulting picture areas: 

He was SOOO proud to hang up the pictures! I found some mini clothespins that were already black - saved me some spray painting! 

Here's a feel-good before and after shot!

Tool List:

-Scissors

-Staple Gun

-Level (or an app)

Supply List:

-Frames (mine were $10-$25 each after sale)

-Black Yarn (40% off coupon)

-Mini Clothespins (less than $2 and on sale)

-Beefy Command strips (over $7 for the two packs)

You could do the same with white frames, white yarn, white paperclips. We stayed with the black frames to match the rest of our picture wall.

I made it very clear that this was our 'art space' and any new pictures need to replace the existing ones, or layer over them. So far it seems to be working...