How/where/what format do you list kids' tasks for the day? (schoolwork and other)

[Jenny in GA]

I know I must sound like an idiot, but this is one of the [many] areas where I feel like I'm flying blind because we did not do anything remotely like this in my house when I was growing up.

 

I have recently gotten smart enough to do realize that I need to regularly write everything down, instead of telling them what their chores for the day are, or having them come to do when they're finished with one subject so I can tell them what to do next, etc.

 

It has helped greatly. The problem is that I feel like the way I'm doing it must be very inefficient.

 

Right now I feel like there's at least two separate things I need: One is a "Master List" of the day's schedule -- say, chores, then math, then free time, then we go to the grocery store after lunch, etc.

 

THEN I also need specific lists for each kid -- for example, Kid 1 may have listed that they need to make their bed, brush their teeth, etc first thing, PLUS empty the trash and sweep the steps, PLUS that they will do MCT Grammar Town with me, PLUS that they will do outlining independently. (In other words, daily stuff; chores unique to that day, and school assignments.

 

What I have now is four sheets of lists I type up every morning, the papers just lay on the kitchen table and people refer to it as needed.

 

MUCH better than before, when it wasn't written ... but there must be a better way ... what do you guys do?

[The Girls' Mom]

We have two things that keep us running halfway effectively.

 

I have a chore chart posted on the refrigerator. It is color coded, and the girls rotate through the chores. They can glance at it and know that Tuesday means they have to take out the trash.

 

I also write down all their lesson assignments in my planner. When I write them down, the assignment will have their intial beside it, or say ALL if they all have to do it. Each girl then copies their own assignments into their own planners. They can choose the order in which they do them, but they all must be done on the day they are assigned.

 

Now this isn't to say that they don't become completely blind to the chore chart unless reminded :tongue_smilie: But the lesson planner does work well.

[Jenny in GA]

Thanks!

 

If you post a chore chart ... what does it look like? Do you use a spreadsheet? What is the layout like?

 

And how is it not HUGE? Not only do I have three kids, but each day is different? So I'm not sure how to list out that everybody makes their bed and brushes their teeth every morning, PLUS kid 1 does This on Thursday, while kid 2 does That on Thursday, plus kid 1 does Something Else on Wednesday, while kid 2 does Something Further Still on Wednesday ...

 

I just can't figure out to best physically list that, and would love to see an example. Like I said, we never had chores chart or schedules growing up, so it's hard for me to picture what it could look like ...

 

If you use a planner book -- any specific ones you recommend -- or don't like??

 

Thanks again!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I over plan by need (and am tweaking it for next year). I have a master layout of each day. Then i have a separate master chore sheet and each kid has a daily task list.

 

Ds's day is in writing and on a magnetic board with pictures. If someone can remind me how to post pictures, i can post his board.

[Night Elf]

I keep a schedule for schoolwork only. I use Excel and plan out a month in advance. On Mondays, I print out the schedule for the week. I have it in grid format like a regular planner with the subjects down the side and the days across the top. My ds15 needs to be able to see at a single glance what is scheduled for each day. He checks off the box as the work is completed. When the last box is checked, he's done for the day. Easy peasy.

 

Dd14 makes her own schedule but follows the same plan I use for ds15.

 

I've always had one planning sheet per child. When they were little, I couldn't get everything into one week like I wanted so gave up the planner book and started creating my own.

 

Back when I used Flylady, I had permanent lists for my daily and weekly housecleaning. I didn't have to remake those each week like I have to do for schoolwork. I kept those lists in a binder, totally separate from schoolwork. I don't think I'd like any kind of list that had all of my to-do's on one list. Talk about pressure!! I'd rather refer to one specific task at a time, i.e. schoolwork and then housework.

[happypamama]

Right now, I have an index card for each of the three big kids that lists their morning tasks -- clear breakfast dishes, get dressed, make beds, morning chores, etc. Their lists are in the order I want the things done.

 

I also have four index cards for myself -- before breakfast tasks, after breakfast tasks, afternoon tasks, and evening tasks. Otherwise I forget to give the kids their vitamins and can spend all day wondering what I ought to do next, so nothing gets done.

 

For schoolwork, I use plastic mesh workboxes, color-coded for each child and for group subjects. Every week, I plan out what they should do in each subject, and then before each day's school time, I can just load the boxes.

[happyWImom]

Here is what we do:

 

For the daily chores, I found a blank chore chart that had lines to write the chores on, and then columns next to them w/ Mon, Tues, Wed, etc...

 

I copied one for each child, and wrote even the simplest things on them (make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, wash face) because my ds really needs that. Then I have a couple of behavior type things on them: no complaining about meals, listening the first time. I laminated them, and they make their "tally" after each item. Each tally represents 1 cent. They can earn 3 for "no complaining about meals" and "listening the first time", as well as "clearing dishes". It doesn't seem like a big deal, but the fact that they can "earn" 25 cents a day has really motivated them.

 

Their charts are on the front of their bedroom doors.

 

We also have a wipe-off calendar right outside their bedrooms, in the hall. I write specific things in the memo area for each day (like school starts at 9am, lunch 12:30, leave for appt. at 2pm, whatever) this really helps my dd who has OCD.

 

Then, I have a weekly menu with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we post it on the refridgerator.

 

For school, I just make a simple list for each child, each day for their school items. This again, has really helped my dd, because she would always ask "What do I have to do today, how long will it take, etc..." Now, she looks at her list right away, and she chooses what order she does things (other than history & science, which we all do together) and then crosses them off when she's finished.

 

All of this has really helped our home become so much more peaceful!

[Farrar]

We use the back side of an easel - I covered it in cork. I put up two things - a piece of paper (I use scrap paper the size of an index card) with their daily tasks. I do it the night before - its mostly lessons for school, but it can be chores or other things. Along with that, the board also has the week's "practice work.". This is little slips of paper, laminated, with the tasks they have to do to keep up with schoolwork, but are somewhat independent - they can choose to do them all fast or pace them out. It's things like workbook pages mostly. A slip says something like "one page of math drills." There might be a bunch of hem for the week. When they finish, they take each one off.

[Lily_Grace]

We use an Accountable Kids chore chart, but previously I made pockets out of manila folders (4 pockets to each half). Each day was labeled plus a "Done" pocket. I cut index cards into strips that had the chore written on them - color coded for room. For example, I made 6 strips that said "make bed" and one that said "strip bed" so we could set it up weekly.

 

The family schedule goes on the whiteboard next to the front door, color coded for each person so we know who is going where each week.

 

The school schedule is done weekly and sent to The Kid's email account for him to reference.

[KrissiK]

On the white board, their chores are listed.

For school assignments, I have a page in their binders where all their assignments are written. I need it as simple as possible.

[myfunnybunch]

We have a chore list posted on the refrigerator and on the school bulletin board. I created a simple table in Word with Days across the top, child names down the side. At chore time, each child looks under the day to find the row with his name for the list of all his chores for the day. (I only include household chores; they are responsible for remembering self-care tasks like brushing teeth.)

 

I made a weekly subject checklist with days across the top and subjects down the side. It is generic ("Cursive" rather than "HWT, page 10") so that I can print the same schedule each week. All subjects in, say, the Monday column must either be checked off or initialed by me before a child can play video games. It's fairly simple, but simple makes it manageable because it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. :)

 

Cat

[2squared]

I made a weekly subject checklist with days across the top and subjects down the side. It is generic ("Cursive" rather than "HWT, page 10") so that I can print the same schedule each week. All subjects in, say, the Monday column must either be checked off or initialed by me before a child can play video games. It's fairly simple, but simple makes it manageable because it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. :)

 

Cat

 

This is what I do, but the checklist is for me. I have sections for each kid and their daily work. Everything is listed generically, as in "read aloud" or "RightStart."

 

I sit with my 4th grader first thing in the morning, and as we go through her list, she writes down a list of her independent work. When we are done, she does her independent work and then comes back to me to review her work.

 

While my 4th grader is working independently, I work with my 2nd grader. I pile the resources we need in front of us, and we work through them. Anything that he needs to do independently is put in another pile for him. At his age, I think a visual pile is the best list.

 

For morning chores, the three middles never rotate chores. My 10yo has a list on the fridge that she rotates through. In the afternoon, they pick up the whole house, put away laundry, set the table, and do whatever else I tell them. That doesn't change either.

[Chelli]

I blogged about our chore chart and system.

 

Chores

 

Maybe it will give you some ideas :001_smile:

[whitestavern]

I print out personalized schedules for each of my dc before school on Monday. It's 5 pages; one for each weekday. It shows each subject they have that day, what the assignment is, their chore for the day, any extracurricular activities, as well as a reminder to practice their instrument. I used to put make bed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, etc. but for the most part they're finally doing that on their own (whew!) It is an excel spreadsheet. Across the top are 4 columns: "day of the week" assignments, a column where I check off that they've completed the assignment, a column for homework and a column that homework's been completed. At the bottom of the page I also have a notes column where they can write in any add'l notes, like what studying they need to do that night. It works super well for my dc. Once their sheets are completed, they know they are free to do whatever they want.

[MrsH]

I've been using goalforit.com to print out pretty charts for the kids. They love the pictures at the top :) I just slide the list for the week into a page protector. Each kid has a clipboard w/ the page-protected sheet, and a magnetic dry-erase marker on it. As they complete chores, they check them off. They're all hanging on a kitchen wall and I reuse the same chart until something needs to change.

 

For school, I do write out my daughter's list for the week. Right now we do it by type of activity, rather than by subject: math, read, write, create, and homework. Her tasks within each category are listed for the week and she picks and chooses. There's usually 5 assignments per category, so 1 per day. It takes me about an hour each week to prepare that list, more if I have to do detailed prep for any lessons.