Chore Chart:
How to Keep a Clean House

A chore chart is a way to keep your house clean and still have fun. Lets face it you do not have the time to do everything. If you have a family, cook from scratch, garden, and homeschool there is not enough time to clean house. You need the help of other family members.

Assigning Chores

You will want to assign personal chores to each child. Personal chores are chores that take care of the child's personal space and items. Children need to learn to make their bed. They also need to learn to put their clothes and toys away.

A child also needs chores to help with the common areas of the house and yard. They need to learn to keep the kitchen, living room, and bathroom clean. They need to learn to fold laundry.

Use the chart to let your child know what is expected of them. When they finish the week you can reward them with a special treat or money.

Preschoolers

Even preschoolers can be taught to do simple tasks. A preschooler can learn to make their bed. He can also pick up his toys and put them away. He should be taught to pick up his dirty clothes and put it where its goes. You might want to put hygiene tasks such as brushing his teeth on his chore chart.

There are chores that a preschooler can do in the common areas with supervision. My children were taught to fold wash cloths. Later they learned to fold hand towels. They were not required to do the bath towels for several years because they were to big for them to handle.

If you provide a preschooler with a sturdy stool he can wash silverware and plastic dishes. You will have to watch so that he does not make a mess with the water.

In the bathroom your child can be taught to take a dry cloth and wipe down the facets on the sink and tub.

A simple preschool chore chart would look like:

Chores	Make Bed	Brush Teeth	Pick up Toys	Fold Washcloth	Wash Dishes
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat

When you write their chart you will want to incorporate pictures. You can use stickers to mark off the tasks that are completed.

Elementary Children

The school age child is bigger and stronger. You can remove tasks that have become automatic from their chore chart. Remind your child that they are still responsible for making their bed and brushing their teeth.

By nine or ten they should be taught to sort their laundry and how to use the washing machine. They can also learn to vacuum. They can vacuum their room and the living room. Teach them also to sweep floors.

Boys should have some outdoor chores to help dad. They can learn to pick up rocks and trash before the lawn is mowed. With supervision they can learn to weed and water the lawn and garden. My son at ten is learning to chop wood.

A simple school age chore chart:

Chore	Laundry	Pick up Lawn	Vacuum Room	Dust Living Room	Vacuum Living Room	Sweep Kitchen	Do Dishes	Wash Bathroom Sink and Tub
Sun
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat

High School

When a child is in high school they should know what should be done to keep a house clean. It is nice for them to provide a chore chart so they can see what needs to be done. Instead of a personal list of chores to be done, make it a family one so that everyone can mark off the chores that are done.

Special Needs

Children who have special needs should also learn to do tasks. Remember to keep the chores below their frustration level. Your child should have some areas that they can successfully. It will help with their self esteem. If your child has difficulty reading used PECs or pictures.

A chore chart teaches a child to be responsible for keeping the house clean.