Reading a Chore Chart

How many of us like to organize to keep our lives sane?  I am not necessarily a pro when it comes to organizing, but I have really become a learner of those of you who ARE gifted with those skills.

Being one of five children, my mom tried to delegate our chores through a “chore chart”  to make sure that we were responsible for our own areas and some of the mundane household tasks that need to take place on a daily basis.  My mom made a cool chart but it didn’t have pictures so I am sure she spent a lot of time explaining to us what the chart said.

The great thing about chore charts, academically, is that they can teach children how to read and understand a graph, to learn the days of the week, and to provide visual cues that add meaning to words like “Brush your teeth” or “Make your Bed”.

Incorporating a visual cue (a picture or image) is HUGE when you have expectations of a young child.  This is one thing that might have made my mom’s life easier.  So today I wanted to share some resources for chore charts that will hopefully be a beneficial tool in your house:

1. Customize a Chore Chart that your child can color: Customizable Chore Chart (with pictures)

  • Make sure it is BLACK AND WHITE so they can color it to practice fine motor skills and make it their own. 
  • Choose days of the week  (not abbreviated) because you want the days of the week to eventually become a sight word.
  • Give it a fun title like “Mommy’s Helper”
  • IF you choose a verse I suggest that you possibly just write it on the chore chart in “The Message” Version because it is slightly more age-appropriate.
  • Laminate it (contact paper or a sheet protector will work too) and use a wipe-off marker to check it off each week 🙂
  • Or here is one already done for you: Completed Chore Chart with Pictures

2. Chore Cards that you can make yourself for display: Chore Cards DIY (Take a shortcut by inserting your pictures into a word doc and printing them).

What chores should your little one be responsible for?  Here is a great link to have a clue about what your child should be able to contribute to: Age-Appropriate Responsibilities. I hope this helps you make your very own easy to read and manage chore chart 🙂

If you have other ideas that work for you…always feel free to share 🙂

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Math Night

I don’t know about you but I am a board game enthusiast who loved game nights with my family.  In my post “Games Galore,” I posted some game ideas for literacy.  Today, I wanted you to have a good idea of which games are beneficial for young children to practice their counting, adding on, shape recognition and manipulation, and other great math skills. 

If you have these games, use them!  If not, borrow them or check out a local thrift store.  If you want to add to your game library, click on the links below and find the cheapest used game.  However you go about acquiring new games, PLAY THEM…don’t let them go to waste taking up space in your closet!

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Meaningful Chore Time!

The following message really inspired me to include some more meaningul chore time ideas and activities….Thanks Casey  🙂  The activity is a great way to practice reading, fine motor skills, and math skills including sorting and number identification through everyday household chores. Who knew including your kids in housework could be so fun?

Casey says:
“I thought of you and your blog today when James and I were doing chores. Chores are such a great time to incorporate learning while getting stuff done! I wrote the names Mom, Dad, Leyson and James on a sheet of paper and James read off each name as I wrote it. Then, I drew lines under each name and James cut the names out to make labels for our laundry baskets. James then went through all of the clothes and sorted them into each person’s basket. He and Leyson also have several matching pairs of pajamas and shirts and he had to look at the tag to decide whose they were. If the tag had a 2 or 3T on it, they were Leysons, if they had a 4 or 5T on it, they belonged to James.
Anyway… just thought I’d share this with you to possibly share with other mommies.”

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Interactive Websites

I thought it would be helpful if I compiled a list of safe computer sites that I used to use in my classroom.  The first four listed are interactive websites for your kids to practice their beginner academic skills.  The fifth is a very informative kid’s health site that includes interactive games. And the sixth is a resource for you to make tracing practice sheets.

Note – Use these sites in moderation and as an activity extension.  The computer is not a babysitter or a teacher.

Interactive Websites That I Recommend:

1. Letter Naming and Reading Games

http://www.starfall.com

2. Math Learning Games

http://www.mathsisfun.com/

3. PBS Kids

http://pbskids.org/

4. Learning Planet

http://www.learningplanet.com/stu/index.asp?tab=0

5. Kid’s Health

http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?section_id=3&lic=1&ps=312

6. Handwriting Wizard Worksheets

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/one-word_handwriting_worksheet_maker.html

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Creative List

One of the grade level expectations for young children is that they can write for different purposes or to different audiences.  In one of my earlier posts, I encouraged you to allow your child to write a survey to collect information.  In another to write a letter, and in other posts I have provided other means of giving your child meaningful writing experiences.

Today I am going to ask you to get out your child’s clipboard and pencils and tell them that ya’ll are going to go on a pretend trip to the make-believe grocery store.  Tell your child at the make-believe grocery store you can buy whatever groceries you want for free. 

Ask them to help you come up with a list of all the items that they hope might be on the aisles.

Each time they name something, get excited for their idea.  If they name something that isn’t a grocery item say “hmmm….we’ll have to put that on our make-believe ______ (pet store, mall, -or whatever it applies to – list.” 

As they name items say “Hmmm…I wonder what letter would make the sound at the beginning of that word??” If they say something like “Popsicle Candy” you might say “/p/ /p/ /p/ Popsicle candy…do you know what letter might make that sound?” 

If your child is beyond beginning sounds ask them to “pull out” other sounds they hear in the word.

You should have a clipboard out too, writing down each item.  Guide, model, share, but don’t overwhelm your child with technique.  If your child is writing well, this can always be a “draft” and you can go back the next day and ask them to make it super neat so you can put it in their Fun Work Binder.

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