Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Kid friendly to-do list! (Only not a list)


In my home a traditional chore chart just does not work. My kids ages are too spread out for most versions of the chore chart to work for us. The oldest is 17 and therefore I do not remind him to Brush his teeth, or Comb his hair very often. And there hasn't been a day in years when I have had to remind him to get dressed, LOL! Of course there is a small amount of reminding going on, on the set chores that he has, garbage and feed the horse. But for the most part he is pretty self sufficient. The little guy is 17 months old and while soon I will needing to star chart of something for his "potty training progress" he doesn't really have much of a to-do list yet. The eight year old however, well he needs lots of reminders, over and over and over and well you get the idea! He is the sweetest little boy in the world, however, he would happily stay in his pajamas all day with nary a thought as to whether or not the cat has been fed. or if the hampster is dying of thirst, or even if he, himself has eaten breakfast. He has the attention span of a gnat and while I dearly love him I do not love telling him over and over and over again the things he needs to do every morning and every evening. Traditional charts are fine and I know they work well for most kids, plus they would have been simpler to  make. (Even though my version wasn't very hard.) But I like mine better for the following reasons:

1. It is just plain ol' more fun to drop the sticks into the "Done" can versus checking them off a chart!



2. The pictures reenforce what he is supposed to be doing, and he knows what to do even if his 'blossoming but not quite great' reading skills can't make out the words.

3. Yellow circles means morning to-do's and blue means nighttime to-do's. Easy to remember what to do when!

4. Every morning he gets a fresh start, so if the previous day wasn't perfect than he doesn't get reminded of those oops the rest of the week.

5. It is a pretty accent for the bookcase, versus a chart I would want to keep somewhere out of sight and therefore out of mind!

6. I can edit this at any time, either by adding or removing tasks - jobs that need to be done. I really love this feature. I also cut out extra cardstock circles so I won't have to go digging around for the right color when I need them.  And I just store them in one of the cans!

6. So simple to make!


 Step 1 is gathering your supplies of course! Let's see, I used a paper trimmer, hot glue gun, black spray paint, brown spray paint,  Large Wooden Craft Sticks, a black Sharpie, 2 empty aluminum cans, 10 of the aluminum can tops, cardstock for the colored circles and to print my chore circles on, Fancy Pantz Patterned Paper, Fancy Pantz Rub-Ons,  Matching Fancy Pantz Ribbon.

First I spray painted the top and bottom rim of the cans black, and I spray painted the large wooden craft sticks brown.

Then I cut my paper just wide enought to fit between the rims, applied some rub-ons and added the words, To-Do to one and All Done to the other.

Using my computer and free graphics I made up 6 morning reminders, Brush Teeth, Eat Breakfast, Get Dressed, Read for 15 minutes, Handwriting for 10 minutes, and Feed Cats. I snuck a couple of school related tasks that he does daily in there as well. That way he gets started schooling even if Mom is busy with the baby or something else in the morning.

I also made up 5 Nighttime Reminders, Brush Teeth, Read for 15 minutes, Pajamas, Feed Cats, and Feed Jack Jack (his hampster). He now knows that he has to start all this by 9:00 pm and then he goes to bed. So nice to not be the one doing the nagging anymore, I let the cans do that!

I just cut those out in a circle, glued them to either yellow or blue paper and then glued two corresponding circles together with the large craft stick sandwiched in between.

Glued the ribbon around the can using hotglue.

Oh yeah and you might be wondering what I used the aluminum can tops for, well I found out my sticks didn't stand up tall enough to look right so I glued 5 of them together and dropped them into the inside of each can. Makes my sticks stand up taller and look nicer!



And I was "All Done"







33 comments:

  1. I really really like this idea! The ol' chart gets old really fast! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. This is a fabulous idea, and it's attractive enough to keep out on the counter or dining room buffet. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  3. I love this idea! it is simple and adaptable for different ages and stages. thanks!

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  4. AWESOME idea! I just love this, and will have to keep it in mind when my LOs get older! Thanks for sharing!

    Blessings, Grace

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  5. This looks like it would be much more fun than my chore chart! Great idea!

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  6. Very cute. We did a similar chore chart last summer ... but I like your kid-friendly pictures.

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  7. That is such a cute idea! I love that it is one more thing that the kids can help with instead of you doing everything yourself. Also thanks for your kid words! It is needed. I have tons to do. Good luck with your list.

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  8. I think that the Nanny could learn a few things from you!!! LOVE this project. I also love that you stopped by to comment on my blog yesterday. You expressed your thoughts so well and brought up some excellent points. Your comments were certainly appreciated and valued, adding additional insight on the "following" topic. So, anyway, I'm glad you stopped by!

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  9. love this idea. I think my kids might actually get behind this one! I'll have to give it a go.

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  10. That's a great idea! My kids would go nuts over something like that and my youngest would understand from the pictures on the sticks. Great!

    Thanks for linking up :)

    Rachelle

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  11. I really like that! I may have to do that for my 3 year old! Stopped in from Gay's!

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  12. I really like this idea! Thanks for sharing it.

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  13. Wonderful idea! I bet this could be adapted for other purposes/activities too!

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  14. What a terrific idea! I used to be a classroom teacher and keep thinking of how great this would be in a classroom... However, when my one year old gets a bit bigger, it'd be such a fun thing for him too! :)
    If you're interested, we have a friday fun finds party and we'd love for you to link to this! :)

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  15. What a fantastic idea! I plan on making these for my 5 year old. Not only is a chart difficult for him, but I think it's boring too. :) This looks like a fun project to do together. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Love this! Making chores fun, super idea! Thanks for linking up to my first party...I hope it is only the beginning for us both.
    p.s. My button link is up now.
    ~Gay~
    itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com

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  17. What a terrific idea! I think I might try this! Thanks for the idea!
    Rebekah {All Thingz Related}

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  18. Very smart! I like it. It looks like something the kids would actually WANT to participate in! Check out my blog for a free give away! Have a great weekend!

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  19. Love it! have tried a variety of chore charts, works for a while and then suffers a slow death:) I may try this one.

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  20. super idea. my oldest is about to be in "need" of some gentle reminders. this looks perfect & simple.

    thanks for my bday wishes!

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  21. You definitely get a gold star for your chart for this idea!

    Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours day!

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  22. I shouldn't admit this, but I am going to make up this set for MYSELF, a 60-year-old with ADD who also would stay in pajamas all day forgetting whether the dogs and chickens or myself have been fed. Scribbled notes work "a little" but are easy to ignore. I tend to forget what isn't right in front of me--so a version of this might be just the thing.

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  23. Saw you over at Fingerprints on the fridge (http://bit.ly/b2E3wy).

    I love these! They are so great!!! Maybe this craft will get my kids to actually do their chores...

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  24. Kelly, you are a genius! I LOVE this idea, not only because it's so cute, but also because it gives your child a fresh start every day.

    I found you from Fingerprints on the Fridge, too, and wrote about this project on my blog, ADD Student. Hope that's OK :)

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  25. I love this idea! I think you just gave me a way to finally get my son to be excited for chores!!! YAY!!! Thank you!!!!

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  26. This is a great idea! My little girl has a hard time getting ready in the morning and maybe this would help! I may have to give it a try! Stopping by from New Friend Friday!

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  27. these are so super cute, and i love this idea instead of a chart...which we have tried and doesn't really work :)

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  28. These are so cute! What a fun idea!

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  29. These rock Kel! Can I buy some of these from you? Jack is in desperate need of some organization!

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  30. I Love it!! Could you share the pictures you used? I would love to make this!

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