What we've been up to

Thanks to a friend in the neighborhood, we've created "folders" for our children. As you can see, these aren't very "cute" but they do the trick.

The idea is that each child has a folder with their jobs & a time limit listed on a strip of paper. Every morning the kids wake up and go get their folders. They each have a timer, set their timer and do the chore. ie: brush teeth-2 minutes, make bed-3 minutes, personal scripture and prayer- 3 minutes, piano - 20 minutes, etc. They can do these chores whenever they want(before school or after) but have to have them done in order to play each day. They can only play with friends & video games on Fridays and Saturdays anyway but on M-F they can't play computer, etc. (We are those "mean" parents.:))

This is the clincher, I LOVE it!! After dinner each night, or whenever works out, we have "family work" --I included, trash, dust, bathrooms, kitchen, vacuum and mop. We each take a different job each night, whatever we want and all work together until it's all done. I LOVE waking up to a clean home.

We haven't been perfect in this -- but it's great to help keep me on track. I no longer have to remind kids to brush their teeth, I just say "Is your folder done?" The whole thing just adds more structure & peace in our home. It's priceless.:)

**edit** If they complete their Folders all week -- they can earn "good stuff" -- a late night with friends, video game time, family fun, etc. We're not that mean...geez.:)