Coaxing kids to do some household chores is a chore by itself!
How many times the mom has to nag before finally giving up and putting the clothes/toys/books (the list goes on….) away herself! High five, if you all been there, done that! I feel the only solution is to make the mundane household chores fun for the little ones; then the work does not seem like work and it becomes a part of play. Fair enough??!
My 5 and 3 year olds are like most boys of this age – super active boys (Phewww!) and admist all the playing, fighting, and more playing they often forget or ignore the things are to be done by them…so this DIY mom thought to make a little something to make the whole ‘helping out’ activity fun and interesting.
Letting the kids do simple and age appropriate chores in the house is very important and I feel, its ‘Never too early and never too late to start’!
The Internet is filled with these DIYs and so getting the inspiration was not difficult at all – got mine from here.
I just made one chore list just to see how it turned out…so I made it for my 3 year old little fella who is yet to master the art of reading. I kept the different chores in pictures so he can easily understand.
Things you’ll need:
- Old/New cookie tray – I bought mine from a baking shop (S$7)
- Magnets – I bought 2 packs of 40mm size (about 12)- (S$2 each)
- Washi tape of coordinated colours
- Double sided tape
- Hot glue and gun / E6000
- Scissors
- Decoration items – I used buttons, sequins, and stickers
- Chores Printable – I collected pictures from internet and formatted them with circles on a Word document; you can download mine from here if you like: Chore sheet for non-readers
- 1 cardstock for printing
- Cello Tape or Laminating machine
I first printed out the Chores Printable on a cardstock and cut along the black lines into a circle (not proud of the crooked cutting, but who cares?). I don’t have a laminator, so I tried the ‘oldie but still goldie’ method of using a transparent tape to laminate the circles. Trim around the edges to make it neater.
Tip: Use a cutting mat underneath when putting the tape on the pictures, it easily come off when done.
Once done, use the double sided tape to stick the laminated cutouts onto the magnets.
There you have it, so simple and easy.
You can order the magnets with pictures off Etsy or Amazon though if short on time or need a better, more professional look: Link is here.
Now its time to jazz up the otherwise plain jane cookie tray. I didn’t spray paint it. Being a thrifty mom, I plan to use the tray later for baking purposes. Used lots of washi tapes, stickers and buttons to give it a snazzy look.
I personalized it by using some stickers for his name. This gives a sense of pride and encouragement once the kids finish all the chores for the day.
Decorating the board / sheet can be totally as per the decor of the room, kid’s preferences or simply the items available to you. I am always for re-using and re-purposing whatever I have because ultimately the basic idea is to create something unique and helpful. It needn’t be exactly what you see on pinterest but something that will serve the purpose.
So let the summer holiday fun begin,
Adios,
Rhea xx
PS: If you do make this fun little DIY, would love to get a shout out from you – use #rheawritesdiy
(Not so) Discreet Instagram plug – here!
I am also listing an Age-wise Chores List for your kiddos (courtesy-Internet)
