THE "MOTHER BOARD"

Why the "Motherboard"?

It wins the title for two reasons:

1) It is the centeral place for all the things that keep this house running orderly, as far as the maintenance goes. It is the reminder, to each person in the household, of the responsibilities each person has in the home each day!  

2) The Mother is generally the one that is pushing for the cleaning and jobs to be done. This wall does it for you! NO MORE "NAGGING"! I mean really. What an ugly word! Wouldn't it be great to have everything get done, but still keep that label far from you! I think YES! :)

So, here is THE wall. Right below the Family Home Evening board is where the job wheels with Mom & Dad's responsibilities should go. As it is, they are missing, but you get the general idea.

I believe that a job chart, that is effective, helps teach kids to be self sufficient. Isn't that what we are ultimately trying to teach?! I mean, the clean house is great, but having kids that can govern themselves when they are older is FABULOUS! :)

About Job Charts:

Make it fun! If they are simply checking a box, it won't be nearly as successful. The jobs aren't fun, but the feeling of accomplishment and being able to see that IS!

I made these job charts 1 year ago. They just kinda popped into my head. My kids have successfully done their jobs almost every single week since then! Our friend came over and his kids were begging him to get them a job chart like them, swearing up and down they would do their jobs if they had a job chart like this! I do have to admit....they make it SO much more fun! Plus, they are just over 3' x 3'. They DEMAND attention! :)

Let me give you the run down....

This is Jake's chart. He wanted to help with the quotes on the bat, bag, etc. It was fun to let him have a bit of input.

The baseball theme followed the theme that popped into my head, "Pitch in and Help". I also wanted to make sure that there was a lot going on so it was more interesting, but easy to follow. Everything is made out of cardstock from Stampin Up, other than the canvas material for the bag.

Feel free to click on any of the pictures to get a closer look.

The yellow boxes across the top have a baseball with the day of the week on it. Each week starts with Sunday and ends on Payday...Saturday.

The rows across the bottom and on the far right are reserved for "Bonus" jobs. These are the paid jobs. All of the the other jobs are known as "responsibilities". They must ALL be done on the right day in order to be paid. 

Jake's "RESPONSIBILITIES" are:

Morning & Bed time responsibilities: which are listed here by the side of the chart. Jake has asked me to re-do these lists with 2 boxes by the side of each with a picture of a peanut (you know, because of peanuts and crackerjacks) in it so he can move it from one column to the next as he finishes each of the items to make sure he gets them all. In order to remove these two balls he has to complete everything on the list.

Act of Kindness: Each day the kids complete an act of kindness for either someone in our family or at school. This has been one of the greatest additions to a job chart! Jake and Mal make each other's bed's, get each other breakfast, or play a game with each other. Teachers are helped at school, help is given to friends, etc. One day Jake was especially helpful and sweet all day long. That also counted. An attitude of love can also be considered an act of kindness. We encourage them to pray for Heavenly Father to help them see the needs of others around them so they can help where they can. Just trying to develop good habits.

Scouts: During the summer this is an everyday thing. He either works on a project or passes off a goal. Last year after his summer break from scouts he returned to receive his Bear and a whole load of other awards. I have never seen a kid so excited! He worked hard!

Journal: This is a job that is only on Sunday. It takes the place of the household chores that need to be done, since it's Sunday and all.

Household Chores: These include Vacuuming, Yard Work, Laundry (whites one day, colors another), Mop, Vacuum Stairs. These are not paid jobs. These are just the everyday responsibilities. During the school year I remove them all from the chart, except for laundry.

When the "responsibility" is done, he takes it off the grid and puts it in the bag.

Then there are the bonus jobs:

• Mow Lawn
• Yard Work
• Wash Car
• Baseboards Upstairs
• Baseboards Downstairs
• Vacuum
• Mop
• Act of Kindness - FREE (for Sunday)
• Clean out pond
• Downstairs bathroom
• Kids bathroom
• etc.

Each ball has a picture of the job to be done and the amount to be paid for the job on it.

The bonus jobs have to be done on the day they are listed under, or before, in order to be paid for them. The jobs in the far right column can be done at anytime. We try to encourage him not to save them all until Saturday. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. It's totally up to him.

The paid jobs are placed on the Mitt. Each Saturday all of the jobs on the Mitt are added up and we pay him. During the summer he makes about $12.50 per week. During the school year it is closer to $5 because the yard work jobs are gone, plus others, to leave more time for school & family stuff.

If he didn't get the job done on the right day or at all, we just remove it from the chart and put it in the bag.

Each day, once all of the jobs are completed, he moves the ball with the day of the week on it, up to the bat. This let's him know that he did everything for the day! Kind of a big check off the list!

Now for Mallory.....

She is only 4. Her jobs are a bit different. And she is a girl, so she gets a cutsie girlie chart! I love it!

This pot is actually the first thing that popped into my mind when I started inventing charts for them. It was SO fun to see it come together! It is so cute and SO fun!

Mally's grid is full of backward flower pedals. On the back of each pedal is a picture of the job that needs to be done.

Each yellow circle at the top represents the day of the week. This will be the center of the flower. As she finishes her responsibilites she attaches the pedal to the back of the "day circle" and puts it back on the chart.

Mallory's Responsibilities:

• Say Prayers
• Scriptures (she usually watches a "Living Scripture" video and we do the fun little quiz at the end. She LOVES that!)
• Get Dressed & Do Hair
• Brush Teeth
• Make Bed

Then she has her Act of Kindness....that one is on the little green leaf that goes on the stem of the flower.

Mallory's Bonus Jobs:

• Free Act of Kindness (Sunday)
• Dump Garbages
• Help with Dishes
• Yardwork
• Help with Laundry (sorting and loading)
• Organize Toys
• Help in the Garden

These are the cute little Lady bugs at the bottom of the chart.

Once all of the jobs are finished for the day, Mallory puts her newly made flower on the top of a stem in the flower pot. The leaf, for her act of kindness, goes on the stem. Then the ladybug for her paid job get's it's place to crawl around on the pot, until Saturday when the earned amount is added up and paid out.

Mal makes $1.50 per week.

In order to make this successful you MUST pay every Saturday. We have gotten behind a week here or there, but I totally see the difference in the kids' motivation the next week. It is always great for them to see the reward for their work. If we are consistent in pay, they are consistent in working.

We, thanks to Dave Ramsey, don't give "Allowance". He firmly disapproves of it. It encourages a sense of entitlement. Instead, give little jobs and pay what you can. Call it commission. The kids will understand the importance of working hard for what they want.

We have also learned that by paying our kids we get to teach them vital lessons in money management. Both of the kids pay tithing (10%) on everything they make. They know that everything we receive comes as a blessing from the Lord, so by donating 10%, as the Lord has commanded, according to our faith, they are able to feel the blessings of obedience and understand the concept of charity. Also, we are able to help them understand the need to save money for college, cars, etc. and we teach them to avoid debt like the plague.

Oh did we ever get a lecture when we bought our last vehicle a few years ago. We did not pay cash! :) He was a bit disappointed! We have taught him that taking on debt limits options and choices you can make. Ry and I learned that first hand years ago. We are both glad that we can teach our kids to make better choices than we did! :)

So, add to that wall 2 job wheels that have the day of the week around the top, a triangle cut in to show the job to be done on that day for Ryan and I. The wheel is turned to the next day when the job is complete and you have one full MOTHERBOARD! You are happy because you don't have to "Nag" to get things done, everyone knows what is needed, they never have to ask, and you have kids that are getting a good lesson in Governing themselves!

VIOLA! It doesn't get any better than that! :)