Ideas and resources
I am always looking for a great way to get my children to do their chores without me having to ‘communicate’ every step to them the entire time they are doing it. This chore chart/board looks like the perfect way to accomplish my goal, and I think even the 3 year old can understand it! Head on over to Rock it Like June Cleaver for her great post on how she made the chore chart, along with some great tips on how to have a successful chore-loving child! Could it be true?
When my daughter was younger I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with activities she could do in the car on long road trips and things to entertain her when we were waiting at restaurants and things that didn’t involve screens.
But it turns out there are a lot of great activities you can do with just a piece of paper and a pen.
What Do We Do All Day has a great collection of pen and paper games, including some that can be done with just one person, though they’re all more fun if you have at least two.
There are some classics on here like hangman and dots and boxes, but there are also quite a few I hadn’t heard of before.
I don’t want to spoil the whole list for you because you should definitely click over there and look around, but I will share about the one that you see pictured above.
This game is called Bridges, and you start by making the big random shape and the dividing it into a bunch of sections (the post says 30-50 sections is ideal but I think this one is smaller than that).
Each player gets their own color marker and you take turns drawing bridges from one space to another, crossing a third. Once there’s a bridge, no other bridges can start, end or cross in those spaces. Keep going until no more bridges can be built, and the person who makes the last bridge wins.
Check out the post over at What We Do All Day for more great ideas for no or almost-no prep games you can play with your kids or that kids can play together. I’d love to know if you have a favorite paper and pen game, whether it’s on this list or a different one.
[Photo: What We Do All Day]
Great chore board!! Colorful and fun. I do something similar, but a bit simpler and smaller. I have two sons. I have four library pockets on the fridge. One pair for each son. Each morning/throughout the day, I place flash cards in their library pockets of things they need to do before they go to bed. Once completed, the cards go into their “completed” pocket. It is their responsibility at the end of the day to bring me their completed cards pocket and we go check out their work together. If they don’t bring the cards to me, they don’t get credit. (Just as if an employee doesn’t punch in or out his/her time card-they may not get paid). If they whine or complain, or don’t do the chore to acceptable (not perfect) standards, they redo the chore and receive no $ for the chore. At the end of the week they get receive their “Commission.” For a job done above and beyond, they can receive a bonus (extra $). They can also earn no money and have to pay “Mom” back with extra chores or lost electronic time if they did a poor job or had a poor attitude.
Just thought I’d share as I know sharing helps others find a plan that works for them. 🙂
That’s another great idea! Thanks for sharing…perhaps that’s a good way to start out since my kids are so young:)