Terrific Tuesdays- Chore Jar

Howdy!  I'm Kirsten, the designer and creator behind Embellish, a blog in which displays loads of FREE PRINTABLES, tried and true recipes, parties and the occasional sewing project. I'm so excited to have this opportunity to share with you all my CHORE STICKS idea.  Before we get started-- just a little about me -- I am a social worker turned stay-at-home-mom to two darling, rambunctious, active, kind and brilliant little boys, named Miles and Graham.  I'm a lover of salty-crunchy foods, the food network and homemade whipped cream.  Now that that's out of the way...

I was inspired to make these color coded chore sticks by my childhood babysitter.  With my mom being single and working full time we spent a lot of time over at the babysitter's house in the summer time.  Every morning she would ask her kids to pull some sticks from a jar and they were required to finish their chores before going out to play.  She never required me to pull sticks, but for some reason I always thought it was fun and mysterious to see what I would get.  I think these sticks could make chore-time fun and into some sort of game.  And when it comes to chores anything helps.

As a child I thought I was so CLEVER and CUTE.  Especially when it came to chore time I always weaseled my way out of the details.  When asked to clean my bathroom, I would go in with ONE paper towel and proceed to wipe it down half heartedly (hey she said clean it, but she didn't give the details on how much and what exactly she wanted clean).  So... in an effort for my kids to NOT pull the same CLEVER and CUTE crap, I've decided to break the household chores down into the absolute nitty gritty.  As parents I think we can all agree it's our duty to teach our children, so many of these printables give us the opportunity to do just that.  Neither of my kids are to the chore stage, but I will definitely be using these when the time comes.

Supplies needed: tongue depressors/ fat craft sticks, Mod Podge, sponge brush, scissors, spray paint (optional) and a paper cutter.

This step is optional, but I like the look of darker woods so I spray painted my sticks on both sides.  Let the paint dry thoroughly before flipping, otherwise you will be peeling newspaper off of your sticks and that my friends is NO fun!

Next, download and print my FREE PRINTABLES HERE.  There are a lot of chores included in this printable, but feel free to use the ones that fit your family's lifestyle best.  I've also included blank colors for those of you that have additional chores to the ones I've provided. You can write the chores in on the blank colors or you can use the blank colors on the back sides of the sticks so that the colors are visible on both sides (that's what I did).

Now, here comes the tedious part.  Find yourself a good movie and popcorn and start cutting.  I first used my cutter to separate them and then with my scissors and steady hand I went around each corner.

After all of the cutting is done, adhere the paper sticks onto the wooden sticks with Mod Podge and your sponge brush.  Let them dry and cover with a good coat of Mod Podge all over.  Another optional step is to use a heavy duty nail file and go around the edges so the paper and wood line up evenly.  This step would need to be done before you put the final Mod Podge coat on.  I started this step and quickly realized it would take me a LONG time to finish...so I stopped.

 Also included in the printable set is a chore jar label and color code chart so your kids will know exactly what room they're picking by the color.  Parents, you could also use this to your advantage when assigning chores for naughty behavior. ;)

  Here are just a few examples of the chores I've included and what they look like.

 Geesh... I wish I had learned how to check and refill my car's air pressure when I was younger.  Maybe I wouldn't have to ask my hubby to do it for me now as an adult.  I'm tempted to pull this chore stick tomorrow and have the hubs teach me. ;)

 Now, that's an array of chores if I do say so myself.  Chores have never looked so beautiful before. ;)
DOWNLOAD COLOR CODED CHORE STICKS HERE
If you need help with this please email me. dianna@whateverdeedeewants.com.
What creative ways do you enforce chores?