I was out shopping at Michael's the other day with one of my friends and they had the CUTEST Razorback Piggy Bank (WooPigSooiee!).
Of course-had to have it :) Their coupon that week was a 50% off coupon, so we got it-10 Bucks-Whoop Whoop! then once I got it, I had to do some thinking to justify the purchase. I have 2 boys, and they already have a piggy bank, so....what am I going to do with this one?? I can't just have decor-it has to be useful!! LOL After talking to my mom and my friend, we decided that it would be a joint piggy bank for the boys to use to save up for something that they BOTH wanted.
They loved this Hawg bank and decided to save up for one of the nice wooden playground sets. Their goal is to have enough saved up by next summer. So, the wheels start rolling again...how can they save up that much money?? Chore Chart!!! Hmmmm...how to do it?? Pinterest!! Which leads us to the craft of the day :)
They loved this Hawg bank and decided to save up for one of the nice wooden playground sets. Their goal is to have enough saved up by next summer. So, the wheels start rolling again...how can they save up that much money?? Chore Chart!!! Hmmmm...how to do it?? Pinterest!! Which leads us to the craft of the day :)
I found several different chore charts on Pinterest that I liked and then I started trying to figure out how to incorporate what I already have to do it. I went to the Dollar Tree and picked up a cookie sheet to use. I wanted to cover it with fabric like listed on pinterest, but I really didn't think my magnets would go through the material well enough to hold up. I also had a 'lip' on the cookie sheet and I knew it wouldn't have a smooth fabric covering and I didn't want any extra bunching, so I just opted out of the fabric.
I started by searching sites to see what was acceptable for an almost 6 year old and a 2 year old boy to do. It was the 2 year old that I was really concerned about how to find things for. Here is what I came up with:
2 year old:
Picking up Toys in his Room
Picking up Toys through the House
Make Bed
Brush Teeth ( they hate to brush their teeth, so maybe this would provide some incentive)
Clean Table (use a wipe to clean off the boys kid table in the living room)
Clear Table (take dirty plate to sink/food in trash)
Picking Toys up Outside
6 year old:
Picking up Toys in his Room
Picking up Toys through the House
Make Bed
Brush Teeth
Clear Table
Picking up Toys Outside
Take out the Trash
Swiffer ( I saw this on several sites and wondered-seriously?? Swiffereing??? But, hey lets try it-on the swiffer you can take links out of the handle and shorten it-it is just his size!!!! And he LOVES IT!!! He hounds me to hurry and sweep so he can Swiffer!! Who would have thought???)
I had these small round glass circles that I used to use when making paper/glass necklaces. I bought them from Dollar Tree-there's like 20 circles in a pack. I printed off the chores on the computer and used my paper punch to cut out the circles. I used some Ailene's Clear Crafty Glue and put it on the glass, then placed the paper chore face down so that it shows through the glass. I let this dry 24 hours. It will trick you-it will feel firm and dry, but after experience, leave it alone for 24 hours!! Patience!!
Once it dried, I added a round self adhesive magnet to the back of each chore so it would stick to the cookie sheet. I used my Cricut to cut out some vinyl letters so the boys would each have their own 'side' on the chart.
I decided to put the chart on the fridge so the boys could reach it to move their magnets. I added 6 magnets to the back but it wasn't enough to hold it up. I went ahead and added 3 long magnetic strips to the back to hold it up-A No Go! So, I glued ribbon onto the back so that it could be hung with a clip on the fridge and the magnets together-Still NO SUCH LUCK!!! So, I just put it on the wall on a nail (what a waste of all those magnets!!GGRRR) My oldest is still able to use the stool to move his chores.
We have only had it going for 3 days now, but our house is cleaner (toy wise lol) and our kids complain less when doing their chores because they know they get the money and get to put them in their bank-which they LOVE doing!
You can see now how my head works SOOO much like Laura Numeroff's book If you give a Mouse a Cookie...cause this all started with just a little Razorback piggy bank :)
