Chore Chart and a craft for the kids.

We've been feeling the need, lately, to get organized and find a better system for our daily chores. Everyone knows that kids will be more likely to cooperate if you make it FUN!

We decided to make BUG MAGNETS, to chart our progress each day. This is a great idea, not only for chores, but also just for fun with the kids, to hold their art up on the fridge, OR don't even make magnets. Just make bugs for the kids to play with!

Supplies needed:

• paper (in any color of your choice)
• pencil
• scissors
• permanent marker
• hot glue
• craft glue
• clear beads (those kind that are flat on one side)

the rest are optional, depending on what you want the finished product to look like:

• magnets
• black beads (for heads)
• wire (for legs and antennae)
• wire cutters

Start by tracing one of the clear beads onto one of the pieces of paper

Decorate (or have your little ones decorate) however you like. We made bumble bees, ladybugs, water bugs, etc. The boys even just scribbled on a few. It all looked good in the end.

Cut your circle out and use the craft glue to cover your bug entirely.

Press your bead onto the bug.

It will look cloudy and white at first but should dry clear.

Then use the hot glue gun to glue a magnet to the back.

You can stop here. . . .

OR get creative with wire and black beads, making legs, heads, and antennae.

Here are our finished bugs.

And here are the completed chore charts. (We got a little antsy and just made them by hand)

Each day, as they complete their daily chores, the boys will move the bugs into the appropriate square.

At the end of the day, if their chart is full, they'll get a token (we also made magnets out of the tokens).

Once they've earned 10 tokens, they'll get a surprise. This is usually a family outing or a one on one date with mom or dad (think out to the movies, getting ice cream, making a craft together, getting a new book to read together).

We've been doing it for a few days and, so far, it's working out great! The boys get excited to do their chores because they like to move their bugs. And they know that if they fill up their chart, they'll get a token!