The chore store is working!

I know you've been wondering how our chore charts and chore store are working...

GREAT! Now that we are two months into it, most days I don't even actually put chores in his chart, but sometimes he likes to put them in there. He knows his daily chores are:

• Clean up toys - if his room isn't clean when he goes to bed, no Mommy buck.
• Brush his teeth, by himself. He does such a great job with this! (His singing toothbrush helps by letting him know how long to brush. I think he's also terrified of "cavity bugs".)
• Clear his place at the table after meals.
• Empty the lunchboxes after school on school days.
• Put away his laundry if there is any that day.

Some days I throw a couple of others, on the fly, such as setting the table if he is in the kitchen and needing something to do. He has gotten so much more helpful around the house since we implemented this. He has motivation to get his room clean, which is great.

This is not to say that we don't struggle with some chores, especially the room cleaning. He often looks at the mess he's made with all his toys, and starts whining that is too hard and he needs help, blah blah blah. I tell him I didn't help him make the mess, so.... (I really think I heard that from someone else...Mom?) He has gone many nights with no dollar as a result. Many nights I have to set the timer or give him a time limit or he won't really get moving. But he's figuring it out and I like not having to clean his room!

He also now has a bonus point chart next to his chore chart. If he does something without me asking him, especially buckling his own car seat buckle, he gets a sticker on the bonus point chart. After 5 stickers, he gets an extra dollar. The bonus points are rare and he gets really excited when he earns one. Today he earned an extra dollar and he was so excited! (He had taken it upon himself to sweep up some crushed leaves from a houseplant in the kitchen, so I decided that deserved a bonus point!)

And the chore store is a huge hit. It's open every Sunday afternoon after nap time. He has yet to save a dollar from one week to the next, so he hasn't been able to save for the two lego sets I printed and put $10 and $15 prices on. I pick up things at the Target dollar spot or Dollar Tree, and if it can be divided (like a pack of 3 play-doh or set of stamps), then I mark each item around $1. Bigger ticket items, like a light-up yo-yo from Dollar Tree, might cost $3 or $4 in the chore store.

Last week he kept telling me NOT to open the chore store on Sunday, because he wanted to save his dollars to buy the Lego garbage truck. I told him that was fine, but on Sunday afternoon, he changed his mind. And he settled for glow bracelets, a stamp, and a cookie cutter, but he was happy and so was I. He's telling me again this week not to open the chore store on Sunday, so we'll see if he follows through. The chore store is one of the top things he says he is thankful for this Thanksgiving!

The added bonus is that the chore store is a great math lesson every week! Almost every week, he figures different scenarios and talks them out. If he has $5...he'll chatter, "I have FIVE dollars. I can buy FIVE things that cost ONE dollar! I can buy this yo-yo that costs THREE dollars, and then I can buy two more things that cost ONE dollar."

He also returns something almost every week. He'll pick one item pretty quickly and pay for it, then change his mind and "return" it so he can pick something different. Decision making is painfully slow for him, but he really loves it so I just let him take his time.

I think I may put a couple of Mommy bucks in his stocking at Christmas. He will LOVE that!

For more Works-for-Me-Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.