So in efforts to communicate trust, encourage autonomy AND teach isolation of tasks as well as responsibility to clean up after the isolate tasks, I stumbled across this idea and of course modified it to fit our needs.

With a three year old and a two year old (plus the reality of one on the way soon), I was trying to find a way to offer them choices (within my ability and personal reigns) of activities throughout the day.

So I came up with this idea spurred off of the other ideas I saw on pinterest that were modified chore chart ideas.

I got three small metal pizza-baking sheets from Walmart for $0.92 a piece. I made sure that a magnet would stick to these trays before purchasing them. 😉

Then I bought a roll of magnetic stick-on tape for $2.99 from Joann Fabrics.

Then I got a roll of painters tape because we didn’t have any for $2.00.

After finding colorful clipart pictures of all the 31 activities I can currently offer our children to do in our household or in our yard, I pasted those activities into a word document. Since we have non-readers, I used bright, colorful pictures and put the words underneath the image to describe the tasks. I decided to print off two copies of the four pages of pictures (one for each child) since some activities I wanted to offer both the girls to do at once. I also added in age-appropriate helper tasks into the mix as well (ex. washing the table, helping with laundry, making their bed – I don’t mind what it looks like-, helping with dishes, setting the table, etc.).

After printing those off onto a cardstock heavy paper, I cut them out in small squares. Then I laminated them (I used clear packing tape because I had it around the house and didn’t have any laminating sheets. This required a significant amount of more work, by the way. But I didn’t mind since I was in no rush to get the project finished). After laminating them, I put a small piece of magnet on the back of each task.

I wrote  “To Do” on one side of two of the trays and “Done” on the other side of the same two trays, dividing the areas with a line of tape. Then the third tray poses as an options list for the girls to pick from.

With a little bit of sticky tack, all three trays were easily mounted to the wall at “kid height.”

Each morning I pick out the tasks that I am offering the children to do for that day, allowing me to rotate through some of the tasks they forget about because they are not actively in front of them. I also put up on their “to do” lists two responsibilities per day. The girls then get to pick from the 6 or so items on the options list and move them onto their “to do” part of their lists.

When the girls finish one task, they get to decide what they want to do next. After one task is completed and cleaned up completely, they get to move the magnetic picture to the “done” side of the list.

The results of this project?

• The girls are THRILLED to pick from the tasks and have control in the planning of their day.
• Things get cleaned up right then and there, not accumulating for a long and exhausting clean-up time at the end of play. 
• The girls are THRILLED to help out around the house and often pick to do those tasks first. 
• Creativity and Imagination is fueled by playing with isolated groups of toys (ex. the toolbox saw was used to give “haircuts”) that the girls would have otherwise walked by on the way to their “normal few” toys. 
• There is more cooperative play due to the variety and newness of toys/activities. 

I have chosen not to limit the play to the “to do list” activities alone (sometimes dolls just have to be a part of the lego play because I have two little “Mommies”), but I have found that the things I thought the girls “needed to play with” each day has grown in variety and their creativity is really blossoming.

I also enjoy about this new way of doing things that I can always adapt the “to do list” options as they grow older. It’s simple to print off a few new choices, laminate them, put a magnetic strip on the back of them and add them to our rotation of activities offered. I like the flexibility, as well, of offering tasks based on the day’s weather, my level of pregnancy restrictions, and the level of mess involved. For example, I coupled painting with washing the table one day. It was nice to have helpers cleaning up in more ways than one. =)

Hopefully this idea is helpful to you too. It has added much joy in accomplishment and independence to our household while allowing Mommy some free time (which will soon all belong to Hannah. hehe) to get some “Mommy only” housecleaning done. 

Total Cost:

$7.75 (excluding cost in ink/paper to print colored pages – since I already had this- and excluding laminating costs – since I just used the tape we had) and about 5 hours from researching the clipart pictures, printing them off, cutting and applying lamination (my method would take longer than laminating them through a machine), putting the tape on the trays and then mounting them to the wall.

Total Items Needed:

1. 3 flat pizza or cookie trays
2. Painting tape 
3. 4-8 cardstock pages for clipart signs
4. Colored Ink/Printer
5. Lamination (packing tape or actual laminating sheets)
6. Roll of tape-backed magnets
7. Scissors 
8. Sticky Tack
9. Ziplock/Hefty or sandwich bag
10. Time and patience. 😉

I also used the lamination time to pray for my little girls and ask God for help in encouraging their individual likes/dislikes and blooming character more in our daily lives.  This provided a nice opportunity to thank God for the blessing of serving my little girls as well. =)

– Enjoy!