As I was reading one of my emails from the FlyLady this morning, I noticed a reference to The House Fairy.   As I understand it from my quick review, The House Fairy is the sister to Santa Claus and she helps motivate children to clean their rooms.  The system uses videos, songs, rewards, etc.   And since I’m been on a kids’ chore kick lately, I thought that I would share the link with you.   A 2 year subscription to the online version is only $10.  (I do not profit in any way by sharing this information.) 

One of my website clients sent me a surprise gift in the mail: a book entitled “The Unmistakable Touch of Grace” by Cheryl Richardson.  Angie Lay sent me this book after we created her Motivational Stuff website to thank me for all that I did for her.  The card she enclosed stated that she believed me coming into her life was a ”true touch of grace”. 

Even though I am not a very spiritual person, I gratefully accepted her gift and read the book.  I gave a lot of thought to the concepts presented and I can’t deny that meditation does wonders and that there have been people in my life who it seems were meant to be there at the precise times that they were.  Angie was one of the people.

After reading the book, I decided that the very best thing to do would be to pass the book on to someone else who had touched my life, to thank them.  I sent the book to Ellen Gaver.  Ellen is the person who most influenced my decision to become a website consultant in the first place; without her, I never would have met Angie. 

As Angie did, I placed a card inside the book explaining why I was sending it and asked if she would pass it on when she is done.  (Being the business woman that I am, I also wrote my name and Angie’s name in the book with our website URLs.)  The book has now become the traveling touch of grace.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my Mommy friends!  Enjoy your special day!

MySpace Comments

This is not a new revolutionary concept by any means, but when was the last time you actually used a chore chart?  They are an excellent idea and generally work well.  The kids tend to like the stickers, points or whatever reward system gets used with them.  However, the use of chore charts often get discarded once the novelty wears off.  Why is that?  (Maybe I just haven’t found quite the right system yet.)

I’ve decided to reintroduce the chore chart system in my house.  So I went digging through my computer documents to find the sticker chart I had created some time ago.  I found it and had to laugh because apparently we haven’t used it in about two years.  (Shame on me!)  The chart I found is this “morning routine chart”.   I used to print one copy on pink paper for my daughter and one copy on blue paper for my son.  Then I hung them on the hallway wall so they could easily see them. 

If you don’t want to create a word document like I did, you can print these free customizable chore charts or purchase magnetic chore charts.

I’ve started using the morning chart again to get us all back into the habit, but now that my children are a little older, I want to expand the chore chart idea to more than just the morning routine.  So, my next question is what to put on the chore charts. I found this “Stages of Responsibility“ list for age appropriate chores.  Maybe that will help.  I’ll let you know what I decide on.

What are your thoughts?  Do you use chore charts with your kids?  What type do you use?  What chores do you have on them?