Pre-K Chore Charts

Written by Pam. Posted in Chores, Free Printables, Learning, Organization

PreKChoreButton1 Pre K Chore Charts

Chores….I know there are a million different ideas and methods out there already.  BUT, most of them are for older kids.  I needed an introduction to the responsibility of having chores for my Nathan, who is 3 1/2.

I love Lisa’s Boys chore chart that she uses for her boys, but it still was a bit much for my Nathan.  I even attempted to simplify her version for him about six months ago, but having them all on one page overwhelmed him a bit I think.  His little 3 year old brain just saw a BUNCH of boxes and it made him not want anything to do with it after a few weeks.

Nathan really doesn’t necessarily need jobs yet.  I mean he is only 3. But, I wanted to start teaching him the idea that everyone in our family contributing to our home is what makes it work.  I have this vision in my head of all of us having dinner and then my boys getting up from the dinner table, plate in hand, taking it over to the sink and then beginning to help with clean up.  YES, I understand that that vision will probably not be so pretty when they get older, but hey a mom can dream!

So, I created a new little system.  I wanted something very simple and that had each day on a separate checklist. Being that Nathan is so young, I wanted majority of what was on his list practical skills that he needs to improve at.  Then I have a skill or two that he can complete from start to finish without any help from me and then a skill that challenges him and that he will have to work at be able to do all on his own.

Monday Pre K Chore ChartsTues Pre K Chore ChartsWed Pre K Chore Charts
Thurs Pre K Chore ChartsFriday Pre K Chore Charts
Brush Teeth:  We help Nathan brush his teeth still morning and night.  But, he always wants to do it himself.  So, I have a one minute timer (from Ikea) in his bathroom and he sets it and then brushes his teeth himself for the entire minute.  I remind him to brush all over and for the entire minute.  This way we are getting in an extra teeth brushing session, plus his ability to brush himself is improving!
Read 15 minutes:  This means alone!  Being that he isn’t reading yet, it is mainly books that we have read and he knows the stories already or books that are mainly pictures.  He loves his dinosaur book right now and he goes through and tries to name all the dinosaurs, etc.  This will be such a great habit to already have in place, when he is learning sight words and beginning reading books.  I also think it is good for him to be able to sit and stay focused on a task like reading for that time frame!
Fold Towels: When it comes to laundry, this is the area he can help.  He is a pro wash cloth/dish cloth folder, but still struggles a bit with hand towels and bath towels.  So, we are working on that currently!
Silverware: Unload the silverware.  We generally run the dishwasher at night, so this is one that I have him do in the morning, before or after breakfast.  It is a simple enough task for him now, but one that he can complete start to finish without help from me.  I will probably keep this on his chore chart for another 3 months and then introduce something new that he will have to learn.
Make Bed:  This is an area that I have very little expectations.  I just want him to start working on pulling up his sheets and bedspread and then arranging the pillows and his few stuffed animals, best he can!  From what I hear from my older sisters, this will be an area we will ALWAYS be working on!  hehe icon smile Pre K Chore Charts
Mom’s Choice:  This is just that… MY CHOICE!  Clean up the backyard, entertain your little brother for a 1/2 hour, clean up 15 toys…. really whatever I want!!

I am offering the PSD’s, PDF’s or JPG’s of my files – complete and blank. If you have a 3 or 4 year old and want to just use the ones I have offered, then go for it.  Or you can import the blank files and then import your own images and words!  If you don’t have Photoshop, then remember you can go to http://www.aviary.com/ and edit them there.  They have a lot great free clipart at www.clker.com and that is where I got all mine!  To customize them in Aviary, you will need to download the JPG files.

Also, I personally laminate all mine and then put magnet strips on the back.  I put all of them on the side of the fridge and the appropriate day Chore Chart on the front of the fridge.  Then, Nathan uses dry erase markers or dry erase crayons to mark off the job once it is completed!  That way he is only looking at the tasks that I expect him to complete that day and no others!

BLANK:  
COMPLETE:

I also just re-did my personal chore chart that I have hanging on my fridge.  Since I moved into this house (Sept), I haven’t kept a great schedule.  But, with 2012 here, I thought there was no better time then now to get back in a good routine!  You can download the adult Chore Chart that Lisa made HERE!

PamsSignature Pre K Chore Charts

Want to see more from us? Find out how to subscribe to our site here.

PinExt Pre K Chore Charts
  • Lisa @ Over the Big Moon

    >Super cute!

  • Allison

    >Love this, thank you!

  • Katie

    >These are adorable! I shared them on my facebook page!

  • Amy

    >These are SO great…my 3 yr old son would enjoy them and it would help us both be more organized. Would you consider sharing here?

    http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2012/01/shine-on-fridays-9-and-some-fabulous.html

  • Kestrel

    >That. Is. Perfect. I have been trying to find a good 3 year old chore chart for at least a year. You are a genius.

  • Jamie @ The Bullock 5

    >Great charts! Perfect for a 3 year old! I am your newest follower love it if you visit and follow me too :)

  • Mamie

    >This is great! Thank you so much.

  • Cheryl @ Sew Can Do

    >Great idea and love the way these look. Thanks for linking this to Craftastic Monday:)

  • Megan @ The Crafty Conundrum

    >Love the idea. Thanks for sharing!

  • Jamie

    >LOVE this! We have a 2 year old and we like to get her involved with chores. This is perfect! The pictures I think will really help her :)

  • Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com

    >I'll bet Nathan like these little charts! They are perfect because they have the pictures and words! Thanks for sharing!

  • Anonymous

    >Looks good! I also was having a hard time coming up with chores for a 3 year old, so I made my own as well – guess great minds think alike!

    cls

  • Erin {Lavender and Lemon Drops}

    >LOVE these! I'll be printing them soon. Thanks for sharing!

  • Crystal

    >Thank you! They will be perfect for my almost 3yr old!

  • Deana@CountryMommaCooks

    >I love this……….I would really love it if you would bring this to my first Linky Party @CountryMommaCooks starts this Friday @9:00pm…Hope to see you there!

  • Sarah

    >Love Love Love this!
    Thanks for the great tool! I will be using it and will link back to your page once I get our version blogged about! I have already told some friends about it!
    http://www.elliotthomeschool.blogspot.com

  • Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts

    >Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday – you were featured today!
    - Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com

  • Sarah

    >This is awesome! Thanks so much for posting this!

    I'm happy to be your newest follower and am hoping that you'll visit my BRAND NEW blog and follow me back!

    Thanks a million :)
    Sarah @ Dotted Line Crafts

  • Nicci

    >I love these except for one thing . . . reading isn't a chore. I think including it on a "chore chart" takes something innately pleasurable and teaches kids that it is a job that must be done. That's disappointing to see.

  • Lisa @ Over the Big Moon

    >Nicci-

    I do in some ways understand where you are coming from but in other ways I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of the chart – which is to establish good habits. I don't think of brushing my teeth as chore but I'm sure when I was younger it would have been on our job chart. For a child who is 3 they LOVE to do the things on their charts. They don't see them as chores they see as something exciting. I know that Nathan loves to put his checks on the chart and it gives him a sense of satisfaction. They are a great way to establish self-esteem in little ones. I think its awesome that Pam is establishing the habit of reading at such a young age.

    With my boys chore charts I try to put some enjoyable things on them so that "chores" doesn't have such a negative connotation. Chores can be a fun experience for kids instead of something they dread.

  • Pam from Over the Big Moon

    >Nicci- My son, Nathan, is the type of child that always like someone with him. I'm assuming it may be a 1st child thing. He always wants to be in the same room as us, he wants someone playing with him, etc. My 2nd child is very much different. So, when it came to reading books, he LOVED reading books, but only with us. So, my purpose in putting that on his chart was to help him learn to be able to sit, by himself, and look at books. To learn to enjoy reading by himself… to use HIS imagination…. to take the story where he wants. So, I generally will read one or two books with him, then let me know that I am going to "change the laundry" or "pick up breakfast" and then tell him to read and look through books on his own. We will verbally discuss the book if he wants to… and then after 15 mins or so I come back and we will read another book or two.

    By putting it on his chore chart it is not taking a pleasurable thing and making it negative. As Lisa said, he loves checking the tasks off when he completes them. I am hoping that by it being something that he does daily at this point in his life, it helps it become a habit that he will continue to do daily, even when it is not a a "checklist" for him. He is my 1st child and I am by all means not an expert at parents, etc. But, from by experience thus far, it has no way taken reading and made it a negative thing.

    I did offer a blank chore chart that you are more then welcome to download and customize to your liking.

  • Deana

    >Thanks for Linking up @CountryMommaCooks Link & Greet!

  • Wanita

    >What a wonderful idea and so cute too!! I would have loved to have had these about 17 years ago when our oldest was three….

  • Anonymous

    >We're gonna use these, too now—thank you so much!!

    The R. Family

  • Melissa McAllister

    >We are soooo gonna use these–thanks!

  • Heather

    >thank you! printing these and getting them laminated!

  • Alexandra

    >I was trying to edit the blank ones and I'm confused. I tried to upload them into aviary and it says image files only…..am I doing something wrong? Thanks so much!

  • Pam from Over the Big Moon

    >Alexandra – Sorry about the confusion. You need to download the JPG files in order for them to work in Aviary. That was my fault! Sorry again!

  • Heidi

    >I am sooo excited for this!! My 3 little girls will benefit so much from this! Thanks for sharing your talents! Also, thanks for linking up at {Junk in their Trunk}…this is being featured today as one of our top links!

  • julie rezendes

    >Thank you so much! I have shared it on CouponGurl as the free printable of the day!

    http://coupongurl.com/free-printable-of-the-day-kids-chore-charts/

  • Pingback: Chores | Heart Journey Weblog

  • http://www.peckofpickled.com Ambrwaves

    Your stuff is cute! Love the charts and such, but don’t feel smart enough to customize them for myself. Anyways, great work.

  • shayla

    Very cute ideas

  • Jennifer

    I love these. Can’t wait to use them with my 3 and 5 year old boys. I made some changes to them so that they wouldn’t have the same chores each day and fight over them, but would like to make the font match so they look similar. What font did you use?

    Thanks for sharing!

  • Rachel

    Love these charts and want to use them with my 3 year old. I am having issues customizing them with avairy. Any way you could help me out? Thanks so much!

  • http://twitter.com/pragmaticmom PragmaticMom

    I love the visuals on your chore chart! So appealing and easy to undertand!

  • Emily

    I have struggled for a while now because my two older boys have chores while my 4 year has nothing. These are great ideas!!! Thank you!!!

  • Igambatese@yahoo.com

    So I am trying to download these chore charts (AMAZING by the way!) and I want to make a few minor changes to one or two of the chores for my girls. I have tried downloading the completed chore charts (all 3 file types) and the same for the blank ones. I have photoshop, aviary and a few other editing programs and I have tried using all of the above, but my problem is that the chore charts are downloading as zipped files so I can’t edit them. I’d like to think that I’m a LITTLE bit computer savy but after trying to download and edit these I realize that I’m not! If anyone can help me figure out how to fix this problem I would greatly appreciate it! My girls and I are super excited to start using these!
    Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me :)

    • johnlisa02

      After you download the zipped file you need to double click on the download and it should bring the file up in a popup window. Click on the file and then look at the top for a button that says “unzip.” It will ask you where you want the files to unzip to. Once you click unzip it will separate the files and they can be opened in the various programs. Hope this helps!

Winter Mantle + Free Printable
Lisa needs your help!