Picture Chart

My mom uses these pictures with the special ed kids she teaches. They are great to use for kids before they can read or as they are learning how to read. This is basically a chore chart, but kids can figure out what you want them to do by looking at the picture.

Here's what you need to get started: a piece of cardstock, velcrow (or magnets if you are putting this on your refrigerator), little pictures (you could probably find them online or draw them yourself), markers, tape and scissors. This is velcrow above that I cut into little pieces to stick on the back of the pictures and on the chore chart itself.

I put a little envelope on Roman's picture chart so as he accomplishes something he can pull it off the chart and put it into the envelope.

Here's the finished product. If you're wondering what all these cards mean I'll explain them.

The first row is "Morning" and from left to right they go like this:

1. Wash hands (my son sucks his fingers and they smell terrible in the morning...yep, he's 4 and still sucks his fingers. I swore he would be done at 3).

2. Clean up table - this translates to taking his plate, fork and cup to the sink after breakfast

3. Make bed - this means folding his blanket and putting it at the end of his bed

4. Get dressed...a constant battle with my 4 year old boy

5. Brush teeth

"Afternoon"

1. Book - this means either I need to read to him or he needs to look at books himself sometime during the afternoon

2. Pick up toys - we have to do this a couple of times a day

3. Fold clothes - Roman loves to help me fold washcloths if I'm doing laundry that day (and let's face it, I SHOULD be doing laundry everyday to keep on top of it) :)

"Evening"

1. Wash hands - this means before suppertime

2. Set table - Roman likes to help me set out the plates, silverware and cups (love it that now that I've dug out my fun, plastic plates for summer! Eases my mind a bit that he isn't going to break the nice plates)

3. Clear off table - just taking his plate, fork and cup to the sink

4. Pick up toys - again!

5. Put shoes away - we always have a pile of shoes by the front or back door

6. Laundry - when he strips his clothes off for his bath he needs to put them in the dirty clothes basket

7. Brush teeth - I help him at night

In a perfect world all this would happen every day, but as it never will be I'll be happy if we get half of these things done in a day. :) But I don't want to end up with boys who don't know how to help or don't think it is expected of them. Can I get an amen?! :)