HEART Goals for Kids – Checklist for Chores!
Last week was rough around our house. Our kids are finally out of school for the summer and this mama is TIRED.
So we’re trying something new this summer. I’m teaching my kids about HEART Goals as a way to structure their daily chores. Each kid has a daily checklist that helps them earn the next day’s privileges, like playing with friends, swimming, and one hour of screen time.
Do you need a way to structure your kids’ chores this summer? Are you looking for ways to teach them about goals? Grab my HEART Goals for Kids Checklist printable or HEART Goals for Kids Sticky Notepad now!
I created HEART Goals as a system to help me prioritize my day. Most people think long term or big picture when they hear the word “goals.” They aren’t wrong. Yes, I too believe in big dreams and lofty goals. But I also know that what we do every day, our habits and our routines, are what help us reach those goals.
Here are a few things to note if you’re want to adopt the chores as a daily goal system for your kids! Download the HEART Goals for Kids printable now to get started.
- We don’t call these chores, but rather “daily goals”. There are two reasons for this: one, we want our kids to make these habits, and two, we want our kids to understand that these are the elements of life that all future success will be built on.
- Yes, our kids do the laundry. Actually, they do their laundry, and sometimes my husband David’s laundry. A friend recently asked me how I got them to start doing their own laundry, and I thought about it for a minute and said, “Well, I started doing my own!” and laughed. But seriously, I was teaching them how to do laundry and was going nuts when the towels were in with the colors. I just decided that I wanted to do my own, to keep my clothes nicer, and we can use the play clothes for teaching how to do laundry. It’s not a perfect system, but it works for us.
- We go over the list with the kids each day, sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening. When we first started using this system we did a soft start over a weekend, then really held them accountable on Monday. Of course, they didn’t think we would, so Tuesday they spent the ENTIRE day extra-cleaning everything, experiencing a total loss of their three daily summer privileges (playing with friends, swimming, and one hour of screen time). They started taking us seriously after that, making sure to get their daily goals finished so they could experience the benefits of hard work the following day.
- One part that was confusing for the kids (and David) to get the hang of at first is goals accomplished on one day, count for privileges (swim, screen time, and friends), the following day. The reason we set it up like this is so the kids have control over their schedules. We do ask them to finish the items with a star before they head out to play because we know they will forget. This helps them balance their schedule and plan their time. I really want to reinforce the idea that what we do today yields the results we experience tomorrow. It’s a hard lesson for us as adults to grasp, so I’m trying to start it young.
- The “Task & To-dos” section at the bottom is what we also refer to as “Your Work”. “Work” at our house, is whatever project we are working on for some sort of long term benefit or gain. All the other daily goals are just that–simply daily habits that we need to develop in ourselves for self-discipline. But “our work” relates to David’s and my careers. In trying to teach our kids this important aspect of HEART Goals, we decided that math worksheets were key.
This is the summer my kids learn more about why mama’s passion is HEART Goals. They, like most kids their age, have chores they need to accomplish each day. We’re reframing those chores as “daily goals” because we want our kids to make them habits. We want our kids to understand these are the elements of life that all future success will be built on. It’s also teaching our kids that taking care of yourself is important to have a successful life.
Download the HEART Goals for Kids printable here!
One Comment