Chores: What Elementary-Aged Kids Can Do

Elementary kids can…

• Drill the preschoolers on numbers, colors, and letters. We keep flashcards, chalk, a Leap Pad, and dry-erase boards for this reason.

• Fold clothes from the dryer (Start them out with just towels, then shirts, socks, and finally Daddy's looooong pants. Nobody folds anyone's underwear! Those just get :::eww!::: tossed into the owner's pile)

• Clear and wipe the table after meals (our 9yo Brenden does this at supper; 7yo Brittany does this for lunch)

• Sweep the kitchen floor after meals (9yo's job at lunch; 7yo's job at supper)

• Vacuum a room or two

• Be in charge of keeping the floors of two rooms clear all day long (9yo does the boys' room, foyer, and hallway; 7yo does the girls' room and kitchen)

• Window clean

• Give the baby her bath (I'd wait until she is well old enough to sit, and your elementary-age child has to be trustworthy enough to do this!)

• Clean the bathtub after the younger ones use it

• Make a basic recipe (our 7yo can make French toast if I assemble the ingredients first. She also makes cinnamon toast; our 9yo can follow the directions on a box)

• Fill the cereal bowls of the younger children in the morning

• Fill the baby's sippy cups or bottles, or the preschooler's cups, as needed (our 9yo doesn't always want to do this for his 5yo brother, but I always say, " I was filling your cup when you
were his age, so you're going to do it for someone else now!")

• Open and close the window blinds/curtains each day.

• Do everything on the lists above, for 1-2-year-olds and preschoolers.