HOW IT WORKS

Parents select chores

Parents select the chores for their kids and mark if it is a Responsibility or if the child can Work For Tickets!
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Kids do chores and earn tickets

Kids complete their Responsibility chores to earn the right to earn tickets for their Work for Ticket chores.

Kids redeem tickets

Kids cash their tickets in:
  • For screen time
  • Money
  • Items at the family store​​​

STEP:

CHOOSE NEATLINGS CHORE CHART CONFIGURATION

​There are several ways that you can configure your NEATLINGS Chore Chart. Below are a few configurations which are shown for 3 children but can be easily adjusted for less or more children.
NEATLINGS Chore Chart Cultivate Contributing, Confident, Can-Do Kids! www.neatlings.com
Chores by Week:
Top Row – Place your title cards.
Second – Fourth row
  1. Place each child's name label in the far left columns label pocket. Earned tickets will be placed in the card pocket directly behind this label pocket.
  2. In the remaining columns in this row place the days of week labels in the slots.
  3. Place all the chore cards that your child will be doing for a day in one days pocket. When that day is complete and you settle up remove those cards and place cards in the next days pocket.​
​Note: A slight variation to this would be to choose the entire weeks household chores that your child will do, place them in the slots throughout the week and only move any self-care/well-being cards from one to the next as needed.
NEATLINGS Chore Chart Cultivate Contributing, Confident, Can-Do Kids! www.neatlings.com
​Chores by Priority: This option is best suited if you need to prioritize chores. You will not need all your chart panels for this option.

Top Row – Place your title cards.
Second – Fourth row
  1. Place each child's name label in the far left columns label pocket. Earned tickets will be placed in the card pocket directly behind this label pocket.
  2. You will now have 3 remaining columns. In these columns place labels Personal Responsibility, Household Responsibility, and Work For Tickets.
  3. Cards that you place in the Personal Responsibility pocket will be self-care/well-being cards.
  4. Cards placed in the Household Responsibility pocket will be chores that you expect your child to do as a member of the family and that’s their contribution to the household.
  5. Cards placed in the Work For Tickets slot are tasks you are willing to pay for.
  6. The day of week labels can be stacked and inserted in an open label pocket under the NEATLINGS title card. Be sure to change the day when settling up. You will find this helpful if you are not able to settle up for a day.
NEATLINGS Chore Chart Cultivate Contributing, Confident, Can-Do Kids! www.neatlings.com
Chores by Time of Day: This option is best for chores that need to be completed at specific times throughout the day. This option takes up less wall space and may be best suited for homeschooled children or home throughout the day. You will not need all your chart panels for this option.  
 
Top Row – Place your title cards.
Second – Fourth row
  1. Place each child's name label in the far left columns label pocket. Earned tickets will be placed in the card pocket directly behind this label pocket.
  2. You will now only have 3 remaining columns. In these columns label pockets place the labels Morning, Afternoon, and Evening.
  3. Place chore cards in the appropriate time of day pockets.
  4. The day of week labels can be stacked and inserted in an open label pocket under the  NEATLINGS title card. Be sure to change when settling up. You will find this helpful if you are not able to settle up with your child for a day.
Click here for more Chart Configuration Ideas for 1-6 kids.
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STEP:

CONFIGURE NEATLINGS CHORE CHART

Now that you've decided on your configuration it is time to connect your chore chart panels use the included hook strips (Figure 1a). Simply turn over the chart panels and arrange them in the configuration you choose. Connector strips come in two sizes; for the vertical connections you will need two bullet nosed strips and for the horizontal connections you will need two bullet nosed strips and a double straight edge strip. Refer to examples Figures 2a and 2b. There are several other configurations that could be chosen as well.
Note: If this is your first pocket chart from NEATLINGS then you will not use all of your hook fabric strips. Extras are included to accommodate different configurations and to attach additional sets of NEATLINGS charts.)
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PLACE TITLE CARDS
  • Select NEATLINGS Chore Title Card either medium or large title card and place.
  • Select Redeem Tickets For Title Card either the medium or small title Card: One side lists check boxes and can be customized to clearly communicate what tickets can be redeemed for.​

STEP:

IMPLEMENTING NEATLINGS CHORE CHART

  1. Introduce the NEATLINGS Chore Chart configuration that you will be using. Choose a quiet time and avoid distractions.
  2. Let the children select a colored deck and fill in or even decorate their name label.
  3. Show your children they will be learning about how to earn and manage money by earning tickets doing common household chores.
  4. Together  select chores that you would like your child to complete the next day.  If there are chores that your child already does on a regular basis then you can set these aside as these may not be needed as these are already part of your daily routine. I recommend selecting 3-4 chores a day. To begin, you may want to do the chores with your child or oversee them so they clearly understand your expectations.
  5. One option is to offer double payment if they do all their chores without complaint. This can be extremely effective.
  6. Time to Settle Up! Review what chores have been completed throughout the day and what has  been earned. Pay them their tickets for that day and together choose new chores for the next day. These tickets can be redeemed for screen time, items in the family store, or cash. Pick the right time of day for you. A common time is in the evening once the kids have their PJs on. They will be excited to start planning what they will earn the next day! Make sure to be consistent and add this into your routine.
  7. Another option is to offer bonus chores. If they select a bonus chore then they must put that one in their days pocket, complete the chore, turn the card around when complete.
TIP: One settle-up option that is very effective, is to only pay for the chore cards that are selected as Work For Tickets only if all the Personal Responsibility and Household Responsibility chores have been completed.

PUTTING IT IN ACTION

Example: A parent decides to pay their child 1 ticket per completed chore  however if all four of the chores are completed for that day without complaint they agree to double the tickets earned per chore. The child does all the chores without complaint and earns a total of 8 tickets for that day. Now for this example the parent is willing to pay .25 cents per ticket or they can each be used for 15 minutes of screen time. This child decides to use 6 tickets for 1.5 hours of screen time.
Each day the child does the same thing. At the end of the week the child earned 56 tickets by doing 28 chores without complaint, redeemed tickets for 10.5 hours of screen time, purchased a lollipop and a can of play dough at the family store and pocketed $2.50

WOW! Twenty-eight more chores in a week and it cost you less than a good cup of coffee! Your child feels great about what they’ve accomplished, possibly spent less time on a screen, are learning new skills, and how to manage time and money!

Here is what your child gets out of the system and why they love it!
  1. Kids love to learn and want to contribute. When they learn how to do new things they gain self confidence and a can do spirit.
  2. This program gives children a way to earn rewards while contributing to the family unit.
  3. When kids get bored and don’t know what to do, this gives them something constructive and meaningful to do.
  4. Kids can get frustrated by the lack of control they have over their day. This program allows them to have more control. It empowers them with the ability to manage their own earnings and screen time (within the parents set parameters).

FAMILY STORE

The store should be filled with items that are exciting for your kids. You can put anything in the family store. Have a variety of items and things worth even one ticket so that every child, even if short on tickets, will have the resources to purchase something and feel good about what they earned. For store bought items I recommend selling the items in the family store for ticket values equivalent to real life cost. You can also add in things like a trip to the park, ice cream shop, play date, movie night etc. Be sure to fill your store with a few items that will motivate each child at variable price points. You could even do group items that all the kids need to save for together like a trip to the zoo or a new game for the family gaming system.
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Examples of items for family store.
1 Ticket = A lollipop or extra book at bedtime
2 Tickets = A small bottle of bubbles or picks the family board game
3 Tickets = A coloring book or later bedtime
4 Tickets = Anything from the dollar store or get to pick what's for dinner
20 Tickets = A book that cost $5 at store or a playdate
28 Tickets = Doll that cost $7 at store or a sleep over
40 Tickets = A small toy that costs $10 at store or a date night with mom or dad
60 Tickets  = A medium toy set that costs $15 at store or go to a movie
120 Tickets= A game for a home system that costs $30 at store or trip to zoo
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Click here for more family store ideas. 99 Ideas for  your family store.
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  • A family store can be as simple as a list kept in the pocket of the chore chart or a box kept up high in the closet filled with fun things.
  • ​Also,  know that family store items do not need to be things that cost money. Family bike ride, a walk to the park, a playdate are things that will motivate all kids! One NEATLINGS parent lets her kids redeem tickets for fishing time. Be creative and have fun with it!