Basically at our house we have three boys and they have standard chores each week such as, making their beds, picking up their room each night before bed, taking the trash out, setting the table and cleaning the basement when they mess it up. These chores generally earn them $1 each week.
So what are chore sticks? They are craft sticks that have chores and dollar (or in our case mostly cents) values assigned to them.
It is a way for our children to earn more than the specified allowance when they are trying to save for something special. But it has turned into so much more than just chores.
Basically, we sat the boys down and explained that chores around the house are a family responsibility. This house we have and all that is in it, has been entrusted to us by the Lord and so we need to be good stewards of all things, which means taking care of things and keeping them up. We also wanted our boys to learn a valuable life lesson...that sometimes there is no limit on your income, if you want to work harder you can earn more, if you don't work at all you don't earn anything.
But then of course, we had to balance this new found source of income with grace and truth and developing a servants heart in our boys. So, when we sat the boys down and explained that with chores sticks as an option each week, the only limit they have in terms of how much money they can earn is themselves...and yet executing chores is a vital part of keeping our home and family running smoothly, and there are times when chore sticks can be chosen and done, simply to serve one another.
To do so, you can choose a chore and just quietly do it without mentioning it to collect the amount, or it can be done and a parent can be told, so no one duplicates the chore, but with the child specifying they would not like to be paid.
For the year we've been doing them, we've tweaked many things, taught through many scriptures with regard to money management and serving others, and tithing. We've also been extremely blessed....we have seen the Lord develop servanthood within our boys, particularly the older two. I can't count the times, my older two have said, "no I don't want to be paid for that I just want to do it for our family." or "I'd like to do this just to earn money to give to the homeless or the kids we support through church." or simply, "I want to put this in the offering at church"
We do limit how much they can do most of the time, but every once in a while, I will dump the entire container out and say...have at it boys....clean the house and there will be no limit. Today was one of those days, I've pulled my back out and can not clean the house as I need to, and so the boys got to work. My oldest got to the point after $6 of chores where he said he was working just to serve our family, and the others quickly followed.
So today, I was able to speak to the boys about 'bonuses' a life lesson worth learning early on. It was neat because as I told them sometimes depending on your job you can earn a bonus, it's a little extra every now and then that is not expected but earned and today because they were all so good, so cheerful and helpful, I gave them a 10% bonus...if they could calculate and define what 10% was.
They did, and it was fun..because at the end, again, another child said, "I'd like to give my extra 10% to the Lord...can you take it to your offering box with you Mom?"
I am blessed and for sure, it's the little things like craft sticks turned chore sticks that open the doors wide open for life lessons. Teaching our kids about serving, working, rewards, and even a little extra math lesson (for the math nerd in me).
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