2017 Summer Chore Challenge Culmination

Whew. I did not do a good job posting a recap of our 2017 Summer Chore Challenge in a timely manner.  Sorry about that. 

Chore Challenge this summer had some unexpected twists. In the end, only 2/6 reached the "Grand Prize" level. That in and of itself might make it seem like a failure, but from a broader perspective, I think it actually worked particularly well for us.

As I expected, Bryce and Thane were highly motivated to work their way around the race course. They were diligent and proactive about getting their tasks checked off.

Their interpersonal competition was a driving force; Thane has been the first to finish every single year and wanted to maintain his streak, while Bryce was eager to dethrone the king. Beyond competiveness, they were also highly motivated cooperatively. For their grand prizes, they both chose $30 cash, with the plan to pool their money to invest in a pressure washer for a business venture they want to start.

They pretty much ran circles around the rest of us. 

Aubree was much more deliberate about which tasks she tackled. She was highly motivated to get to level 7 because we'd each ordered a really fun Threadless shirt for the level 7 prize. She was not overly motivated to get to the grand prize, because she had a mother's helper job over the summer that provided enough money that the grand prize cash was not very incentivizing. In future years, for older kids, I think we'll tie the grand prize to experiences, outings, or opportunities (i.e. later bedtime, etc).

Graham only made it to level 7, but that was totally my fault. You see, while he was willing and eager, I was tired and burnt-out. I wasn't burnt out because of the chore challenge. In fact, the Challenge provided a spine of structure to a summer that otherwise might have devolved into chaos. Going into the summer, I just hadn't realized how much of a break I needed from the regular demands of homeschooling. Graham's not old enough to independently take the initiative, or even to be able to finish the many of the tasks we'd chosen on his own, and I wasn't much help. Sorry kid!

Additionally, while the idea of adding Mark and I to the Challenge is great, the application was quite a bit overly ambitious. I eventually made my way to level 7, but it took all summer. Mark never made it past the "Start" box. That sounds like he didn't work on his chosen tasks, but he was actually pretty persistent and was close to finishing many of them. 

What we failed to take into account, was the fact that our lives don't change as dramatically during the summer as do the kids' lives. Mark still had to go to work every day, and even had extra deadlines and demands much of the time. Sure, I didn't have the daily homeschooling load, but summer brings it's own unique set of responsibilities. I think having our own set of tasks was definitely helpful and worthwhile, but in future years we'll just need to be more realistic about what is feasible to accomplish.

So, there's our wrap up! It was a different ending than I'd originally anticipated, but still a meaningful experience. I think we all learned a lot of great new skills. 

As soon as school started, I made a chore chart wheel that we've been utilizing the last six weeks. It's working really well. The wheel shifts at the beginning of every month. It's been nice having chore responsibilities clearly defined and visible. All the kids are loving the opportunity to be sous chef. Thane and Graham are especially eager to help, and keep careful track of when it's their day to be the assistant.