Fun Ways to Draw Names to Help With Chores

Household chores are an unpleasant, but necessary, aspect of family life. Chores help family members keep the home neat and clean, and they also give young helpers important lessons in responsibility, consequence and the nature of work. Instead of simply drawing names from a hat, add a bit of amusement and challenge to tasks for kids by assigning chores in fun and unusual ways.

  1. Drawings

    • Randomly assigning chores keeps things fair and gives family members a change of pace from the same mundane tasks. Instead of names, draw funny photographs of each family member to determine who̵7;s in charge of cleaning each room in your home. Place the pictures next to that room on a chore chart. Keep everyone abreast of what cleaning each room entails with a list of tasks listed under each room. Use raffle tickets to draw and assign individual tasks to family members, or assign different rewards to chores, seal each chore in its own envelope and then take turns drawing the envelopes to see what chores -- and rewards -- are in store.

    Competitions and Contests

    • Hold mini-contests and competitions at the start of the weekend to determine who will be responsible for which chores. Have a video-game playoff or promote physical activity with races in the backyard. Allow the winner to choose a chore from the list or automatically assign predetermined chores to the loser of each round. Encourage best work throughout the school week with chore-immunity incentives. Host a contest where the child with the most ̶0;As̶1; on schoolwork gets to eliminate a chore from his list at the end of the week.

    Games

    • Next time the family sits down to play a game of cards, play for chores. Write duties down on index cards. Deal the playing cards as usual, and then, without looking, deal everyone an even amount of chore cards. Whoever wins each hand can trade chores with any other player. Play enough hands for everyone to get one or two turns. Another amusing game for assigning chore duties is darts, played with a suction-cup dartboard. Assign chores to the board̵7;s point values and take turns throwing the darts to receive chores.

    Other Ways to Make Chores Fun

    • Keep the fun going once the housework begins by making mini-games out of chores for kids. Put the laundry basket or recycling bin in the center of the room and have kids ̶0;shoot hoops̶1; with the clothes or containers for points. Hold a contest to see who can complete their morning chores, such as making beds and packing lunches, the fastest. Every so often, hide loose change, dollars or other small bonus prizes beneath items for kids to find and keep as they dust.

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