Job Jar: A Fun and Simple Spin on Chores for Kids

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When my daughter was really young, I went to a really cool and weird book sale. A man had bought a lot of books from local thrift stores to sell for really cheap while the libraries were closed. And when I say a lot of books, I mean 3 foot tall boxes of books that covered his entire driveway. One of the books I bought was “The Toddler’s Busy Book“. It has sat on a shelf ever since. My three year old daughter recently found it on her bookshelf. I quickly looked through it and came across its idea for a job jar.

I loved the idea so much that I almost immediately printed out pictures for my own spin on a job jar of chores for kids. If you think I loved this idea because my kids never help, that’s not the case. My kids love to help. But, I don’t always have the patience to help both a three year old and a one year old complete tasks. So this was really a job jar for Mommy.

How to Make and Use a Job Jar:

Making the Job Cards:

Making the job jar is super easy. I will tell you what I did, but there are about a million alternatives. I am not going to even include a list of supplies, because you can make one with so many different things.

First, I made my job cards. I used pictures from Clip Safari to show my preschooler and toddler what each job is. You could write the jobs down for older kids. Here is a free download of the cards I made if you don’t want to make your own. Need job ideas that are age appropriate? Focus on the Family has lists of age appropriate chores for every age group from 0-18.

Once I printed and cut out my cards, I laminated them. This is an unnecessary step, but it will make them last longer. I laminate almost everything paper based that I give my kids just to make it hold up better. Then, I cut out my cards again.

Making the Job Jar:

Next, I made the actual job jar. My husband just finished off a container of yogurt, so I decided to use it. You can use any sort of container, box, jar, etc. that you want. I wanted the job jar to be fun and exciting so I painted it. I also added foam alphabet stickers to spell out “Job Jar” on it.

That is all it took to make my job jar. I left it on the kitchen table and my daughter immediately noticed and asked about it.

Using the Job Jar:

While I have some other ideas below, my main goal of the job jar was to have fun while learning how to do chores. So, I have tried hard to make it fun. And it has worked. My daughter asks to do jobs all day long. I only “let” her do one a day to keep it fresh and exciting. All three of us do the chore at the same time as much as possible. I give my 3 year old daughter a concrete task. I let my 18 month old son do whatever he wants as long as it is somewhat related. Once my daughter finishes her specific task, she gets to decide if she wants another related task.

Here are more specifics on what we have done for each of the cards:

Wiping:

Our sponge picture is kind of a catch all, but we have mostly used it for wiping things off. I give both kids a microfiber cloth and an area to wipe off. The first time we did it I wiped off the table, my daughter wiped off all the chairs, and my son wiped off a little of both. Both kids ended up continuing to wipe off everything in sight. Other ideas are to wipe down toys, clean windows, dust bookshelf, or wipe a mess off of the floor.

Laundry:

Laundry is my nemesis, so there is almost always something laundry related to do. Once the clothes are clean I sort them into baskets for each person. The first time we did it, I had my daughter pick out all of her clothes to put in her basket. My son handed me random clothes to put in the other baskets. My daughter even put some of her clothes on hangers and hung them up once she finished. Other ideas are putting clothes in the washer or dryer, putting away folded clothes, or folding simple clothes.

Vacuuming:

My son has a love hate relationship with vacuums. He loves to use them but is also scared of them if anyone else is using them. We have a play vacuum that keeps him happy most of the time if someone else is vacuuming. For this job, we have done both our carpeted play area and hard floor kitchen. For the hard floor my daughter has been able to use my small stick vacuum. My son uses his pretend vacuum. For the carpet both kids can help me push the bigger vacuum around.

Dishes:

Both of my kids love “doing dishes” which really means play in the sink. This is the job that I struggle the most with letting them help with. I have found it is best to do first thing in the morning since breakfast is mostly just their plastic dishes. I fill up a side of the sink and give them a washcloth to scrub the dishes with. Then I give the dishes another scrub, rinse, and place them to dry. Other ideas are loading or unloading the dishwasher, drying dishes, or putting away dishes.

Changing Sheets:

What do cats and kids have in common? Both love playing and being in the way as much as possible when you are trying to make the bed. But, I did find that my kids are excellent at tearing all the sheets off their beds. And I had limited success with them trying to stretch new sheets onto their mattresses. I took my son’s crib mattress fully out of the crib to let them help. Then they helped me carry all the sheets and blankets to the washing machine. If nothing else, this helps my daughter not get upset when she sees that her sheets are different.

Other Ideas:

Now that you see how I used my job jar, here is how some other parents have used theirs.

• My List of Lists uses a job jar to allow their older kids to earn extra money towards something they are saving up for
• Parenting With Focus used their job jar as a consequence for misbehavior
• 71 Toes puts a silly twist on their job jar by making them both productive and fun

Outcome of Our Job Jar:

All of us love this job jar. Besides sometimes me when I don’t want to clean. My daughter is so happy when she gets to do a job. Since she asks nonstop it forces me to do more around the house while involving them. I think all three of us have learned a lot while doing it. I am curious to see how long its magic lasts. What jobs do you want your kids to help with?