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Week 01 · Why We Help

Family Helper Day

Family Helper Day: Hang the chart
// A home runs on shared jobs
⏱ about 15 min

Family Helper Day: Hang the chart

Ferris the Fox stands outside the den with every friend in Fern Hollow. Each one holds a paper chart.

Hazel the Hedgehog is nervous. "What if I miss a box?" Ferris smiles. "Then you have a reminder for the next day. That is all."

Bennie the Bear taps his chart. "Three jobs. Seven days. Let's go." Ferris lifts a paw. "Helpers, hang your charts!"

  1. A home runs on shared jobs.
  2. Notice first: floor, surfaces, empties.
  3. Three right-size jobs: about ten minutes, safe, helpful to others.
  4. Jobs down the side, days across the top, a check for each job done.
  5. A missed box is a reminder, not a failure.
◇ MAKE AND HANG YOUR HELPER CHART TOGETHER
Step 1: Do a noticing walk through two rooms. Say what you see.
Step 2: The child names three job ideas. Check each one against the three tests.
Step 3: The grown-up says yes to the final three.
Step 4: Make the chart on paper: jobs down the side, days across the top.
Step 5: The grown-up hangs it where the child will see it every day.
Step 6: The child does the first job right now and earns the first check.
Safety first
Approved jobs only. Nothing hot, sharp, electrical or involving cleaning sprays.
The grown-up hangs the chart and handles any tape, tacks or pins.
The child lifts only light, dry things during the noticing walk.
For a grown-up
Let your child choose the jobs. A job they picked gets done more often than one they were given.
Praise the check, not perfection. Eleven out of twenty-one is a strong first week.
Agree now on a daily time to look at the chart together, like after dinner.
FAMILY HELPER DAY CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Who gives the final yes to the three jobs?
When does the first check go on the chart?
Hazel worries about missing a box. What does Ferris say?
How many jobs go on your Helper chart this week?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThree jobs is the right size to start. You can add or trade later.
StatementTrue or false?
The child does the noticing walk with a grown-up.?
The chart should hang somewhere nobody looks.?
The first check is earned today.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEA chart you see every day gets used. A first check today starts the habit.

Your chart is up and your first check is earned. Next week Hazel the Hedgehog shows you how to make your room your job.

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