Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Magnetic Chore Board Pic

Customizable Chore Board
Made with stuff you probably already have around the house!

Here is the super cool chore board I made a few years ago for the girls.  We haven't used it in awhile (they sort of outgrew it), but I have had other people ask me about it, so here it is with instructions to make your own!



Supplies:

-Baking Sheet (I just grabbed a cheap one at Big Lots, 9x13, I think.  Choose whatever size you like)  Make sure your baking sheet is really metal and will hold magnets.


-Variety of scrapbook paper in the color/design scheme of your choice


-Matching ribbon


-Flat round glass "gems" from the dollar tree.  (Flat on one side, rounded on the other.  They also come in squares)


-Clip art pics of different chores printed from various non-copyright protected sources


-Background paper (the yellow you see)


-Magnet strips


-Letter stickers, or a cricut, or your own hand and a marker)


-Modge Podge.  I used store bought, but you can make your own.  I would make sure its a little thicker for this project though.  



Instructions for Project:


My family is requesting waffles...I'll be back to post instructions later.  :-)


Ok, I'm back, the waffles were delish.  Check out the waffle adventure here!


Instructions:


I made this awhile back, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to go along, but I'll try to explain the best I can.  


1. Decide how you want to customize your board.  I made this one for our girls, but you can make one for each kid or one for more than two, etc.  Its up to you.  I decided on the following categories...


-One spot for each child's name (where there chores will go)

-One spot for shared chores
-One spot for the chores to live when not in use or completed (we called it the chore pool)
-One spot for rewards to live.  The kids can choose rewards from here and put them on their name  when their chores are complete, based on what your family decides works for them.  

2. Measure out what size you want your areas to be and cut your paper to match.  The edges do not need to line up perfectly because you are covering them with ribbon later.  


3. Using the modge podge on a brush, glue your paper down to your baking sheet in the design you have chosen.  


4. Use your Cricut, letter stickers or a fancy marker to label your areas.  Use any adhesive you like, or the modge podge to glue your letters down if you used a Cricut.  


5. Glue your ribbon around the edges and at the seams of all the papers where your squares (rectangles, whatever) meet.  


6. Using a wide foamy brush, cover the entire thing with a thin coat of modge podge.  I did several thin coats instead of a big thick one because it dries faster and looks nicer to me.  


Now you are ready to make your magnets.  


1. Choose clip art (copyright safe please) online and download the images, (or draw if your extra creative).  If your kids are old enough to read, you can just type up the chores.  I though the pics were more fun though.  If you just google image search the chore you are looking for, followed by "clip art" you can really find anything.  


2. I then dragged all of my clip art images into a word document and sized them there.  They are only going to be about the size of a quarter, so choose simple ones.  


3. After you have chosen and sized your images, you will print them.  I used one of my magnets to trace circles around each image and then cut them out by hand.  I cut them smaller than the magnet so I could leave room for my color border.  In retrospect, I should have used my creative memories cutting system or a small circle punch...


4. Create your color border by cutting out circles that are the same size as the magnets.  I chose yellow for chores, blue for rewards and one red one for the tantrum/time out magnet.  (If that ends up on someone's name, they get no rewards that day.)  Color coding made it easier for the girls to put them back in the chore/reward areas when they were done.  


5. Assemble the magnets: Using the modge podge, paint some glue on the right side of the clip art image (make sure your ink is dry) and stick it to the glass gem (centered).  Then do the same with the border circle.  This also creates a nice clean back for the magnet as well.  Finally, cut a piece of your magnet strip or sheet to fit the back of the magnet.  Either glue with hot glue, or use the self-adhesive kind, which is what I did.  


6. Personalize it further (if you want).  I had those school picture little keychain things you sometimes get lying around, so I just slapped some magnet strip on the backs of those bad boys and added them too.  Fun!


7. Hang it!  Because most baking sheets come with a hole in the end already, you can put some of the matching ribbon through there and hang it on the wall, or just leave it as is and set it on a dresser or table.  Mine didn't have a hole, but if you really wanted one, you could just drill it in.  


Instructions to Use It:


To use the board, you simply start each day (or week or even several times a day) by moving the magnets with the chores you would like done onto that child's name.  They can choose as many rewards as you are ok with to also put on their names.  When they complete the chore, they move the magnet back to the chore pool.  Be prepared to follow through with all of those rewards!  


Also, keep an eye out for sneaky older siblings that may try to slide their magnets onto their little sister's board.  


There you have it!  Your customized chore board is complete!  You can now have a new way to make chores a little more fun and organized in your home!  




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