Taking a different approach this summer...

Summer at our house is not what you would call nice & peaceful. In fact, as the end of the school year was approaching, I was beginning to dread the chaos of having all four kids at home - and their accompanying noise, inevitable messes, lack of predictable schedule, and frequent requests for money to finance trips to the pool, get-togethers with friends, must-have toys, etc. etc. I'm a creature of habit and I like my regular routines and, I admit it, I like my quiet afternoons when the girls nap. I was not ready to give this up...
So this year I decided to try something a little different and so far, just a little over a week into summer vacation, it's working out pretty well. My plan consisted of three parts:
1) I wrote out my expectations of the boys for the summer ... This includes the frequency with which I expect them to shower, clean their rooms, pick up after themselves, etc. It also included mention of the fact that the majority of the time, they could expect to have to shell out their own cash for any extracurricular activities, camps, purchases, etc. they wanted during the summer.
2) I created a list of "Responsibilities," otherwise known as "jobs you GET to do in exchange for the privilege of living here." This included tasks such as setting and clearing the dinner table, emptying the dishwasher, doing their laundry, sweeping the floor, etc. Here's the kicker: Next to each job was the price the boys would get to pay ME if they did not fulfill a given responsibility that week and I had to do it for them.
3) I created another list titled "Opportunities," otherwise known as "jobs available to you for which you can be PAID." This included a list of jobs I was willing to pay THEM to do, as well as when & by what deadline they needed to be done. For the most part, these are left blank and the boys get to choose their own deadlines, a privilege they will keep as long as they follow through. Jobs on this list will vary from week to week, depending on what needs to be done (and my budget). So far, they have included babysitting the girls for two hours in the morning while I work on my grant-writing, mowing the lawn, cleaning the fridge, weeding the garden, cleaning the bathroom(s), etc.
Kid Payday is every Friday, at which time I add up how much each has earned and deduct any fees incurred for not following through with responsibilities.

I presented these three items to the boys on the evening before the first real day of vacation and then they got to take turns signing up for the paid jobs until the blocks were filled in. They weren't too excited to see this at first, but once they started figuring out how much money they might earn, they really started warming up to the whole plan and those blocks filled up very quickly. I especially enjoyed listening to Karstin plot how he could sign up for the jobs that would bring him the greatest reward... $$$$$!

So far this plan is working, though I've already had to be flexible in order to work around a last minute decision by Kody to go to Day Camp last week and a crazy schedule this week as we get ready to head to western Montana for a few days. It helps that both boys feel a real need for cash this summer - Kody is saving up to buy himself a mini-bike and Karstin has discovered that daily visits to the pool and coffee shop tend to add up, especially when he likes to be able to treat his new girlfriend to her favorite coffee drink!!
I like that this system is helping create a bit of routine for the summer while simultaneously teaching the boys a bit about money management & how to be a good employee, not to mention start to be more aware that money doesn't just grow on trees!! It's also interesting to watch them figure out that work isn't always a heap of fun ... but that it's worth the effort sometimes. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that it is also giving me a solid two hours of more-or-less uninterrupted work time every day ... something I didn't even have BEFORE school got out!!!)
So far, so good ... maybe for once I won't be quite so anxious for school to resume again!!!