A Little Tutorial

Yesterday I shared this picture on my Instagram.

I had a few people ask where I purchased and if I didn't purchase it, how did I make it?!  SO...I figured I'd do a teensy little tutorial for those of y'all that are interested.

I grabbed all the supplies at Michaels.  

Then I typed up my little list of doable chores for my boys.  I used KG Let Her Go Solid at 16pt.  My boys are 5 & 7 and we try *really* hard to make them as independent and helpful as possible around the house.  Their chores aren't insanely crazy, but they're just enough to give them a good sense of responsibility and make them helpful to me & Mr. Spouse at the same time.  

Chores/to-dos include....

Feed Lloyd, make beds, clean room, clean bathroom sinks, brush teeth {at least 2x's a day}, vacuum, pick up toys, put away games/electronics, rinse dishes, load dishwasher, unload dishwasher, laundry, put clothes away, put shoes away, clear table, set out clothes, clean upstairs, wipe toilets, pack lunch, help mom/mom's choice, help dad/dad's choice, take out trash, bring trash can back to house, & homework.  

We don't expect them to do ALL of these chores every single day.

My oldest son was BEGGING for chores.  My youngest?!  Notsomuch.  But they were SO excited when I told them I was making them a chore/to-do chart.  They're both like their momma...task oriented.  We love to physically cross things off our to-do lists :)

Once I typed up the chores, I printed, cut them out, and got started...

1.  Apply a thin layer of mod podge to the flat side of the crystal gem/rock.  You might want to use a smaller paintbrush.  This was the only thing I had on hand.

2.  Take your piece of paper and place it, face down, on top of the mod podge.

3.  Apply another thin layer of mod podge on top and along the sides of the paper.  This will seal it to the gem/rock.

4.  Hot glue a round magnet to the top of the paper on the flat side of the gem/rock once the mod podge dries.

VOILA!  Just like that, you have a magnet.  Sure.  It takes a little bit of elbow grease and a lot of patience, but it's super simple.  I knocked these out while I was watching season 3 of Breaking Bad.  {thank you, Netflix!!!  My husband and I are OBSESSED!!!!!!}

Now, I couldn't really find any magnetic surfaces on which to display these magnets that I really loved.  I mean, my boys have a really, REALLY small room and wall space is limited.  And the wall space they do have is consumed by their hand-picked decor and they really didn't want those coming down.  Bless.  

See what I mean?!  Not a lot of space.

SO, I bought a few frames and removed the glass and backing.  Then I hot glued several magnets to the back of both frames and decorated them with some fun little ric rac I found in the dollar bins at Michaels.  I also found these fun little chalkboard clothespins there as well and I broke the clothespins off the back to use as labels for the frames.

I took my little chalk marker and outlined the boards and wrote the boys' names on each then hot glued those to the top left corner of the frames.  

Just like that, two little chore/to-do charts.  Simple and practical and super easy for the boys to read and use.

I love that my boys are so eager to do their chores now!!!  We'll see how long that lasts ;)  They're very motivated by the thought of earning a little bit of money, too. 

Speaking of that, can I tell y'all a cute story?!  Bear with me because it's a proud momma moment.  We were sitting around the dinner table talking about their chores and earning money.  My oldest son said, "Mom.  I really think you need to buy us 3 piggy banks."  I was stumped.  THREE???  There are only two of them and I'm pretty sure our sweet pug, Lloyd, isn't contributing his helping paws. 

Me:  "Why 3?  There are only two of you."

Landon:  "Well.  I was thinking.  We need one to put in money that we can spend.  Then we need one that we can put in money to save.  Then the third one is to put in money that we can give to people who are in need."

Me:  {{{tears}}}

I hope his compassionate heart never changes!!!!

Anyway...I was thinking about how these can be used in the classroom.  You could totally use them as name magnets for attendance.  Each morning the kids could come in and move their name out of the frame when they arrive.  You could adhere the frame to the white board or a filing cabinet or create a frame using washi tape.

You could even create name magnets to use as center/station assignments.  Eeeeek!!!  The possibilities are endless.

Do you have any other ideas?!?!?

If you've been crafting anything for your classroom, don't forget that there are only a few more days left in the #create2educate #sweepstakes going on over on Instagram.  You have until 4 p.m. on August 15th to submit and post your craft for the chance to win a Michaels gift card!!!  Submit your back to school projects ASAP!!!  I can't wait to see what you've been creating!!!