Responsibility Cards

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him." --Booker T. Washington

I read the story “Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room.” I asked the children if their rooms at home were a mess and many of them said they were. We talked about how they needed to be responsible for cleaning up their mess at home.

I made responsibility cards ahead of time (each card had a responsibility written on it with a corresponding picture.) Each child picked a card from the bag. I explained that they would have to take on that responsibility for the rest of the day. They were very excited about picking their cards and to find out their responsibility for the day.

The following is a list of responsibilities I wrote on each card,

• Sweep
• Wash tables
• Tuck in chairs
• Set table for snack
• Pick up trash
• Wash out paint cups
• Pick up books
• Put markers away
• Put paper away
• Clean up after snack
• Say prayer before snack
• Wash out paintbrushes
• Pick up loose toys

It was amazing to see how excited they were to take on their responsibility. It was also a bit challenging because some of them had to wait until the time came for them to complete their responsibility.

At the end of the day I asked them if they wanted to pick responsibility cards again tomorrow and of course they said yes. I had each of them put their cards back in the bag so that they could pick a new one tomorrow. If they get the same one I will have them choose again unless they are happy having the same responsibility a second day. Who knows, maybe this will be something we do every day.

Tell me how your responsibility cards turn out.

Peace and Joy,
Barb