It has been two weeks since we first embarked on our journey to change the face of chores in the Holden/Greene house. It is with a huge smile and happy heart I am pleased to report the Have/Have Not Challenge is working. Truthfully I think it has been a success.
In two weeks, we have not had one unmade bed or any dirty clothes thrown on the floor. Breakfast dishes have been placed into the dishwasher and backpacks put away. For two straight weeks and counting, no one has missed an opportunity to earn points.
Now for the slight downside. I did not take into account when creating this challenge the competitive nature of all five of my children. I did not realize there would be such a desire to wear the weekly title of Haves. I was not prepared for all the extra chores they would be begging to do in order to earn added bonus points to increase their score. They have actually been fighting over who will do the extra vacuuming. There is fighting over who will clean THEIR bathroom. Moments occur when the arguing becomes too much and the threatening of point reduction becomes a reality. Yes you heard that correctly. They argue over who gets to do the chores. What? I know, right? They are blowing my mind. In fact they are calling dibs on chores days in advance.
So without further ado and with great pride I announce the winner of Week 1….Team A: The boys. However they only won by fifteen points. My top chore doers were the thirteen year old (girl) and the eleven year old (boy). Both carried their teams and did extra chores adding bonus points for their team. But the eleven year old earned more bonus points leading his team to victory. The girls handled their defeat pretty well but once the announcement was made, the thirteen year old was in the kitchen doing additional chores to gain bonus points. The real kicker was the sixteen year old. Once I announced that the eleven year old would be awarded an additional reward for his hard work (carrying his team) doing bonus chores the previous week, the sixteen year old grabbed the vacuum and vacuumed the playroom and stairs. He then called dibs on vacuuming for the rest of the week. I AM IN SHOCK! It’s like living in the Twilight Zone.
So my friends, I would say our challenge is working. Yes we’re only two weeks in but when the oldest child takes it seriously, the others tend to follow.
To read more on the details of the Have/Have Not Challenge, visit
The Adventures of the Thundering Herd.
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