The Choice Board

The choice board idea comes from Christina's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. McCoy. We loved her! The point of the choice board is for the kids to have a visual way to see what activities they can do after their chores are done. Some choices like COMPUTER- 1 hour, can only involve one child at a time, so if that activity is clear, a child can put their picture on that choice. No one else can choose that activity until that child's hour is up or until they move to another activity, whichever comes first. Some choices can involve all of the kids. For the choices, I included the name of the activity, the time limit (if applicable), and the child limit (if applicable).

Since our 5th child is 1 year old, he obviously is too young to participate. So, with the extra row at the bottom of our chart I posted reminders for behavior we expect at our home- "take turns, be safe, have fun, listen, be kind, share, be honest."

Some things I love about the choice board:

• It eliminates some squabbles as it gives each child a clear chance to play on the computer, game cube, and in the play tent.
• It motivates the kids to get their chores done quickly so they can get to the choice board as soon as possible.
  
• It's a boredom buster as it visually shows the kids that there are plenty of activities to choose from each day.
• The choice board give the kids independence in making choices of what appropriate activities they do throughout the day, but at the same time it allows me to know what each child is doing and where to find them at any given moment, & the kids know where to find each other.
• TV is not an option, so when I do pop in a movie, it's a real treat.

To make a choice board, map out your choices & kids on a graph on paper and then decide if you want to translate it onto a magnetic board or large poster board. I involved my kids in coming up with the choices and time limits. This way they feel invested in our summer choice board. It's not just MOM's idea.

If using a magnetic board (this is what I chose to do) you can either use colored tape to map out the graph on the board OR use a fill-in-the-blank calendar magnet board (this is what I used). Take pictures of the choices and your kids. Print the images and trim to a size that will work for your graph. Laminate the photos. Attach a magnet to the back of each photo. Arrange kids' photos and choice photos on your board & you're set!

If using poster board, laminate the poster board and follow instructions for magnet board choice board, only use strong Velcro instead of magnets to move the kids around the choices.