We did it! Yesterday was the last day of school, and we finally made it to summer after what felt like a really long year. I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for summer! We’ve already made our summer bucket list, and I can’t wait to get to it! This summer break we’re going to relax, play, but still have a little structure so it’s not just screen time and video games all day. And pretty sure that’s what my kids would do if I let them. And for me, summer vacation is about taking a break but without losing all sense of routine and kids responsibility that they learn during the school year. One of the ways we’re going that is with this free summer chore chart. And I can’t wait to share how we’re using it during the summer time!
Printable Summer Chore Charts
I’ve put together two totally different summer chore charts, well sort of chore charts, they’re more daily checklists to keep kids and teens doing something other than electronics or sleeping all day long. They’re the perfect way to keep kids from saying I’m bored the entire summer vacation while also teaching them a little responsibility. Choose the daily chore checklist that makes the most sense for your kids whether you have teens, older kids, or younger kids! There’s also a blank chore chart so that you can fill in your own little things for kids to do during summer days. Just read all the way to the bottom of this post for that option!
Summer Chore Chart for Kids
The first of the two chore charts is designed more for kids with basically a daily checklist of daily tasks to mark off as they go. I have a pre-filled out one that is generic enough that everyone should be able to use it and there’s a blank version if you like the design but just want to fill out the chores yourself! The big difference is that since it’s summer, the daily chores on this list are less chores and more getting ready for the day, playing (while giving mom a little break), and practicing some of the skills he’s been working on during the year. If you’re using this with older children, you could definitely make it filled with more difficult task ideas or chores (e.g., unloading the dishwasher) than daily activities. You can use this in a variety of different ways with kids this summer: Number Rewards – Set a number of boxes that need to be completed to earn a reward. At the end of the day, tally up how many boxes were checked off and add them to a running total. Once you hit a certain number of boxes (e.g., 50), they can choose a reward. Daily Reward – For this one, you would tally up the number of days they complete all of their tasks and then do a reward when they’ve reached a certain number of days that are 100% complete. If you do this, I recommend making sure that the daily chore checklist is full of chores that they can actually complete within a day, within a reasonable time. If you need some good reward ideas, here’s a great list of chore reward ideas for any age! Or you could do something fun like make this beach cake to enjoy after they meet their goal! Daily Privilege – And last but not least, you can use these colorful chore charts as a list of things that have to be done each day before they get a certain privilege like screen time or going to a friend’s house or whatever you decide it’s going to be. This works best if you’re really looking for ways to keep kids entertained and doing things without being on screens – pretty much just ideas of things for them to do so they don’t get bored. If you really have issues with them being bored, try making a boredom buster jar with these boredom busters.
Summer Chore Chart for Teenagers
This summer chore chart is meant to be a list of daily responsibilities that teens (or younger) have to do before they can get the WiFi password for the day – presumably to get on their computer, phone, ipad, or any electronics. If their chosen electronics don’t use WiFI, you can always just say that they have to do these things before they use any electronics as well. If you don’t want to change the WiFi password regularly, you can just tell them that they have to complete this chore list before using electronics. You likely won’t be doing this with little kids, so you should just be able to tell them no electronics until their job charts are complete. If that’s the case, I’ve also created a version that just says “no devices” instead of no WiFi. Just fill in the items you want them to complete and they can use their devices after they’re complete! And just like with the chore chart above, there’s a blank version that you can use to create your own summer chore checklist. If cleaning their own rooms isn’t something that really needs to be done, switch it out with something that does, like maybe mowing the lawn. You could also just use this like the kids one where you can keep track of the days they complete their tasks and do rewards or pay them actual money to help teach the value of money – totally up to you!
List of Summer Chore Ideas
You can get some ideas from the photos in this post for chores to add to your job charts but if you need even more ideas, here’s a big list of simple tasks you could add to this chore chart checklist. I’ve included ideas for young kids all the way up to teens! Just pick the appropriate chores for your aged kids.
Traditional Chores
These are more traditional household chores that still can be done during the summer. The next set of chore ideas are summer chores – things that are more about enjoying the summer and keeping from being bored than actual hard work.
Getting ready for the day Picking upDishes Laundry CookingSetting or clearing the table Taking care of petsMowing the lawnWatering plants/gardening/yard work Sweeping/vacuuming/dusting Helping with siblingsGetting the mailTrash Wipe down counters/tables Clean bathroom Making bed/changing sheetsCleaning anything
Summer Chores
If you’re looking more for things for kids to do when they get bored or to help keep them going throughout lazy summer days, here are some ideas to add to your kids chore chart!
Educational activities (these math games are great) Getting outdoor time – this cool outdoor time tracker is great Doing something active (these ball games are fun) Doing something creativePracticing a skill Learning something newReading Doing something nice for someone elseHelping mom or dad (or a sibling) Doing something musical Write something
How to Use These Chore Charts
Since these chore charts are meant to be written on and used – my recommendation is to print them on white card stock them laminate. Once they’re laminated, they become dry erase versions of the chore charts that you can then use over and over again. No need to waste trees printing them out again! And one more tip – use wet erase markers instead of dry erase markers so that the items don’t get accidentally wiped off when someone mark things off! I use this laminator with these laminating sheets for all of our charts, checklists, and our weekly meal planner. They’re inexpensive and work great! You could also just put them in a sheet protector if you don’t have a laminator. You could also skip the pens and make them sticker chore charts instead.
More Free Summer Printables
If you’re looking for more ways to make this summer great, check out these other fun free printables!
Summer Lego challenge – see how many of these summer inspired items you can make out of Legos, kids love these challenges! Memorial Day coloring pages – fun color by number sheets that are great for Memorial Day or 4th of July! Road trip scavenger hunt – one of the best road trip activities for kids! Activity placemats for kids – add these to your summer fun boxes to enjoy for kids to do when they need something fun! Scavenger hunt ideas – over 50 different printable scavenger hunts including everything from a nature scavenger hunt to an indoor scavenger hunt for rainy days!
Download the Summer Chore Charts
Enter your first name and email address in the pink form below to get the chore charts. You’ll receive an email with a link to download the PDF that will include the following:
Daily summer checklist – filled in versionDaily summer checklist – version with just headersDaily summer checklist – totally blank versionNo WiFi sheet – filled in versionNo WiFi sheet – blank versionNo devices sheet – blank version
If you do not see the form below, click here to get to it.
