chores for a 3.5 year old boy?

I get my ds4 to put wet clothes into the dryer and then go pull the dry ones out. Sometimes I’ll have him push the basket to where I need it or to return the laundry hampers.

Some of my “little kid” chores are:  empty the bathroom trash cans, make sure the hallway floor is clear, push in the chairs at the table, put away their laundry after I fold it, empty the silverware basket, move the clothes from the washer to the dryer, straighten pillows on the couch, clean the table area (napkins on the floor, etc.).  These are things that my kids have done from age 2 and up.  

For instance, my 3 year old knows that when I say “chores” he is responsible to check the tile floor (kitchen) for anything that needs to be picked up, pick up anything on his closet floor, and check behind the bedroom door for anything that might have gotten pushed behind there.  He also has to “fix” his bed (clear all the books off of it each morning and straighten his pillow and stuffed animals) and he moves the laundry from the washer to the dryer whenever it is time for that. 

Here some jobs even my 2 yr helps with:

Wash (with a wet cloth, just water) the walls, mirrors (closet doors with full length mirrors), living room windows, backs of kitchen chairs, table legs, fronts of kitchen appliances.  All the stickiness is at kid level, so they can clean it easier than I can!    I follow behind and polish the windows and mirrors.

Fold dish cloths and towels. 

Gather trash from small trash cans around the house. 

Take the bedding off their beds to put into the laundry weekly.

Help prepare meals/snacks (rip lettuce for a salad, rinse fruit, spread butter on toast, stir salads or baking mixes)

My 4 yr old and 6 yr old each vacuum their own rooms, plus one extra room.  They can sweep and mop the kitchen (I have a home daycare, so this gets done at least daily, often more, so if they miss a bit, I don’t panic.)  They fold the throw blankets on the couch. 

Joanne

Along the lines of what Tristan said about having them get things from the refrigerator or pantry, when mine were 3, 4, and 5, I specifically told them, “Today you are my supper assistant. That’s your job.” That way they began to associate it with being a chore, not just “Mom asked me to do something.”

For that time period, they had to stay in the kitchen with me, and in between getting out ingredients or condiments, I would place the dishes on the table for them to set, have them empty a scrap bowl, put potholders/hotpads on the table. We also used that time for them to start recognizing letters or words. (“I need the garlic powder….garlic begins with the ‘g’ sound….” and so on.)

This is also a good time to begin teaching how to fold towels and why we fold things a certain way: fits better in the cabinet, towels are flat & easier to fold–plus you can teach the basics of ‘half’ and ‘thirds’ just by saying those words as you fold. My kids knew the concept of halves and thirds before we ever began learning fractions just from folding towels, pants, and shirts.