I made the boys a couple of Responsibility Charts so that they can start earning an allowance. I was going to call them Chore Charts, but at ages 3 and 5, I am more interested in getting them to work on certain behaviors rather than do chores around the house. They also help keep me on track by making sure that certain things, like daily practice on the piano, actually happen. Also, I feel like we spoil them too much with Lego purchases-both Steve and I are big fans and have "collector" personalities, and we find the toys hard to resist-so I wanted the kids to start earning their Legos, or whatever other things they might choose to buy.
I loved this modern chore chart that was featured on CRAFT, but I wanted mine to be on a dry erase board so that I could change the list of responsibilities and tasks as they boys grow and master certain things. For my charts, I picked up a couple of square magnetic dry erase boards from Wal-Mart for less than $7 each. I think they are 14" squares.
For every task that they complete, the boys earn one magnet square. Each square is worth 5 cents, and they each have 5 daily tasks. If they complete all 5 tasks for the day, they get a special Star Magnet that doubles their earnings for the day. So they can earn up to 50 cents per day, or a maximum of $3.50 per week.
The magnets are made using Avery Printable Magnet Sheets, but instead of printing on them, I used colorful permanent markers.
I cut strips of magnets just under 1" wide and colored them in semi-solidly. They boys wanted to get involved, so I carefully covered the workspace (permanent markers!) and let them each go to town on a few of strips. I then cut the strips into squares and tiled them along the bottom of the chart. I used permanent marker to write their names and make the chart, and used a dry-erase maker to fill in the tasks and change the daily balance.
They really are motivated by the chart system. Huck is eating vegetables, for goodness sake! Also, I never force or fight with them to complete their responsibilities, but I do remind them and mention that they won't be able to earn a magnet unless they complete a task. It has been good for all of us.