Chores for 5 Year Olds with Free Printable Custom Chore Chart

A list of age appropriate chores for 5 year olds with free printable chore chart templates

Chore List for 5 Year Old

The list of chores for kindergarteners is already quite long. At this age, they can do many household chores that they might not have been able to do before.

What are appropriate chores for a 5 year old?

A five-year-old is far more capable than most people give them credit for. They can carry, sort, wipe, pour, and tidy, and at this age they usually want to. What they run out of is stamina, not ability. Somewhere around the five or ten minute mark a kindergartener is simply finished, and pushing past that point turns a willing helper into a battle.

So the list below is sorted by how long each job actually takes. A one-minute chore that gets done every single day will teach your child far more than a ten-minute chore that ends in tears twice a week.

One-Minute Jobs

Put their shoes on the rack instead of kicking them off
Hang their coat on a low hook
Take their bowl over to the sink
Throw their dirty clothes into the hamper
Push the lid back onto the toy box
Put their wrapper in the trash
Turn the lights off when they leave a room
Straighten their pillow and pull the cover up
Hand you the pegs while you hang out the washing
Pick out their own socks for tomorrow

Five-Minute Jobs

Sort their toys back into the right basket
Stand the books up on the shelf
Wipe the crumbs off the table into your hand
Tip the pet’s food into the bowl
Fill the water bowl at the tap
Give one plant a drink from a cup
Sweep crumbs into the dustpan while you hold it steady
Put their clean clothes into the drawer
Lay out the spoons and napkins for dinner
Wipe the bathroom sink with a wet wipe
Carry the paper recycling out to the box

Longer Jobs to Do Together

Divide the laundry pile into whites and colors
Fold the dish towels into squares
Wash the potatoes under the tap
Stir and pour ingredients you have already measured out
Unload the plastic cups and unbreakable plates from the dishwasher
Bring in the light bags and put the cans in the cupboard
Rake a small patch of leaves
Wash the wheels of the car with a sponge
Pull the pillowcases off the pillows
Push the cart down the aisle while you shop

Chores That Double as Kindergarten Practice

Five is the year of counting, sorting, and matching, and a surprising number of household jobs are the same skills wearing an apron. These ones do double duty:

Pair up the socks and roll them together
Sort the spoons and forks into the right slots in the drawer
Count out enough forks for everyone at the table
Tidy the toys away by color, or by which box they live in
Line the shoes up from biggest to smallest
Find everything red in the laundry pile

Chores to Save for Next Year

It is worth being clear about what a five-year-old should not be doing yet, because a few of these look harmless and are not:

Anything at the stove, the oven, or the kettle
Spray cleaners, or any bottle with a warning label on it
Walking the dog on their own
Carrying anything glass, or a plate that is full
Using a real knife, however small
Loading the sharp things into the dishwasher
Steering a full-size vacuum, which weighs more than they can control

Weeding belongs on this list too. A five-year-old cannot reliably tell a weed from a flower, so unless you have marked out a patch and are standing right there, it is a job for later. Most of these open up around six.

Two chores is plenty at five, and they work best pinned to a moment your child already recognizes: shoes on the rack the second they come in, bowl to the sink after breakfast. A kindergartener will almost never remember a chore on their own, but they will remember it if it always happens in the same place in the day.

Jobs for 5-Year-Olds

Some people believe in paid chores and therefore are looking for work for 5-year-olds that they can get paid for. I personally believe in paid chores but I do think that kids should also have responsibilities and chores that they are not paid for. In my opinion, paid chores should be over and above what they should do each day. They should be able to choose paid chores and if they do them well then they get paid for them.

If you are looking for work for 5-year-olds then choose additional chores from the list above.

Chore Chart for 5-Year-Old

Each child develops at a different pace. Some kids might not be ready for some of these chores. If not, don’t push them. Check out our list of age-appropriate chores to find daily chores for kids that are more relevant. We offer a selection of free printable chore charts with pictures.

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You can either select clipart from our gallery of chores images or you can upload a photo of your child. You can edit all text, change the border color and change the images.

Responsibility Chart

This responsibility chart lists a child’s daily responsibilities with an image next to each one. Even if your five-year-old has started to learn how to read, they will probably still need pictures next to their chore chart to help them understand each responsibility or chore.

In addition to the chores that a child is required or asked to do at home, children have responsibilities for their basic hygiene and their own personal responsibilities. For a five-year-old, responsibilities could include tidying their room, putting their clothes in the laundry, putting toys away, making their bed, and brushing their teeth (although you should brush them when they finish). Take a photo of each task and add it to the chart. For example, if you want to add “brush your teeth” to the chart then take a photo of them brushing their teeth. If you don’t want to bother taking photos and personalizing the chart then use photos from the gallery.

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See chore chart and family chore chart