Attention seeking driving me crazy!

I'm actually a little nostalgic for back when my daughter was needy for attention, now she's a teenager and wants very little to do with me (tho she has told me that in order to go see the Bieber movie for the third time she will even go with me!). I only ever had 4 placements because I adopted, but two of the 4 were super needy, and not just wanting to be with me, but needing me to focus on them. I remember my daughter the second day she was with me, I was shovelling snow off the driveway and I even had a mini shovel for her to play along with me, but she screeched and fussed and ordered me to return to the house! It was funny but ANNOYING. I used to take an hour off on Saturdays. My hour off was just to not be focused on her. It drove her nuts. I'd be watching TV and she'd keep having to crawl "inconspicuously" across in front of the TV. My other needy placement was pitiful the first time I took my hour off, she ran around the house spraying the plant mist bottle at things (I think she imagined she was cleaning house for me) and then parked herself on the floor in front of me making crafts for me. After I didn't have so much neediness to deal with (like a year later probably) I listened to a Nancy Thomas cassette about how to deal with it. I don't remember the whole exact details, but it was along the lines of define an area for them (such as an area in the living room), give them a couple choices of activities, let them know that if they talk to you or leave their play area that will mean to you that they want to help you with chores, and then each time they talk or leave the play area cheerfully welcome them to helping with chores. Supposedly pretty soon they decide on their own that they will stay quietly playing. I never tried it so I don't know how well it would work. Obviously would require a lot of upfront time and energy from the parent to cheerfully do chores with the kid.