Things have been WILD around here!!! Having Collin back home 24/7 is a change. He has had to adjust back to the slower pace of home and i think he if finally getting the hang of it.
We are working in our workbooks and doing some penmanship excises. It is amazing how much energy little boys have. I have got to hand it to elementary teachers, they must have the Patience of Job.
Collin has matured so much that we are starting to do a reward and punishment system. Collin has matured past the time of "time outs". So this is the system I devised. For every good deed, job asked to do, or chore he is given a "token". I was going to use Bingo chips but they where sold out everywhere around here. So i opted for a Poker chip. He collects them in a bank and i have different things he can buy with his tokens. Treasure chest (small $1 toys) 5 tokens, 25 tokens gets you a new book, 50 gets you a night at the Movies, 75 a new DVD of choice, and the ultimate a Leapster 2 game for 100. To this there is another side. If he is discipline for the same action 3 times we take away a chip. More or less he is "paying" for bad behavior. This had caught on like wild fire!! when he goes back to school Zach and I talked about giving tokens for 100% papers. My teacher when i was in elementary school did that and we are worked so hard to get and keep good grades. I remember 100 chips= ice cream party! i will never forget how hard we all worked to get that.
I also have a new way to divvy up chores also. I have a board with 4 pegs on it. Each day i put a card on the pegs that tell the different jobs to do for the chores that day (4 per day). They are laminated and have pictures to help...things like make bed, pick up toys, feed Daisy. it has a pocket for the cards when they are completed they go into. It is the child's responsibility to do his chores by bedtime at there time. I am getting this one set up as i speak so i will post pics of the finished project.
The last idea actually come from my father. When Collin and Owen are a bit older i will start this one. I was talking with Dad about how kids these days have no concept of money management and skills. And he said something to the fact that to bad you can't give them fake money for purchases to get them used to the idea. Then *Bing* light came on and i devised a system.
At the beginning of Summer you give your child a Budget for the summer...lets say $200. that sounds like a lot but for 3 months...that isn't much, especially if you have a pre-teen. you put the money aside to make sure you have the funds so the system will work...No IOUs. Give you child the same amount in fake money. either money you make or monopoly money. When they want to spend it they have to give you the amount in fake to get the real or if at the store purchase and take out the cash later. you can go to the bank and get blank starter checks and you can teach them how to keep account of cash spent. Do not give them any more cash unless you want to add to the amount with allowance or if they do a job. I will see how this work in about a year or so.
Just some ideas that are being used around our home to help learn to be responsible.
We are working in our workbooks and doing some penmanship excises. It is amazing how much energy little boys have. I have got to hand it to elementary teachers, they must have the Patience of Job.
Collin has matured so much that we are starting to do a reward and punishment system. Collin has matured past the time of "time outs". So this is the system I devised. For every good deed, job asked to do, or chore he is given a "token". I was going to use Bingo chips but they where sold out everywhere around here. So i opted for a Poker chip. He collects them in a bank and i have different things he can buy with his tokens. Treasure chest (small $1 toys) 5 tokens, 25 tokens gets you a new book, 50 gets you a night at the Movies, 75 a new DVD of choice, and the ultimate a Leapster 2 game for 100. To this there is another side. If he is discipline for the same action 3 times we take away a chip. More or less he is "paying" for bad behavior. This had caught on like wild fire!! when he goes back to school Zach and I talked about giving tokens for 100% papers. My teacher when i was in elementary school did that and we are worked so hard to get and keep good grades. I remember 100 chips= ice cream party! i will never forget how hard we all worked to get that.
I also have a new way to divvy up chores also. I have a board with 4 pegs on it. Each day i put a card on the pegs that tell the different jobs to do for the chores that day (4 per day). They are laminated and have pictures to help...things like make bed, pick up toys, feed Daisy. it has a pocket for the cards when they are completed they go into. It is the child's responsibility to do his chores by bedtime at there time. I am getting this one set up as i speak so i will post pics of the finished project.
The last idea actually come from my father. When Collin and Owen are a bit older i will start this one. I was talking with Dad about how kids these days have no concept of money management and skills. And he said something to the fact that to bad you can't give them fake money for purchases to get them used to the idea. Then *Bing* light came on and i devised a system.
At the beginning of Summer you give your child a Budget for the summer...lets say $200. that sounds like a lot but for 3 months...that isn't much, especially if you have a pre-teen. you put the money aside to make sure you have the funds so the system will work...No IOUs. Give you child the same amount in fake money. either money you make or monopoly money. When they want to spend it they have to give you the amount in fake to get the real or if at the store purchase and take out the cash later. you can go to the bank and get blank starter checks and you can teach them how to keep account of cash spent. Do not give them any more cash unless you want to add to the amount with allowance or if they do a job. I will see how this work in about a year or so.
Just some ideas that are being used around our home to help learn to be responsible.
