It’s back to school today, after a successful spring break at home.  The kids and I got along beautifully, and our reward system worked out really well.  So well in fact, we’re going to keep it up after making a few tweaks. 

But first, a study in my kids’ personalities:

Notice how many tiles are in each jar…..Riley has about 15, Avery has about six, and Carson has zero.  I would have expected nothing less.   You see, Riley is a saver.  She has a very hard time parting with money, and these Scrabble tiles are just as precious to her.  She’s saving her points for a trip to YogurtLand, but when the time comes that she’s earned enough points, I bet she has a hard time spending them.

At first, Avery spent her points as fast as she earned them…..”what can I get for two points” was her first question.  Gatorade?  Sold!  Then she saved up five points for some lip gloss.  Then she started over again to save up for a small can of Coke.  After saving and spending several times, she’s finally decided to save up for YogurtLand, though I fully expect her to give up on that dream when she hits about 10 points, just enough to earn the fun monkey pillow in the treasure box.

And sweet Carson…..he earned and lost points left and right.  Poor little guy….he tries so hard.  And gets soooo excited when he has enough points for anything at all.  He did manage to save up five points two separate times and picked out prizes from the treasure box. 

So, what will we do going forward?  We had a family meeting last night to discuss how many tickets each kid will have each week for 30-minute TV shows, computer time, and DS playing time.  Avery quickly said two tickets for each activity, and Riley quickly objected, “Only two shows in a week?!?!” 

But that’s the plan.  They can still earn points to be used at the treasure box and for other prizes.  It’s something I’m sure will evolve over the next few weeks.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

So now it’s day 3, and things are still going strong.  I’ve got a bit of help today in the form of one of my nephews….he’s hanging out with us today and tomorrow while his older brother is on a spring break mission trip and my sister and brother-in-law are working.  While it seems crazy, adding another kid (especially an easy kid!!!) to the mix is usually helpful….a new playmate equals a new distraction that makes it fun for everyone!

The third component of our reward system is also working well.

Each kid starts off the day with three coupons in a bag clipped to the fridge that can be used throughout the day, regardless of how many points they have in their jars.  One coupon is for selecting a 30 minute TV show, one is for 20 minutes of computer time, and one is for 20 minutes to play their DS’s.  This, I know, is a lot of screen time each day, considering they can watch each other’s shows and tend to all sit in front of the computer to watch whomever is playing.  However, an interesting thing has happened…..the kids are hesitant to use up their coupons, and at the end of the day they always have some left in their bags.  Neither girl picked a TV show on Tuesday, and have yet to use their TV and computer coupons today. 

This definitely is part of the Spring Break plan that will stay with us….though I think I’ll have a certain number of coupons for the week that they will have to budget, rather than for each day…..maybe three 30-minute shows each week?  Two to three coupons for DS and/or computer time? 

This whole boredom-busting reward plan is definitely working for me.

Ooops, I better watch what I say and not pat myself on the back too quickly.  Pride goeth before a fall, right?

Today is day two of Spring Break, and so far, so good.  We made our list of things to do when boredom strikes, and started our reward system.  It’s a variation of one we’ve used before with a bit of a twist.

Each kid has their own jar, and each Scrabble tile is worth one point.  Points are earned by being kind, obeying immediately without complaint, by showing initiative (in cleaning up, helping a sibling, etc) and a few other ways.  Points are lost by doing the opposite…..disobeying, being disrespectful or unkind, complaining of boredom, or displaying a poor attitude in general.  I hope to add more points than take away….positive reinforcement almost always works better, but sometimes an immediate consequence is necessary.

Points can then be redeemed at the treasure box:

Each item has  different point value:  a cup of Gatorade is 2pts, a small can of soda is worth 5 pts (can be redeemed only once daily), various toys are 5-15 pts.  There are also coupons in the box for computer time, a trip to YougurtLand, and a trip to the Redbox for a movie.

It’s been great to hear the kids encouraging each other and working together to earn more points.  When one of them starts going down the wrong road with their behavior, a quick reminder of “how many points do you have?” is usually all that’s needed to get them back on track.

We’ll see how the week goes, then discuss making this an on-going thing in our house.  Of course we’ll have to cut back on the treasures (especially the soda….not something my kids drink regularly, but really motivating this week) and/or make the prizes bigger (a dinner out with mom and dad, a new book), requiring more points to be earned for each one.

Do you have a reward system?  Something in place that works well to inspire your kids?  I’d love to hear about it!

This is part of the 30-minute blog challenge.  Post time:  28 minutes.

Spring Break started today…..or I guess you could say it started on Friday when my two crazed older daughters came barreling off the school bus looking forward to a fun-filled week of staying up late, sleeping in a bit and no homework.

I’m just a tiny bit less excited than they are…..a week at home with all four kids has a lot of potential for, how do I say this…..turmoil?  exhaustion?  bickering?  Ok, ok, it’s going to be fun as well, but only if I have plan.  The key to any battle vacation is to have a plan ready for action.

The first part of the plan is to have something ready to head off the all-to-familiar complaints:  I’m bored.  I don’t have any toys to play with.  I don’t know what to do.  When I was a kid, my mom told us to clean a toilet anytime we complained of boredom.  While smart, I came up with this instead:

Riley and Avery came up with a huge list of things they could do…..every last thing was their idea, even the nap and clean-up options.  We filled up two chalk-board wallies on the fridge with ideas and I told them that if they felt bored or at a loss for ideas they were to consult the list on the fridge.  Should they fail to do that and dare to tell me they are bored (or any other variation of that theme) they will lose a point.  The points are the second part of my plan and definitely something they don’t want to lose.   

So far, I’ve had no complaints.  Of course, it’s only 2pm on day one, but I’m hopeful.  I’m sure it’s going to be a great week! 

What about you?  What tricks do you have to keep your kids from complaining about boredom?

Reese is in love with a toy she dug out of a toy basket the other day…..a Barbie CD player that we’ve had for ages.  It plays a series of instrumental songs, a few nursery rhymes, some Swan Lake selections and a few others.  It’s provided lots of entertainment for my girls over the years, and we’ve loved the living room dance recitals it’s inspired. 

Except that it’s loud.  No, it’s not loud, it’s LOUD.  Carson had enough of it this morning.  Poor guy is just trying to watch Backyardigans and Reese is toddling around the house, rockin’ out to her music.  So I pulled a trick out of my bag…..it’s an old trick, one I’d forgotten about, but it’s a good one.

Can you see it?  Look closely at the speaker in the upper right corner.  I covered it with tape.  Packing tape works best, but all I could find was the scotch tape so I did a double layer.  Really, it’s amazing how much noise a little tape can block.  Reese can still dance to her music, and Carson can hear Pablo sing about his rad surfer moves. 

We’ve used tape on many, many toys over the years…..it’s saved us a lot of headaches.  Give it a try!

Check out more ideas at Works For Me Wednesday….