Summer points

Three weeks ago when school got out and I had five kids bouncing off the walls I thought...."If only there were some way I could get the kids to do their jobs without complaining, cut down on Wii time, have them excited about reading and drawing and writing, remember to practice the piano and take care of Lukey in the mornings so I could sleep in." Hmmmmm...

Immediately I ran to my computer and started making up a new chart full of things the kids could do to earn points. Do a job - 10 points. Do a job with a happy attitude - 20 points....

Emily saw me at the computer, started reading the screen and then started giving me ideas. "Mom, how about if we go to bed really good and don't get out then we can have some points?" Emily, you're a genius. Pretty soon I had my list. Then I made the spending summer points chart. Wii time - 80 points. Kid movie - 100 points. Stay up late - 100 points.... Then for each kid I made a chart with space for the job description, points earned or spent and total. I printed them off on crisp white cardstock and taped them to the wall by the kitchen.

It took seconds before four kids were crowded around the new charts reading and nodding their heads with a smile. "This is good mom." they said as I walked away.

When I came back later I noticed that there were pillows all over the ground underneath our new charts. "What are these pillows here for?" I asked. They explained that they had had a kid meeting to discuss how they would earn and spent their first points.

For three weeks now my kids have done jobs with a happy attitude. Actually, overly happy, since they've wanted to make sure they could record double points. Ryan with a cheesy permanent smile often states... "I'm going to practice the piano and I'm so happy about it". What a character. They've learned fast that double the points means double the reward. They have practiced their piano (even the girls who are now taking lessons from Ryan), read from the friend, written letters to everyone in our family, spent hours and hours taking care of Luke (this is easily Katie's favorite way to earn points) happily folded laundry (it's worth 50 points because it takes so long to do it myself) and have definitely cut back on wii and computer time. The rewards aren't anything they weren't getting before... only now the kids feel in charge of their rewards and my life is so much happier.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed Ryan, Katie and Emily standing by the charts for quite awhile. "What are you guys doing in there?" I asked. "Mom, we are planning the ultimate dream night. We are going to stay up late, watch a kid movie and eat a special treat. We each need 250 points. We NEED to do some jobs mom... what can we do?" It's moments like these when I shake my head and wonder why I didn't think of this sooner.