07.16.08
Her own personal task master…
I created this chart for Savanna:
What a life saver it has been. I am no longer the bad guy. She eats her dinner because the chart says so, she makes her bed because the chart says so. Heck she even cleans up her room without fuss..because her chart says so. She’s even learning delayed gratification, by having to allot points to different rewards instead of lumping them all one ONE reward. I planned it out specifically that if she wants a half hour a day of Mario Kart racing, she has to spend 30 points a week on it, and if she wants to watch So You Think You Can Dance with me every week, she has to spend 30 points there as well. That only leaves her with about 24 points/week to spend else where, so she will have to accumulate throughout the weeks to get the big prizes she really wants! **Sleepover at her best friends house is 70 points!** LOL
We started back homeschooling for real this week, and I can’t believe how much her disposition has changed since we got back into a routine, instead of just living all higelty pigelty (hmm..is that even a word?). It astounds me everytime how much she craves and requires routine, and regularity.
Heaven Forbid I tell her we’re going to do something and then through unavoidable circumstance the plans have to change. It’s a nuclear meltdown when that happens. Which makes planning things difficult. I can’t “plan” (out loud with the kids anyways) to have a beach day on Friday, because if the weather turns sour and we can’t go then all life as she knows it ends.
morethanmyself said,
July 16, 2008 at 3:42 pm
It never ceases to amaze me how similar our kids are, Candice. We go through the exact same thing with planning!
I tried the chart with T when he was younger, but as with most things, he made it more of a production than it needed to be “How many points will I get for that?” for things he was told to do that weren’t on the chart or having throw-down screaming tantrums when he didn’t do his task and didn’t get the points for it. Maybe we should try it again and see how it goes. It really is a good idea and I love how you made it!
kramerkaren1 said,
July 16, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I also think we will adopt and adapt the chart once school starts again. my biggest summer joy is the lack of routine, the right to stay for late night swimming at the pool, the lack of worrying about schedules, and having to do things.surprisingly my kids seem to be thriving on the lack of structure. strange.
Silly Uncle David said,
July 18, 2008 at 1:01 am
Candice,
Can you make a chart for me? lol Just kidding. Great idea. If you were to make one for me, here are the things I need to do each day: Analyze inventory pricing and make necessary adjustments, print packing slips, pull sold inventory, package and ship out sold books, send emails to customers confirming shipping, revise scenes in my novel, revise short stories, send short stories to magazines and document where they have been sent to, and house tasks (paint the garage, vacuum). Some days I need to attend book sales and ravage through piles of books like a rabid dog looking for a leg to bite. Then I have to put the books I bought online to sell.
Okay, maybe skip the list for me. Savanna’s list sounds much more fun, and I would love to play Mario Kart, even for only 30 minutes. I hope everybody is doing well. I’ll call soon. Later,
Silly Uncle David.