Anyone have a "Reward System" set up for their child?

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I am thinking about creating a reward system for my son. He just turned six this month and since beginning school last Monday (first grade), I am seeing much more negative attitude than I did all of last year doing Kindergarten.

 

I am playing around to see what schedule works best for him. Hopefully, we will have a winner by the end of this week. I realized that trying to formally school him for a couple of hours is not good, so we have moved to an hour & it is working much better already.

 

GA. requires 4 1/2 hours per day, so I am breaking that up each day into what I refer to as "blocks". We have three blocks each day with breaks in between each one. We are schooling from 8:30 AM till 3-3:30 PM each day.

 

I am trying my best to be as patient as possible with him, but I am really thinking that we need some other form of motivation for him to stay on a more positive track.

 

I was told by an elementary school teacher that using tally marks is a good way to create a reward system. The child gets one tally mark for doing certain things each day. I would determine how many tally marks are possible for a day/week.

 

Then, at the end of the week, if he had a certain amount of tally marks, he may receive a special treat for doing well. Now, if he gets an attitude, acts rude, etc... well, the tally marks may be taken away.

 

Does this sound like a good plan???

 

I would love to hear about any other "reward systems" that others have used successfully. Please share what you chose to do and how it worked out for both you and your child/children.

 

I really want to nip this negative attitude that is rearing its' ugly head at least a couple of times per day in the bud. However, I want to do it in the best way possible.

 

Any advice is welcome and appreciated. Thanks so much! Have a wonderful day! :001_smile:

[Wee Pip]

Reward systems just don't work for us. I keep trying them, however...LOL.

There was some talk awhile back about a ticket reward system. Try doing a search. I was able to pull up this one: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126688&highlight=ticket+reward

But I know there are others, too.

Also, places like Pizza Hut (reading) and Dairy Queen (good grades) offer a free item certificate if you sign up with their programs. Look into that (I'm thinking about trying the Pizza Hut one and using a booklist that I create).

M&Ms are a great bribe, LOL.

My 1st dd always had a bad attitude about school until this year. She's 9-turning-10 and doesn't like school, but does a good job completing it. My 2nd dd loved school until last year, and now it's really horrible getting her thru a day. We stick to 1-1.5 hours. My goal for her is learning to do her work and learning how to learn when we don't know something. If we can accomplish that by the time she's 10, I'll be a happy mom.

[*Jen*]

We've had good luck with a marble jar. Once the jar is full he gets a reward (we started with a smaller jar and moved to a bigger jar after a few weeks and a couple of rewards) He gets marbles added for doing what he is asked, not having an attitude etc. We also take out marbles for not listening, excessive whining, and what ever else we are working on that week.

 

It helps for him to have the jar where he can easily see how close he is to filling the jar vs stickers/tally marks which are harder for him to see how many more he needs to get a reward.

[Classical Country Mama]

My dd is almost 6, and I got sick of reminding her to get dressed and make her bed every day. So now I have a reward chart on the wall; she gets a sticker every morning she gets up, dressed, and makes her bed without a peep from me. I used to add stickers every time she read a book aloud, but now she reads too well for that to be a true incentive. Still, I'll throw out a sticker here or there when she does something above and beyond (like clearing out the dishwasher without my asking).

 

At the end of each row (about 30 stickers), she gets to choose a prize from the prize box. I filled the box mostly with Dollar Spot items, but it's all stuff she loves. Periodically I'll throw in some new prizes, so she won't think she already knows what's in there and find herself suddenly de-motivated.

 

30 is probably way too long now that she really only earns one per day. But it is highly motivational for her, and she's always looking for ways to earn more. It's a win-win!!

[Teachin'Mine]

JoyfullyBlessed, I don't know what GA is, but 4.5 hours for 1st grade sounds like a very long school day. We didn't do that much until very recently. We were probably doing 1.5 hrs of "formal" schooling for that grade, and the rest was playing games, field trips, fun unstructured reading - things like that. I know that a "normal" school day goes from about 8 to 3, but there is very little of that time spent on actual book work. You don't need to match their schedule in order to give him the same academically.

 

I'm probably just not understanding what GA is, and someone who does will be able to give you better advice. :tongue_smilie:

 

One thing I would suggest is never taking away tally points. Poor behavior at one moment doesn't negate the fact that he did well at another time. : )

[Sophia]

Ga is Georgia where we need to school 4.5 hours a day.

My six year olds would never be able to school from 8:30-3:30 (including breaks) regardless of what reward systems were baiting them.

Op, that time (4.5) can include an hour of reading time, which you are probably doing throughout the day, and outside play time which is p.e., nature walks (science) listening to music, coloring, crafts, is art, etc.

I get my 4.5 hours without the dc thinking they are doing that much school, because actual sitting down time is...maybe an hour, hour and a half.

I haven't needed a reward system for my dc at that age...as they get older I will tape a coupon to the back of a workbook for a treat (trip to ice cream shop, bookstore, dollar store, etc.)

But, we're talking end of 2nd, 3rd grade.

That's when their work is more schoolish and incentives come in handy.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Sophia
spelling mess!

[Beatusduo]

I too have used the marble jar. Since my boys are older ds12 and ds9 I reward differently. I try to instill in them that doing good work is its own reward, but a little incentive never hurt. So, they will receive a marble based on their school work. I have one that knows his work, catches on quickly however, he needs to review his work because he will make small errors from going to fast or not reading the directions fully. I have found that they slow down and look over their work before handing it in. I want this to become a habit. I will also take away a marble for whinning or bad behavior. Man do they hate that. When a marble is taken away, they start immediately what they are doing and try to earn it back.

When the jar is full they receive a reward. I usually pick and give it to them. Rewards are usually books. They love them and look forward to earning them.

 

Susie

[Food4Thought]

I use something similar to a marble jar - we call them "Good Things Beans" and either kid can earn them to fill the jar. Doing school, being kind, obeying immediately, or being helpful all earn beans. I do not take them away for bad behavior. I believe that once they have earned the bean, then they keep it. Bad Behavior is dealt with in other ways.

 

DS6 also really enjoys seeing charts. We are working through a 30-week Word Wall project, and we made a chart for it. It looks like a board game and he gets a sticker for each lesson he completes. When he finishes, we will buy him a quality microscope (his request).

 

He also has a chart with the 36 weeks of school on it. He gets to fill in when he's finished a week, but he also gets special stars for good days. He puts those around the week blocks, and likes seeing the stickers there that tell him he has done well. Again, I don't take away for bad behavior. He either earns the good things or he doesn't.

 

Of course, our rewards are few and far between. Usually it's a month or two between rewards - however, they are usually big, highly anticipated, and we *always* follow through on what we've promised.

[Joyfullyblessed]

Thank you for the responses. I may actually look into the marble or bean idea. I think my son would like something like that. :)

 

Also, GA. simply is the abbreviation for Georgia. Georgia requires 4 1/2 hours beginning in first grade.

 

Even though I said we do school 8:30-3:30, there are indeed good breaks. Like I mentioned earlier, we are working on seeing what works best for us. Right now, my son is doing well with 1 1/2 hour increments of school.

 

For example, here is what our day sort of looks like right now (give or take 15-30 minutes here and there):

 

Up by 7:30: eat breakfast, watch a little TV, get dressed, brush teeth & hair, make bed

8:30-10 am: First Block of school (calendar time, pledge, math, Bible)

10-11 am: snack and outside playtime (P.E.)... he plays sports also

11-12:30 pm: LA (Handwriting, Grammar, Spelling on some days) plus Reading/Phonics (HOP, Reading Eggs)

12:30-2:30 pm: Lunch, Quiet time

2:30-3 pm: Educational Computer time

3-3:30 pm: History or Science (depending on the day)

 

We also do read books aloud. I read a couple of chapters and my son answers a few questions about what we just read. We also work in Art and Music as well. I usually count Choir as his music, but we also listen to music while we do art too. We do baking & incorporate our math, have math & word games to play, etc... so I try to make the learning time quite enjoyable.

 

Today we did this schedule and my son did wonderful! There was no arguing, whining, etc... He felt that he had lots of free time and actually thought the learning part was going by fast. That is great in my mind. :)

 

Anyway, I think I will still look at doing some type of reward system as well. I really think that my son would enjoy that. He seems to like a challenge (like beating the timer) & working to earn marbles/beans may seem that way to him. He is a very visual little guy too, so I think being able to see those marbles/beans in a jar will just motivate him that much more.

 

Thanks so much for the great input! It is much appreciated! :)

[Hockey Mom]

I have a ticket system. I bought a roll of tickets from Oriental Trading years ago (for a birthday party) and they never got used. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, so I implemented the ticket system for my boys.

 

Each ticket is worth 30 minutes of screen time (tv, movies, video games). The tickets have star outlines in the middle, so if they do something unexpected (act of kindness, an extra chore, etc.), I color the star red, and those are called "treasure tickets". Treasure tickets can be used to "buy" items from my treasure box (dollar store items). They can save them up for the ice cream truck that rolls by on Monday nights, or they can spend them as soon as they get them by picking a prize that day.

 

My boys get tickets for the following:

 

1. Morning chores completed before school starts. Morning chores are: making their beds, putting laundry in the basket, picking up any toys on the floor, wiping down the bathroom sink, wiping down the bathroom counter. They also must be dressed, teeth brushed, and hair brushed.

 

2. Turning in their "Homework" folder with completed work.

 

3. Reading for (30) minutes.

 

4. Afternoon chores: put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher, put any morning/lunch dishes in the dishwasher, making sure their desk area is clean and their chairs pushed in.

 

They can also lose tickets. I haven't had to pull a ticket yet, but reasons for losing a ticket include: disobedience, fighting with their brother, using inappropriate words ("shut up", "idiot", "moron" - thanks Spongebob!), and not doing their school work.

 

This system has greatly improved the boys' general attitude, and they view it as a game. They look forward to collecting and spending their tickets. As a bonus, they're also learning to manage their time better. DS6 wants to watch a movie Friday night, and he has figured out that he will need (4) tickets on Friday to make that work. DS7 is saving his 'treasure tickets' for ice cream on Monday night. The tickets are like gold to them. :)

[RegGuheert]

Anyone have a "Reward System" set up for their child?

We have a reward system in place that has worked well for about 10 years. The problem I wanted to solve was that the children would not complete their work in a timely fashion. The result was that Sunday would come around and they still hadn't finished their work from the previous week. This caused a lot of angst for MomsintheGarden because she wanted to start on new material on Monday. The bottom line was that the children were "dumping" responsibility for getting their work done on their mother and that was making everyone in the household unhappy. So here is what we have done for all of our children since then:

 

1) Each child has a schedule for what is to be accomplished during each week. Some subjects have daily tasks, but the accounting for the work is done weekly.

2) If a child completes all of their schoolwork by the time they go to bed on Friday night, they receive $5.00.

3) If they have completed all of their work from this week as well as all previous weeks they receive an additional $5.00. (This was done to prevent a child from slacking off now and again. If they do not complete one of their week's work, they will basically get paid no more than half their pay from then on until they complete it.)

 

The result of implementing this plan has been:

 

- The responsibility for dompleting the schoolwork now clearly lies with the children, not with MomsintheGarden.

- ALL schoolwork is done before the weekend. We ALL now have our weekends free so that we all don't need to do homeschooling during that time.

- The children quickly learn time management skills. After a week or two in which they put off too much of their work and then fail to get paid $5.00, they soon realize that it is best to do an appropriate amount each day. In some cases, the children find they can complete ALL of their work a day or two early, which gives them lots of freedom toward the end of the week.

 

One reason our system works is that MomsintheGarden is an incredible planner. At the beginning of each school year, each child is presented with a notebook containing a plan for ALL of their studies for the entire year. This plan is very detailed and gives them measured steps to follow, broken up in chunks no larger than a week in duration. Without this level of planning, I'm not sure this approach would work at all.

 

Of course MomsintheGarden still deals out punishment for misbehavior, particularly when it involves one-on-one time with her, since her time is so limited.

 

We have had good results with this system and the first two to go off to college have done very well so far. DD20 is starting his third year and I think he is well-respected for his study skills by his classmates.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!