I did a blog on this awhile back but can't find it and recently have had some people ask me about them when I've mentioned them so I thought I'd post one again!
We encourage our kids to do chores early on! Peyton of course is a little young and is 19 months old but we do encourage her to pick up her toys, put her laundry in the dirty clothes, little things like that which make her feel big! Plus she loves doing things like unloading the dishwasher with mommy!
Now for the other 3 kids who are 4, 6 and 8 we have what we call Naughty or Nice Jars that was a spin off of some things a few of our homeschooled friends did and articles we read. We started doing these about a year ago and they have worked wonderfully for encouraging them to do their chores and keep up good behavior! We do them as a joint jars so that it's like team work and they will encourage each other to all pitch in on the work around the house and behave because in the end if one of them acts up and they loose their reward they could all suffer if the jar runs out!
So we have cards with random things on them ..
"get a sonic drink"
"get a new toy from the dollar store"
"stay up an hour late"
"get out of chores for a day"
"go to the park"
"movie night, kids pick"
"pizza night"
"family game night"
"go to wazoos"
"go bowling"
"earn $5"
"have a sleepover"
"camp out with home made tent in living room"
"visit the candy store"
"go get ice cream"
when they have been good for the day and they have done all of their chores and acted in a good manner they will get to each put one card from the deck in the "nice jar"
if they are bad at the end of the day and didn't do their chores, faught a lot, got a color change at school, back talked, dirty mouth, anything that is out of line the kid who did bad will have to draw one of the cards out of the "nice jar" and stick it in the "naughty jar"
at the end of the week on Friday they get to pick one card from what is left in the "nice jar" if there is anything left. What they draw will be their treat for being good for the week and a joint treat. If they don't have any cards left they don't get anything (this has actually happened lol)
They get really excited about getting to put in the "nice jar" and really upset over the "naughty jar" so it works great for us for now!
I'm not happy with how our summer has gone! I feel like we could've done so much more with it and waisted the first month of summer! Though we did get to catch up on some much needed rest and relax a bit I just feel we should've done so much more as a family and more outtings!
My oldest did go to church camp and my 2 boys went to visit their grandma for a few days and spend it out at the lake. We went to Oklahoma a week to visit family but stayed in most of the time. But I want to do more!
I got a stack of note cards, cut them in half and I'm placing a fun activity on each one to do for the rest of the summer! Each day we will pick one and that will be our fun exciting activity for the day!
So far I have..
Go to the spray park
Go Bowling (this will be used more then once with the free summer bowling!)
Water Balloon Fight
Host an Ice Cream Social
Get Ice Cream from the Ice Cream Truck (used more then once)
Go to the Lake (use more then once)
Go Out for Ice Cream
Go to the Movies in the Park
Go to the Water Park
Go for a Bike Ride
Go to the Races
Chalk and Bubbles Day
Tye Dye Day
Go to a Baseball Game
Go to Wazoos (bounce house place)
Bake Cookies
Family Game Night
Balloon Party (room filled with several blown up balloons!)
Host a Just Dance Party on Wii
Go to Snow Cone Shop
Scavenger Hunt
Chucky Cheese
Go Skating
Go to Local Pool (used more then once)
Go to Pool on Post with Diving Boards (used once then once)
See New Transformers Movie
Go to the Zoo
Water Gun Fight
Hopefully we can get the best out of what's left of this summer!!
let the potty training begin!!! We do elimination communication around the house so my youngest runs around undressed and has showed interest in the potty since a little before 1yrs old and we keep the potty out for her but haven't started potty training just yet. My oldest was trained at 14 months but regressed when he went to daycare when I went back to work. My other 2 were trained around their 2nd birthdays so I figure she will be about the same but let her go at her own pace of course.
She HATES having diapers on and pulls them off all the time and now pulls them off when they are wet and tells you "ewwww"
We got home from Oklahoma and she has been using her potty non stop everytime she goes with out us asking or telling her! I guess I missed the memo that it was time! haha
So we are still running around undressed or now in underwear at home and encouraging it to see if she wants to train!
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25% off Thermos, food and drink containers!!
Ends July 9th!!
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