Off the Charts

On this post back in March I stated my belief on sticker charts and my consent to try them. It was a failure with the guitar trial. I don't know if it was because the stickers went missing or the incentive wasn't worth enough but it lasted about 2 weeks before fizzling (just enough to get one package of plasticine).

At the beginning of the summer I was speaking with a good friend who devised a motivational chart to get her kids reading. I liked the idea but thought I want my kids to be doing more than just reading. There's work to be done, music to be practised, gardening and other stuff I'm sure I'm missing.

So, I worked out a chart that would cater to the fact the girls love to colour. It's a rainbow chart with colours assigned to tasks: reading - purple, writing - red, music - orange, housework - yellow, garden - green, physical activity - blue and extra - pink. There are blocks of 100 squares in 5 rows of 20 to colour in when they complete a task under any category. We went to Bulk Barn and they each got to pick out a candy that they would get when they finished colouring in a row. At the completion of the block of 100 they would get something bigger, like going to the movies or picking something out at a store. I figured a row might take a week or so to complete and a block about a month.

The first day they had all earned a candy. Two weeks, they were at their "block" reward. Amelia went and saw Brave with Rene and I went shopping for a new dress with Evelyn.  It has slowed down a bit now but we're almost into August and it's still generally working. I have double point days when they can blindly pick a colour so when they do that job they get to colour two squares instead of one.

My favourite has been the "extra" colour. That's for when I need something done, like folding diapers, helping with dinner, sorting the tuperware drawer, etc. I just call out "extra square task" and they come running, ready to do whatever I ask. It's like living in the twilight zone. It's fantastic! Sometimes I'll post notes on the tv for when they get up so they know what extra tasks there are for the day. There was one day I came downstairs and Evelyn was folding laundry, Amelia was dusting furniture and they had already swept the floor. That's not everyday by far but it has been nice to not have to do too much nagging...in general.

I'm sure our neighbours think I'm crazy when they hear me threaten to take away squares. That's the downside of these charts. I hate using them as threats but it comes out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

Today I threatened to make a chart I would colour in black every time they fought, hurt each other, talked back or didn't listen. I got the idea from scripture reading this morning that talked about being clean to enter into the kingdom of God. They were, as usual, fidgeting, playing with other things and generally not seeming to pay attention. I haven't created it yet, but it would already be pretty black. Not sure if that's the route I want to go with these charts but it sure is tempting. As a consequence of being mean to a sister I've already made them give one of their squares to that sister. I feel like I'm grasping at straws, trying to find something that will motivate them to not be so mean to each other. One thing at a time I suppose. At least my windows and bathrooms are being cleaned.