The Ticket System

A few months ago I got the idea (thank you, Lord!) for an incentive system for the kids that would encompass their schoolwork as well as chores, attitudes, initiative, etc. The inspiration came from a roll of tickets that was sitting on my counter after a stamping event. I've often used tickets at workshops to encourage guests to be involved in my presentation, to come on time, to bring friends, etc. I figured if they were incentives for women, they might also be for kids!

This idea percolated in my brain for awhile, and I finally typed out a ticket redemption chart that hangs in our kitchen eating area. Also in this area, on the bulletin boards, are envelopes with Charis, Tobin, and Arden's names. This is where they keep the tickets they earn throughout the day.

Here are some ways the kids can earn tickets:
* One ticket for completing school checklists. (They have an appointment with me at some point during the day during which we review their written work.)
* One ticket for completing "funvelope" activities. (I'll post about checklists and funvelopes a different time.)
* One ticket for saying the Bible verse of the week without looking during our breakfast review time.
* During school review times, I give a ticket for volunteering to share something we learned during the day (often around the dinner table so Dad can hear).

The great thing about giving tickets away is that it's completely arbitrary--I haven't tied myself to a particular system, other than giving a ticket for completing school work. I sometimes give a ticket for getting 100% on a math test--but not always. I sometimes give a ticket for answering, "Yes, ma'am" and coming immediately when I call--but not always. I sometimes give a ticket for doing something without being asked--but not always. You get the idea! I don't necessarily want the kids to EXPECT a ticket for doing a good deed, but I do want to recognize their efforts and inspire them to look for ways to help out, be polite, etc.

So, basically, I give tickets for anything I want to encourage.

Likewise, I take away tickets for anything I want to discourage. Yelling at your sibling? Bring me a ticket. Didn't come when I called? Bring me a ticket. Neglecting your chores? Bring me a ticket. Left a pencil on the table for Kenna to find and color on the wall with? Bring me 10 tickets. Grrr. (Just kidding, but that does happen more often than I want to keep track of, sigh.)

So, what to do with all the tickets? Here are some of the privileges that the kids can "buy" with their tickets:

1 ticket = 1 piece of candy
(This came after Halloween, ugh.)

3 tickets = extra snack
I was tired of the kids always asking for food. They get one approved snack, and if they're still hungry, they pay for more food with tickets! Encourages them to eat a decent meal at breakfast and lunch time. :-)

3 tickets = bike break (No one has taken advantage of this lately, LOL.)

5 tickets = 15 minute break from school; game time with Mom; or trampoline time.

10 tickets = 1 hour or less DVD in the afternoon; 1/2 hour computer time in the afternoon; stay up and read one hour after bedtime (from 8 - 9 p.m.). (So if bedtime is late, say 8:30 instead of our normal 8:00, they don't have the option of buying this privilege. Or if we have to get up early the next day, they have to wait to buy this privilege.)

15 tickets = attend Homeschool Skate Day; go to Chick-Fil-a for lunch; go to the Boonshoft Museum.

20 tickets = Go to Young's for lunch.

Note: Whenever there is an outing away from the house, EACH kid has to have the specified number of tickets. Charis has been known to give her brothers a few tickets so we could make it to Homeschool Skate Day, since Charis is always rolling in extra tickets. The boys tend to spend theirs for computer time as soon as they rack up 10 tickets!

Ted and I do put limits on the number of times they can redeem tickets for DVDs or computer time. We don't yet have the physical objects ready, but we plan to have "Media Chips" to give out so that there is a set number of hours per week for media time. When they turn in tickets for game time or whatever, or if they play the Wii or video games at a friend's house, they will have to cash in media chips as well. Ted and I just haven't had a chance to discuss a reasonable total per week. But basically I try to limit it right now to 2-3 afternoons of computer games or DVDs, plus our Friday night movie night.

I'd be glad to answer any questions about this system if you have any. Hopefully I've covered the basics. We've used it for several months now and are happy with it, and I think the kids are, too!

Extra Service Opportunities

Someone asked what the other jobs I have available for the kids are. I love putting them on index cards instead of assigning them on a chart, because I can always think of new tasks that the kids really could be doing instead of me! This way I can add the cards to the box. Here are some of what is in our "Extra Service Opportunities" file:

* Use spray cleaner to wipe inside and outside of microwave, top and front of stove, and front of dishwasher.
* Shred papers in Mom & Dad's room. (I just pile them next to the shredder--it's so loud I don't like shredding during naptime, since Lucan is right over our room!)
* Pick up all toys on the main floor.
* Scrub the kids' bathtub.
* Put all toys in the playroom back into their PROPER containers.
* Clean out the Suburban--all trash thrown away and all other items put where they belong.
* Vacuum Mom and Dad's room and bathroom.
* Vacuum the playroom.
* Vacuum the office.
* Clean off the trunk [a landing zone in our house] and put everything where it belongs.
* Straighten the Shoe Wall and straighten the laundry room.
* Wipe down sink and counter with cleaning wipes in Mom & Dad's bedroom.
* Empty all bathroom trashcans.

I also have some repeats of weekly chores, such as vacuuming the family room, cleaning the kitchen floor, etc. Things that really should be done twice a week (but don't always get done). I know more tasks will end up in this category, and eventually--once the kids are trained to do weekly chores properly--they will have to do one task from the weekly file and 1-2 tasks from the extra file per day. But for now they have one weekly task per day (Monday through Friday), with extras happening when they need something useful to do (i.e. they are fighting or driving me crazy) or when they want to earn tickets.

Next post: Our ticket system.

Systems and Schedules

After taking so much time off in December, I was greatly anticipating the return to a regular schedule. Life just goes so much more smoothly around here when things are predictable. Breakfast whenever you want it and lounging around in pajamas all day sounds nice, but the bickering and short tempers that seem prevalent on schedule-less days outweigh whatever sense of relaxation there may be. (And let's face it--relaxation may happen for the kids when we don't have school, but not for Mom!)

I knew we'd need to tweak some things with our schedule, particularly when it came to chores. Now that we're getting close to finishing our second school week in 2010, I think I can safely say that we're doing fairly well. The house is staying cleaner than usual, and we're actually caught up with school work despite having January 4 off as a family day and January 8 off as a snow day. We've also had play dates and run errands, and my sanity has remained intact, so that tells me we're definitely on the right track, LOL.

Today I'll just write about our new approach to chores. This is something I was praying about for a long time, knowing that we needed to get the kids more involved with household tasks. Chore charts were just not working for us. We might stay up with them the first couple of days of the week, but inevitably life would put us behind. Then there was the matter of inspection--if that didn't happen, then there was no accountability. And what about training the kids to do harder jobs and to do a BETTER job? That needed to be taken into account also.

So here's our new system--for now. I'm sure it will change, but I'm pleased with it so far. I have an index card file box with two main categories: Weekly Service Opportunities and Extra Service Opportunities.

Weekly Service Opportunities are tasks that I want done every week. Thinking in terms of 3 kids working each day, I grouped like tasks in sets of three. Ideally, of course, 3 kids will do 3 tasks every day, Monday through Friday. When the chore is finished AND inspected, the card goes to the back of the stack. If we have a crazy day and don't have time for chores, no big deal. We pick up where we left off. (However, I always have the option of moving the cards around and placing ones at the front of the stack that I want to be sure we get done!) Here are the tasks I've set up for this section:

* Deep cleaning bathrooms
1. Kids' bathroom
2. Guest bathroom
3. Basement bathroom

* Vacuuming
1. Vacuum library and entryway
2. Vacuum dining room
3. Vacuum family room

* Vacuuming
1. Vacuum boys' room
2. Vacuum girls' room
3. Vacuum Lucan's room

* Vacuuming (see a trend here?!)
1. Vacuum stairs from 2nd floor to main floor
2. Vacuum stairs from main floor to basement
3. Vacuum or sweep tile in kitchen and eating area

* Quick clean bathrooms (same 3 as deep cleaning)

In addition to the Weekly Service Opportunities, the kids have Extra Service Opportunities. These are additional tasks that I'd like them to do weekly or bi-weekly, but ones that won't cause my stress level to rise if we don't get to them.

There are two ways these will get done:

1. Kids are driving me crazy and need to be gainfully employed. They will be sent to the chore box and may choose any one of the first 3 cards.

2. Kids want to earn extra tickets and choose any of the first 3 cards. Once the task is complete and inspected, they earn however many tickets are indicated on the card.

I guess this leads to our ticket system! I'll have to post that another day...