Yesterday my sister told me she's proud of me for sticking with this past three days. I didn't know if it was a compliment or not... Just kidding, I know it was a compliment because I have a few other blogs that were abandoned after not much longer than three days. I'm having lots of fun with this one though, and seeing real effects quickly in my life, so I'm thinking I'll be able to keep it going.
Also yesterday, I got a fun email from my old friend Daynene - NO, she's not old! We've just literally been friends since kindergarten so in this case old means we go way back. Anyway, she sent a link to a fun website where I found a project I may do with my girls soon. www.nestlefamily.com/CraftsAndActivities/Creativeprojects/Default.aspx?ArticleId=0F0C7AC5-1C98-4FC0-8A52-44FB77CAFF71&sc=10087145&utm_source=NF&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Week1&utm_campaign=BackToSchool10 My girls can't get enough when it comes to crafts and this is one that would be useful! I think the girls would love having their own calendar. So, if I find the ambition to go to the store and buy the supplies, I think this one will be in our future. Thanks for the link Daynene!!!
Today's plan doesn't look very exciting when you see it on the calendar, but I'm looking forward to it. First, I'm getting a haircut! Yay! That's a whole glorious hour (maybe an hour and a half!!!) all to myself. I love my stylist, so I look forward to seeing her, too. She not only gives the best scalp massage while she's shampooing, but we have a lot in common so I like visiting with her. Then, for our fun time this afternoon, the kids and I are going to clean up the playroom. We crank up the music and boogie down while we work. Alex, of course, and Madelyn need lots of help staying focused on putting things away instead of getting more things out, but that's ok. I wouldn't expect otherwise.
It's also looking like I'm going to be dolling out lots of reading stickers for Madelyn. She taught herself to read this summer but is self-conscious about reading to people. To encourage her to read to me and try new books I put a bunch of stickers in a baggie and she gets to choose one every time she reads a new book to someone. She must have decided she wants some stickers today because she just got all of her early reader books and read one. That's a nice way to start a day, don't you think?
Now, on with today! Happy Monday!
Love the sticker idea, I have attached money amounts to our stickers once they get older they need more incentitive then a sticker and yes it has worked. I gave my son $50 to read 1000 minutes in a month. I usually let him buy a calander of his choice and put stickers on for every 20minutes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the credit on the Nestle website, they have great coupons, snack ideas, and crafts I knew you would enjoy.
One idea I have gotten from the website is having snacks for after school that are all ready prepared for him. So when he gets home from school he can grab a snack that isn't oreo cookies or a bag of chips. Instead it is a healthy snack like fruit kabobs, cheese and meat kabobs, chips with home made salsa. Any ideas for a quick after school snack are appreciated too!!
Good luck with your blog, your doing great!!
Wow, Elise would love living with you if you pay that well for reading! She loves reading so I've never really offered rewards beyond what they do at school because she'll sit down and read whether she's getting a prize or not but she sure does like earning things for something she doesn't have to go out of her way to do. I love using stickers as trackers. When Elise was smaller I used to put stickers on a calendar like that to encourage her to clean, then she could trade them for some little prize. Madelyn is just OBSESSED with stickers. She's four so the actual sticker means a lot more to her than anything it might represent. She's funny, too, 'cause she'll sit down and read to herself but she won't read to me. The teacher in me wants to check in on how she's doing, plus I just get a total high over my kids reading to me, but she doesn't want to an audience. That's why she get stickers right now. I'm hoping as she gets older and more confidant she won't need them any more for anything.
ReplyDeleteAnd you get another WOW for actually preparing your son's snacks! Fruit kabobs aren't Thanksgiving dinner, but that's way more than Elise gets. I don't send junk food in her lunch though, so if she comes home and wants a bowl of ice cream at least I know she hasn't had another treat that day. Do you make a snack every day? We mostly just have fresh fruit, yogurt or cheese and crackers. Not very creative, but I'll keep my brain thinking and pass along any good snack ideas I come up with...