How last summer kicked all the past summer's butt...

...and this summer promises to be even better than that!


I'm not normally one of those moms who loves summer break and cries when school starts back up again. I have to be honest, while I love having my kids safe at home and like spending time with them, summer break is usually a little long for me. It seems like by the end of June the kids are board, sick of each other, and we are all at each other's throats. Well, last summer I decided that needed to change. So here's what I did:
 

Excuse the picture, it is not easy to photograph sheet metal. The chart is super simple, made of sheet metal with vinyl wording. The tasks and points are printed on magnets and make it easy for the kids to move them around.

First, I came up with this chart. Every morning they start out with 8 magnets on their "to do" side. There are 7 categories that they have to complete. As they complete a task they move the magnet to the "Done" section, and when the day is over they keep track of how many points they have earned throughout the week on the "Fun Friday" section. It sounds confusing, but it really isn't. Here's the rundown of the tasks.
1. Getting ready for the day. This means get dressed, make bed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, do hair, read scriptures and say prayers. (in whatever order they choose as long as it all gets done)
2. 1 chore from the chore jar. I have a jar full of things the kids can do from taking out the trash to vacuuming to cleaning the car. Some jobs are easy like sweeping the kitchen, but some jobs are hard, like doing the laundry. It's all the luck of the draw, and there are no excuses. On Wednesdays we all work together on one big chore such as cleaning out our drawers, or organizing the toy box.
3. Practicing. Each kid spends 30 minutes practicing a skill they want to develop. They can choose the activity, but it has to be something they are legitimately working on, like piano or Spanish, or basketball.
4. Reading. They each spend 30 minutes reading a book of their choice. This should be easier this summer as Adia can pretty much read anything she picks up now.
5. School work. They spend 30 minutes a day doing worksheets, playing educational games, reviewing flashcards, etc. One day a week they can each play educational computer games that I approve of before hand. We also might get crazy at random times and do a science experiments all together.
6. Writing. for 30 minutes a day the kids will write. This can be anything from writing in their journal to writing thank you cards or letters, to writing their own songs on comic books.
7. Behavior. They get two points for this, one for AM and one for PM. This means treating everyone with respect, no fighting, yelling, sassing, or whining, using nice words and nice voices, sharing, and helping each other, and doing what is asked of them the first time it is asked. You know, the major stuff.

Each kid has their own timer in order to keep track of timed activities.

That's a total of 8 points a day that they can earn. If they don't get something done they lose the chance to earn the point but they still have to complete the task the next day in addition to their regular tasks. If they receive all 8 points each day for the entire week they can choose a prize from my treasure box or they can have a play date. by the end of the day on Thursday they will have earned up to 32 points. If they have earned at least 27 points they can participate in Fun Friday!
Fun Friday happens every Friday. I have made a list of local attractions that we have never visited  that I think the kids will enjoy. Some are hikes, some are museums, some will require swimming, some require large groups, and some are just for the three of us, but ALL of them are going to be super fun and exciting!
Then Saturday is service, free time, and our junk food movie night.
My hope for this last year was just for us to do slightly better than survive. What I was excited to find was that it made the summer not only tolerable, but enjoyable. I was actually almost sad when school started again. I found that the majority of fighting and whining happened because the kids were bored, and the majority of sassing, and disrespect happened because I was tired of the whining and fighting so I got after them and pushed them too hard. This has solved all of that because everybody already knows what is expected of them and we all do it because, who want to miss out on Fun Friday? Even I have jobs to do. Last year it was just doing homework, but since I don't have classes this summer I am taking the opportunity to develop skills, keep my mind sharp, and get my house organized. - I might even go back to writing my book again... All in all I think it's going to be a great summer again, and I'm actually looking forward to it this time, which is a pretty big improvement in itself!