Chore Store!

Over the years we've gone back and forth, forth and back about allowance and chores. Should we offer payment for jobs done? Should we give allowances so the kids can learn to manage their spending? We always came back to the idea that our children are members of our family, and so certain chores are expected simply because they're part of the team. We also want them to leave our home with all kinds of skills- no paying some girl at college to do their laundry ;) Recently, however, the kids' piano teacher instituted a point system by which her students could earn points for practicing, attending recitals and concerts, and even for good behavior during a lesson. At a designated time, she would open her "store" and allow them to spend their points on fun things- pencils, stickers, etc. This got me thinking. My kids could use a little motivation. I think we've been very successful at communicating their responsibility in our home, so perhaps having something fun to strive for would just be a nice little motivator as the weeks roll by. I started by taking their daily responsibilities and attaching a point value to each chore: 1 Point Morning Stuff Breakfast Prep Each Chore = 1 Point Zones Completed 2 Points All morning stuff and chores completed each week = 2 bonus points A Good Attitude, calculated weekly 5 Points Quietly working on a reorganization project (game cabinets, puzzle cabinet, schoolroom, garage cabinets, costumes, armoire) without being asked. Surprise inspections- everything from closets to school shelves to bathroom drawers.

The chore point tally sheet. Very primitive. Needs revamping.

There were also some bad habits established that have bugged me for years, so I thought I could seize the opportunity to use our Chore Store point system to fix the problem. Some people around here think I won't notice when they drop things on top of the dryer on their way to the school room instead of putting said things away in the school room where they belong. Ahem. Others have told me their chores are completed when, indeed, they are not. Can you believe it? The following result in a loss of points: Not putting things away where they belong (Legos in the piano drawers, stuff dumped on the dryer instead of put away in the schoolroom, etc.) -2 Points Lying about chores being done results in a complete loss of all points! So far, Chore Store is going really well. I keep a tally sheet and we check off accomplishments every day or two at breakfast, and the kids are eager to hear their totals. I haven't set a time for the opening of Chore Store, but I did tell them that nothing in the store will be under 100 points. I won't open it until everyone can purchase something. Even my oldest guys who have fewer chores than everyone else are interested in earning more points for themselves. I lured them into participation with the promise of movie tickets and gift cards. When the stack of preschool DVDs needed to be reorganized, and lost discs found, guess who volunteered?

The big guys are so great with the little guys. I toss out bonus points for the kindnesses like these.

I still ask, grab, call out to, and assign children tasks all day long without the promise of points. I'm watching to see if attitudes turn greedy, but so far nothing has really changed except for a sudden eagerness to do chores every day. Works for me!

Chores, ResourcesKendraOctober 19, 2009 Comments

Homeschooling High Schoolers in our Classical Homeschool

I know many of you read Preschoolers and Peace because you have preschoolers. Still many of you are in the same boat I am, with high schoolers on one end and babies on the other. I've got to tell you that even though we'd committed to homeschooling through high school, I was terrified. It wasn't the breadth of knowledge that had to be taught or even the subject matter that made me a nervous wreck; it was the record keeping. Suddenly grades mattered, particularly because our firstborn desires higher education and his transcript will be essential. Let's start there. I'm sure you know that there are many, many resources for high school home education record-keeping, but just in case you don't, here are a couple worth noting: HSLDA and Donna Young. I made a binder (of course! You knew I would, didn't you?) for each of our high schoolers with the following subject tabs: Attendance, DSST/CLEP Tests, Online Courses, Master Reading List, and Field Trips.

Then, even though plans change and some people I know drag their feet through a subject like, say, chemistry (ahem), I do make a rough sketch of where we're going in the four years of high school. Remember, our firstborn is very academic and eats this stuff up, so although I'm going to show you what his plan looks like, it isn't a plan for every one. Compare thee not! Ninth Grade Algebra II World Literature and Comp ( plus CLEP) Modern World History Biology I Theology I PE Logic Latin II Tenth Grade Geometry Intro Constitutional Law Chemistry Classical Rhetoric British Lit and Comp US History I (CLEP) Computer Graphics (Junior College course) PE Driver’s Ed Eleventh Grade Trigonometry/Pre-Calc French I Physics PE Statistics (DSST) Economics Law and Public Policy Twelfth Grade French II (CLEP) Senior Thesis Classes through the local Junior College Both of our high schoolers have decided they'd like to plug away at their college general education coursework while in high school, so they are taking CLEP and DSST tests as well as courses online through our local junior college.As a high school junior, our firstborn has already knocked off a semester of college work.Boy, do I wish I'd known I could have been doing this.Would have saved a lot of time and money. Not every student is college bound.Our second born is not an academic kid, and unlike his highly focused older brother, he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life.We think that's more typical, and we're absolutely ok with that.We just keep praying and trusting that God will show him in due time what He has called him to do.It's exciting!In the meantime, he wants to be a lifeguard.David Hasselhoff didn't do too poorly as a lifeguard, did he?:D

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraSeptember 14, 2009 Comments

Jumpin' On the Workbox Bandwagon- With a Twist

Anything that gets me organized, motivated, and allows me to keep school running (nearly) on its own is a winner of an idea. Sue Patrick's workbox system sounded like a good fit for our family, except I wasn't sure how in the world I would get so many boxes in our schoolroom (plus, my frugal side didn't like shelling out so many clams to invest in them, either). After reading through several great blogs which described how workboxes were being used in other people's homes, I landed on the idea of making work files for two of our children- the 3rd grader and the k/1st grader. While I am planted in the school room in the afternoons, available to any one who needs my help, these two girls can be working through their files systematically. Here's what we did:

I numbered 4 sets of file folders, 1 through 12. Each set holds the work to be done for each day, and I figured I'd just organize them for four days and keep Fridays for any make-up we need to do. There are 12 folders for each day because that number gives me a lot of options.

Each folder contains a designated activity or paper to complete. Here in folder number one we have Rod and Staff First Grade Reading Workbook papers, one per day.

Here's the fun part. I photocopied the boxes of several of her favorite games and then laminated them. Instead of having to put the whole game in the file or box, I just drop the card in and she goes and gets the game.

Works for outside activities, too...

...and chores...

...and snacks!

So, what goes into each folder? For our first grader:

1. Rod and Staff Worksheets 2. Rod and Staff Reading Workbook 3. game 4. penmanship 5. art or Literature Pockets 6. math 7. outside activity 8. snack 9. puzzle 10. fold laundry 11. dry erase board 12. tidy schoolroom

And for the third grader:

1. Math 2. Art 3. Pathway Readers 4. Visual Perceptual Skill Building 5. Cursive 6. outside activity 7. snack 8. Writing Tales 9.Craft 10. Copywork 11. Fold Laundry 12. tidy schoolroom

Educating at Home, Resources, School OrganizationKendraAugust 19, 2009Workbox, Workboxes Comments

Praying the Scriptures For Your Children

We named our third daughter an unusual name, much beloved from a family friend. That sweet friend recently sent me a book that has been wonderful food for thought. The book is Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, and was written by Jodie Berndt.

I have been contemplating regeneration lately. You know, it isn't our work, it's squarely Christ's. We were dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2) but He breathed life into our lifelessness and He will do the same for our children if they are His. Jodie writes: "The sooner we realize that it is not about what we do but about what God does, the sooner we will stop focusing on ourselves and our shortcomings, and begin focusing on God and His power. Likewise, the sooner we quit worrying about doing our part, the sooner we can start rejoicing in the fact that God is doing His part. And the sooner we can recognize that God is at work, the sooner we can jump in and join Him."

Marvelous Monday- PHONICS

Our Marvelous Monday series ends today, but you can view all the posts if you haven't caught up. Click on "Cheryl" to read Cheryl's posts, and click on "Kendra" to read mine. Brilliant, isn't it???

Preschool and Kindergarten Cheryl Kendra

Electives Cheryl Kendra

Geography Cheryl Kendra

Art and Music Cheryl Kendra

Foreign Languages Cheryl Kendra

Logic Cheryl Kendra

Science Cheryl Kendra

Handwriting and Spelling Cheryl Kendra

English and Grammar Cheryl Kendra

Literature Cheryl Kendra

History Cheryl Kendra

Math Cheryl Kendra

♥

Phonics has been a fairly natural ebb and flow kind of subject in our home. I find it easy to point out sounds and letters just as we go about our daily life, saying something like, "Let's put on your red shirt. R-r-r-e-e-d-d. Do you hear that 'R'? It makes the Rrrrrrr sound." I point to letters in print or play rhyming games fairly naturally as we go about life.

For formal phonics, however, we use TATRAS. I wrote a wee bit about this program in my post on preschool and kindergarten materials. TATRAS has been a thorough program for us, so much so that I gave the phonics chart a permanent place on our schoolroom wall.

I refer to the chart often in the elementary years because my budding spellers need reminders of what consonant blends make which sounds, etc. And it seems as if I'm teaching someone to read around here every other year or so :) In fact, although I don't love teaching reading, I am looking forward to helping my daughters and daughters-in-law with their little ones as they begin to learn to read.

TATRAS begins with a little booklet called The Penny Primer, in which the first eight letters are learned and 43 words are decoded. It's exciting to get through that first booklet and be able to tell the child that they are reading!

When the entire TATRAS program has been completed, the child is a strong reader, has learned all the necessary phonograms to decode and read anything in the English language, and has had ample writing practice as well. I personally don't stress the writing aspect of TATRAS, and if I have a child who is particularly aprehensive about writing I ignore it altogether.

Check out Cheryl's final Marvelous Monday post here, and don't forget to visit her blog after this series. She is a wise woman and I count myself very blessed to have her in my life.

Educating at Home, Resources, ReviewsKendraJune 22, 2009 Comments

Frugality, the Grocery Bill, and the Large Family, Part Four

Recently we talked about grocery bills and couponing and other sites that help me be a better manager of our money. There are places all over the web where the topics of frugality and simple living are thoroughly covered, and they do a much better job than I have. Still, there are a few more goodies I wanted to share with you before closing out this little series. First of all, if you are a mom with a little people underfoot, do not beat yourself up if you cannot coupon. Ask the Lord to show you other ways to trim your grocery budget and He will faithfully provide you with the wisdom you need. We have a liquidation grocery store in the next town over and if I am nearby I like to pop in for screaming deals on dented cans and almost-expired items. I also like bakery stores where I can grab loaves of bread and toss them in the freezer in case I just can't get to baking a loaf. Doing those two things could trim your grocery budget enough that you would probably do just fine not couponing in this season of your life. Secondly, consider where you live. Several of you mentioned the high price of everything in New Zealand. The same goes for Hawaii. The last time I was there I almost fell over when I saw zucchini in the grocery store for over $7 a pound! The pineapples and papayas, however, were cheap :) The internet is an amazing place. I pay about $6 per package of diapers on Amazon's Subscribe and Save program, and that's better than some of the coupon deals I can get locally. Plus, Amazon delivers them for free. Learn from other frugal geniuses. One such smarty pants is my friend Caroline, who recently redecorated their new home on a shoestring. It's beautiful! The classic handbook of frugality, however, is Amy Dacyczyn's series called The Tightwad Gazette. It will get you looking at your spending habits in a whole new light (a better light, at that!) Some of what she includes could be considered extreme frugality, but one never knows when extreme frugality might become the difference between surviving and going completely under. Lastly, if you don't have a good budgeting system, I can't recommend Pear Budget highly enough. For $3 per month, Pear Budget is a steal. Easy to use, completely customizable, utterly helpful.

Home Organization, ResourcesKendraJune 20, 2009 Comments

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