When both my kids were in public school, there was always a treasure box in the classroom. The idea was, be good all week long and you can go to the treasure box. Most of the time the treasure box was filled with silly things like Happy Meal toys...teachers are on a strict budget after all. I never minded it. I do not see what is wrong with rewarding good behavior. I never understood why many parents are against it. When we work as adults, we get rewards (paychecks, bonuses, raises, promotions).
When I began homeschooling my son last year, it never really occurred to me to do any kind of treasure box thing. I mean, he's a good kid. We had to deal with some attitude some times last year (I think he thought homeschool meant play time), but we had it pretty much nipped in the bud.
BUT, I was anticipating that after a summer off, I could see the drooping of shoulders, the fine tuning of the whining instruments, the minds working at excuses and I started dreading the beginning of the new year.
So.....don't judge....but I got to thinking about that treasure box idea. I started thinking about how that might give that extra bit of motivation to get work done, to do it to the best of their ability, and to do it with good attitudes. I pitched the idea to Matt who instantly saw dollar signs. Look, Happy Meal toys will not work for my kids nor will trips to the Dollar Tree. I wasn't pitching anything TOO crazy. For Daniel, Lego minifigure packs would be great...and at $3/week, not a bank breaking cost. For Sierra, makeup and nail items...nothing crazy, but a makeup brush here, a thing of nail polish there. He conceded.
Sierra thought, initially, that it seemed babyish...but reason took over and she thought "free makeup?!!!" Daniel was, of course, on board. So we went shopping, getting a few minifigure packs and some makeup items to put in "the treasure box".
Today marks the end of the 3rd week this has been in practice. No whining. GREAT behavior. With the whining being gone (and let's face it, the effort they would have to put into whining being gone), there is more time to get things done and get them done right. The focus is there. The habits are being made. The goals are being kept (even when Sierra was sick, she worked hard to make up for what she lost with a day in bed). And there is the joy at finishing their week of hard work and getting this little trinket.
So, I know a lot of people will say I am not doing my kids any favors. Well, I disagree. It's not like my kids are bad and need to be bribed into being good. It is more of a reward for working hard and doing it with little to no complaint.
When I began homeschooling my son last year, it never really occurred to me to do any kind of treasure box thing. I mean, he's a good kid. We had to deal with some attitude some times last year (I think he thought homeschool meant play time), but we had it pretty much nipped in the bud.
BUT, I was anticipating that after a summer off, I could see the drooping of shoulders, the fine tuning of the whining instruments, the minds working at excuses and I started dreading the beginning of the new year.
So.....don't judge....but I got to thinking about that treasure box idea. I started thinking about how that might give that extra bit of motivation to get work done, to do it to the best of their ability, and to do it with good attitudes. I pitched the idea to Matt who instantly saw dollar signs. Look, Happy Meal toys will not work for my kids nor will trips to the Dollar Tree. I wasn't pitching anything TOO crazy. For Daniel, Lego minifigure packs would be great...and at $3/week, not a bank breaking cost. For Sierra, makeup and nail items...nothing crazy, but a makeup brush here, a thing of nail polish there. He conceded.
Sierra thought, initially, that it seemed babyish...but reason took over and she thought "free makeup?!!!" Daniel was, of course, on board. So we went shopping, getting a few minifigure packs and some makeup items to put in "the treasure box".
Today marks the end of the 3rd week this has been in practice. No whining. GREAT behavior. With the whining being gone (and let's face it, the effort they would have to put into whining being gone), there is more time to get things done and get them done right. The focus is there. The habits are being made. The goals are being kept (even when Sierra was sick, she worked hard to make up for what she lost with a day in bed). And there is the joy at finishing their week of hard work and getting this little trinket.
So, I know a lot of people will say I am not doing my kids any favors. Well, I disagree. It's not like my kids are bad and need to be bribed into being good. It is more of a reward for working hard and doing it with little to no complaint.
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