A few things that are "working" right now

I feel like I'm constantly "tweaking" things around here- coming up with new and better ways to have our house (and school time) run more smoothly.

The first of which- is our Token system- I can't claim credit for the idea- token economies are definately not a new thing- a while back we went to a foster care training class (we had to have 10 hours of training each year to renew our licence) And the speaker talked all about giving allowance and having the kids buy everything they need- clothes, shoes, shampoo etc. Well- at the time we had Bug who was 3, and 2 foster kids who were 3 and 1 1/2. We walked away saying "That doesn't help us!" But then we got thinking- and said we could do something similiar and have them earn things that they want. And thus the token system was born. Our tokens are Poker chips I found at the dollar store- they work great. The kids token banks sit on the kitchen coutertop where I can find them- I can't give tokens if I can't find your bank. Here's Roo's (the yogurt cup) Doodle's (the blue bowl) and Bug's (a Harry Potter cauldron from a friend's b-day party) I think at one time they were all bowls like Doodle's- but ?? who knows what happened to the other 2.

How do the kids earn tokens? Doing a good job with their chores, getting them done before the song is over, going above and beyond what's asked, doing jobs without being asked, getting along with their brothers, obeying quickly, basically my point is to "catch them being good" This reminds ME to watch for the good. Maybe you aren't like me, but I tend to get caught up too much in what the kids are doing wrong- but the token system helps remind me to look for the best.

What do they use the tokens for? I have a "store" with various things they can buy-Dollar store toys (usually 20 tokens equals a $1- so most dollar store toys are 20 tokens) treats or snacks, candy (10 tokens for a candy bar), fruit snacks (5 tokens) TV time- 10 tokens for 1PBS show, Wii or Computer time-5 tokens for 30 minutes. Toys that mom confiscates cost 1 token a piece- (if they don't pick them up after being asked- or leave them laying around downstairs I take them!) Roo's favorite "Jelly Ranchers" (known to the rest of us as Jolly Ranchers) cost 1 token each. A new addition to our store- chocolate milk for dinner costs 3 tokens (Doodle loves this- as he doesn't really like milk) Our token system is working great. We've used it off and on since Bug was little. It worked WONDERS for the foster children we had coming in and out of our home, and a few small bonuses- Math skills- the kids are always counting their tokens, figuring out how many more they need. and the best bonus- I had kids asking what jobs they could do today! Dishes are done- thanks to Bug, and the dining room floor is swept and mopped thanks to Doodle. The other day the kids had a friend over playing- and they were washing windows to earn tokens for Candy!

The 2nd thing that's working around here are Sticks for School- LOOK!! Another use for craft sticks! -- again it wasn't my idea. On the FIAR Message board that I sometimes go to there was a big buzz about Workboxes and while I was tempted to get on the wagon- but decided I didn't need the extra expense of buying all the plastic boxes nor do I have the space to put them all. But someone mentioned on a thread over there about using Sticks with fun activities written on them for their kids to do after they finished their box or something. So I stole the idea and "tweaked" it. Written on the sticks are the things Doodle did for school today. The Green stripe means it has to be done each day. Math, Handwriting, Phonics and our unit study. The purple line means you might need mom's help. The orange line means it's independent work.

At the beginning of our "school time" Doodle draws sticks. There are the 6 that have to be done- and plenty of other fun things that he can pick from- so he has 8-10 sticks to do. Then he arranges them in the order he wants to do them. (I don't really care what order they get done, as long as they get done- and he works on a few independent things together so I can work with Roo for a few minutes) After we've finished the work on that stick- it goes back in the bag for tomorrow. He can see his pile of things to do getting smaller and smaller.

Just a few things that are working around here- What things work at your place to help your days run more smoothly?