Friday, February 5, 2010

The star system

I've had to come up with some sort of a system for the kids. I wanted them to have a way to stay motivated and to be able to see how they can control some of their day. The star system is a reward based system I came up with that is loosely based on a reading system that my parents had for us when I was a young student.

Each child while working on a different area of behavior or discipline will begin every morning with five stars. If he or she still has at least five "today" stars at day's end, he/she receives a bonus star.
For now, the littlest one who is almost three, is working on her patience and tears (she wears her heart on her sleeve and collapses quickly into tears for nearly everything). So if she wakes up and calls for mama instead of crying, she earns a star. If she waits patiently and quietly in case Mama cannot come right away she earns another star. She must consistently use her manners throughout the day and she must complete her chores. She is so proud to be earning stars along with her older brother and sister. I've really seen a change in her behavior.

Our almost five year old is in preschool and not really anxious to sit still and learn. She would much rather be dancing and singing and playing with her dolls.
Our son is eight and needs to work on respect, staying at his desk, and moving from task to task without wasting time. For each of them the star program is similar. Stars will be earned when:
morning chores are completed before breakfast
they are at the desk on time
a task is completed timely
Stars will be lost for tardiness, getting up from your desk, a disrespectful attitude, disobedience and the like.

Stars can be banked from one day to the next, one week to the next. They can be spent on things like extra cuddle time at bedtime, or approved television, movies, computer or wii games on the weekends. Extra stars can be earned for reading above and beyond school assignments; one star for every 15 minutes of reading.
Star values: four stars equal 15 minutes of a video or computer game; thirty two stars equal a two hour movie.

This system has worked beautifully. The children are learning that their actions directly affect what they can do. They see that good habits and disciplines are rewarded!

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