Basket o' Crap

Do you have one of these at your house?

..for the freezer goodies or other 'treats'...

It works wonders... miracles... turns your kids into little worker bees.  I haven't perused my enormous google reader blogroll for 4 months...until now.  Too many amazing ideas were awaiting me.  Summer crazy solved.  We've always had incentivizing chore & behavior charts ....some more complicated than others.  But the simplicity and loveliness of this idea captured all the summer bribery we needed.  The kids so affectionately named it our basket o' crap... cause that's precisely what it is.  Their own personal store full of junk, crap... the kind I usually don't buy but the kind that makes them clean toilets, wash windows, dust blinds, stairwells, scrub walls, pull weeds, as well as do all their normal everyday stuff like say prayers, make beds, clean rooms... without even whining.  

Miracle worker bees.  

Oh, and it alleviates the kids asking all. day. long. if they can have chips, juice, crackers, gum, etc. etc.  because they know they can't unless they've earned enough points to visit out little store aka basket o' crap and cash them in.  They earn points by completing their chores, including my fave, 'mom's choice,' and being caught doing kind things, treating each other with respect, responding the FIRST time they're called, etc.  They also earn points doing their workbooks and reading, piano & violin practice, you name it--- it can have points!  Now, this is after a day of redeeming... and yes, they can lose points too... when attitudes and mutual respect is lacking.

Each 'room' of kids (x3) share a jar.  Each child has a different color they shaded in at one end of their sticks.  The chore is written on the stick, and they start the day off with the color facing down.  When they complete the chore, they turn the stick, color-up.  Easy peasy... visual representation of progress, and the best part is that they can do it themselves so momma doesn't have to micro-manage.  Chores are expected, so they don't get points for each chore... but they do get one point if ALL their chores are completed.  I wanted this basket o' crap to be attached to the 'extras' and especially an incentive to have less chaos and more order around the house (attitudes included).

   Go make yours today!