I don't know about you, but I am getting a bit anxious for the upcoming summer break. Kids are home, days are long, and the television and personal devices are getting ready for their big season of usage. When I am "easygoing" during the summer, the kids watch and play on too many screens, eat too much junk food, and then inevitably they get cranky and fight. It's a freakin' broken record.
We have done summer fun calendars where each day we choose something fun to do together as a family after their chores are done. It works for the first few days, even a couple of weeks. But then... everyone gets tired and there's a campout or a short trip and we get off track.
I have finally decided to take a page out of my mom's old playbook. I kinda swore I would never do it, but here I am, finally ready to do THE POINT SYSTEM. Even writing it makes me cringe a bit. Ha! But, I am determined to make it work for our family, because it was a great way to learn how to budget time, responsibility and "earn" your allowance.
What is THE POINT SYSTEM? (Sorry, but it is so legendary in our family that it feels imperative to be in all caps.) Simply, chores and work are given values (points) and you record your points when you've completed the assigned chores. OK, that didn't read so simply, so let me show you this summer's POINT SYSTEM chart for my 13yo daughter:
I then added up the amount of points that are the WEEKLY GOAL (not 100%, every job every day). For example, I don't expect my daughter to do a math sheet seven days a week during the summer, but the goal is for five days a week. Brushing her teeth, however, the goal is that she does it twice every day (shocker!). If she meets or exceeds the goal number, she gets the full amount (which we have decided is $20). And then you can see how it breaks down after that.
Letting them "earn" their money will help in so many ways, I hope. No longer will I feel guilty when they go to the Shiver Shack to get a snow cone with some friends and I don't have a few spare dollars. If they want to go, they can use the money they earn(ed). Plus, they will have earned enough money to buy me a great birthday gift at the end of the summer. BooYAH!
I'll let you know how it goes this summer. I'm super hopeful. And I've done a lot of the work already making the POINT SYSTEM charts for each kid (my 5yo's list is a bit easier and less $ earning potential).
Wanna try it in your home? I've made a blank template that you can print out and fill out for your kid(s). If you do, let me know how it goes. Let's POINT SYSTEM all over this summer.
Right click and save the photo to print! TaDah!
It's like I always say, "Stick with what your Momma taught ya!" Sorry I doubted you, Mom.
Best of luck this summer, parents! WE CAN DO THIS!
anna