Earning Pennies

The kids are now earning pennies for everything they put away, such as toys, shoes, coats, bowls, plates, cups, etc. We started them out earning a point for each thing put away and then whoever earned the most points would get a one on one time with me or Matt. Zoe and Emily worked together to earn the most points, so they could go out together. I treated them to dinner at Friendly's last night after Activity Days to reward them for the work that they did. The point system was motivating Zoe and Emily, but it wasn't motivating the younger kids. Eleanor would start out excited, but then she would see Zoe and Emily earning way more points than her, so then she would get discouraged and just give up trying to earn points. We needed a way for each child to have something to work toward, so they would stay motivated even if they were earning less points than older siblings. So now each point is worth a penny and they can cash in the points at any time. They can earn a $1 and go to the dollar spot or the Dollar Tree or they can go to a $1 movie. They can earn as many pennies as they want. Zoe and Emily would like to earn enough pennies to go to Great Skates. When they cash in their pennies, they are back to zero and start over. Eleanor was more than willing to help clean up today to earn pennies, which is not the response I would have received if she just had to clean up. :-)