Setting the Tone for Summer

Day one of summer is in the books. I have been planning our summer for months now. When you have kids these days you know that if you want to get into the camps that you want and get the dates that you want, you gotta start early. I started in January and put together a spread sheet. The spread sheet has vacations, special events, camps, camping, visitors, birthdays, swim lessons etc.

I have also been working on a chore sheet. I have a white board with chores on it and point values for said chores. The chores include; Unload Dishwasher, Load Dishwasher, Clean Your Room – No Complaints, Laundry – Wash / Dry, Laundry – Separate and Fold, Empty Small Trash Cans, Vacuum, Mop, Play Ball with and feed Iva, and Meal Prep and Planning. Most of the chores have a value of 1 point. The kids are required to produce 2 points per day.

And lastly, I have Summer Rules and Information posted. It is below. Mind you this is a work in progress and I am sure it will morph over the summer.

DAILY ROUTINE*
• We will have 1 hour of quiet time daily. This will even be when we travel.
• We will discuss our day each morning so everyone knows the plan. We will also determine when quiet time is AND what chores each person chooses for the day.

RULES*
• Everyone is expected to earn AT LEAST 2 points for doing chores DAILY.
• There will be no complaining while doing chores.
• Always listen to mom and/or dad.
• Co-operate with siblings.
• We will pick up all toys after using them in public areas.

REWARDS*
• 10 Points - computer or Video Game for a ½ hour uninterrupted
• 20 Points - Coffee time with mom or dad
• 30 Points - Trip to the dollar store and Mom will provide $2 dollars
• 50 Points - Lunch with mom or dad alone
• 50 Points - $20
• 120 Points - Chuck E. Cheese’s trip and you can bring a friend

DEDUCTIONS* - You will be given ONE warning before points are deducted.
• Not cooperating with parents
• Not cooperating with siblings
• For getting out of bed at night
• For not following the RULES (see above)

SUMMER ALLOWANCE
Sophia - $7.00
Coulter - $6.00
Kees - $4.00
Summer allowance will be used for all treats at the pool, the ice cream truck, souvenirs, toys, special items at the store, going to the dollar store, vacation treats, lemonade stands, etc.
Mom will keep all cash until it is requested and / or needed.

*- All daily routines, rules, rewards and deductions can be changed, amended or deleted by mom and dad. If they are changed we will have a meeting so that everyone knows how our system will be working.

And that is the end of that....for now.

The best part of the morning was that I didn't get out of bed until 8:30. That was awesome! I hate getting up early, I always have. When I got down stairs the kids were all watching TV. Ahhh, this is not the weekend. They were treating it like a weekend morning. Kees caught me out of the corner of his eye and started yelling, "Mom, can I have some hot chocolate?" I said, "NO!" Man if I start handing out hot chocolate today they'll want it every morning. No way Jose.... It is certainly a weekend thing.

Next I ask a dumb question, "What do you want for breakfast?" The answers I got were, pancakes, crepes, eggs, french toast and sausage. I say, "Nope, this is not a restaurant. I am making scrambled eggs and french toast. Sophia says, "But I want crepes." I repeat the choices and finally get answers from everyone that fit into the criteria that I have set for this morning. Great.

After breakfast I sit the kids down on the couch to go over the Summer Rules and Information. We talked about how there is only one of me and 4 people that will be home all summer, 5 of us who live here and 6 of us that need care. (We had to include Iva.) We came up with the rewards together and all realized that we would probably come up with more or different prizes as the summer went on. We decide that we can make changes later but we'll need to do it all together. Great. In the meantime we'll post what we've agreed upon so far.

Next we discuss the summer calendar. I show the kids what I have and they think that is great. When I went to the Bahamas in April I posted a calendar for the week that was broken down by the half hour. It was intended for Bob and my friends that were helping out. What I found out is that the kids really counted on it. It gave them a real sense of security to know what was going on. They could see who was picking them up from where, when and anticipate it. No surprises. I want our whole summer to be like that....no surprises. OK...it's a goal.

The kids were all on board with the program and picked out some chores. The boys did laundry. Honestly, they did 3 loads of laundry. They needed a small bench to reach inside the washer and a reminder about how the dryer worked (Kees has the washer down) but other than that they did it. Sophia unloaded and then loaded the dishwasher. That was huge! The best part of it all is they did it with a positive attitude. Their chores took little time but are huge in the big scheme of things.

My goal is to raise independent, responsible kids. I hope that is the direction that I am taking them. I know that today went as well as I could have expected. I expect that we'll have challenges and on some days the rules will be bent. But if we can have more cooperative and productive days than not, I will be happy with the result. I am sure there will be lots more on this in the days to come.