New School Year, New Home Organization (Part 2)

It seems that every new school year, I get the desire to organize things for our home a little different.  It's my time to reevaluate what we've been using, see what is working and what is not, and get a fresh start!  I guess this could be called Part 2 to my post about these type of things last year.  I'll try to make this post more concise, but we'll see.  Not promising anything.

First, these are the things that HAVE CHANGED from Part 1's Organization post.

1.  Token Reward System CHANGED TO Ticket Reward System:
Although we have used the tokens and token tubes for years with success, honestly we don't have as much of a need for the visual motivator for our kids to see the tokens getting higher in their tubes like we did at first.  It was taking a lot of extra time to count out the tokens each week and to give extra and take away extra during the day.  Perhaps if we hadn't based our system on using so many?  But when we didn't have the time to actually give/take away, we just wrote on their boards how many were owed/subtracted and then did it at the end of the week.  This did work better than going right away to count out the tokens.  But doing the method of actually giving the tokens out may work better if your children are younger or still need the motivation in the visual reminder of the tokens.

So basically we've changed to the same IDEA of tokens, but using printed out tickets to give instead.  I printed out the tickets found free here on card stock and cut them out.  I also printed Best Bee-havior cards from this same site.  I decided to tell them that tickets are worth a lot more than tokens, and that they wouldn't earn as many tickets each day as they did tokens.  This makes it easier for me to count out 3 tickets per day - 1 for good morning behavior, 1 for good after school/homework behavior, 1 for evening/bedtime behavior.  I put little red dots on one son's tickets and little blue dots on another son's tickets, so they don't get mixed up.  (And because I didn't have enough ink in my printer to print them in color.  :-)  I put the tickets in an envelope with their name on it at the end of each day.

Then the tickets are counted at the end of each week and they can pick a reward from the reward chart based on the number of tickets they have.  We are still using the same rewards as before with the token system, except I hand wrote in a few more that our boys came up with to add to the chart.  Since the reward chart is already laminated, I can add/remove rewards easily by writing them in with a dry erase marker, or even a permanent one if I don't want it to get smeared.  (You can remove permanent marker off easily with nail polish remover and a cotton ball when you need to change it.)

Download a free copy of the Rewards for the Ticket System here. 

When we count the tickets up at the end of each week, we are using these Reward Cards to write the number of tickets they've earned for that week, or the reward they've picked out. Then we take up the tickets and reuse them for the next week.  That way we don't have a ton to print out or a ton to count up, even if they are saving up for a bigger reward.

 The reward cards are also found at this link.  http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/01/chore-chart-cards.html  This link has a different chore system to use these tickets, and reward cards for, which is all great information too.  We just already have a chore system we are using that works for us, but I was able to use the free printables from the free downloads offered at Confessions of a Homeschooler - also lots of other great ideas there too, so check it out!

2.  Consequences of taking tokens away CHANGED TO Moving Clip on Consequence Chart
Basically, we were finding that it started to not matter to our kids if we took tokens away for bad behavior, or breaking a family rule.  They had no immediate consequence.  They still could earn their reward, but it just took them longer.  We wanted to find something that hit them more, right then at the time of the misbehavior.  Our son who was in 1st Grade last year, really took well to the behavior system his teacher used in class of moving their clip each day to the different levels of consequence.  So, we made a similar system for home.  Here is our new consequence chart we use.  I just wrote it on a piece of card stock with markers for now.  (Maybe some day I'll have a neat graphics one . . . but you know, life is busy! . . . )

In this chart, after the warning, then they move to a consequence that basically removes them from an activity they like.  Sitting 10 minutes out from time with friends or the family hits them hard.  Losing 20 min of their Electronic Game Cards hits them.  And going to bed 30 min early REALLY hits them and they don't like it at all!  But the good thing with this system is that they feel the immediate pain of the consequence from their misbehavior, but every day they start over new.  They start back at the top of the chart again.  We can say at the end of the day that maybe they had a bad day and made some bad choices, but tomorrow is a new day to start fresh!  So far, we've been using this for maybe about 4-5 months and it's worked really well for us and for them.  We know and they know exactly what the consequence is, and we move on after it.  They both have only gotten to the end of the chart once, maybe twice.  They rarely go past the Sit 10 min on your bed, maybe only once a week.  Usually the Warning works.  So, the moving the clip is what we use for bad behavior consequences and the tickets are for rewards and good behavior only.  We tie them together a little bit, in that at the end of the day if they have not moved past Warning, then they receive 5 extra tickets.

3.  Choosing a Chore Stick CHANGED TO Following a Written Chore Chart and Earning Commission
We have gotten so busy, and the boys really know how to do all the chores now, that it's just easier for us to write down what they need to do each week, expect them to do it, check it off, and if they do, they get paid their commission for it.  Trying to move them to learning that you don't get paid unless you do the work, it's as simple as that!  Probably not as fun as the other way, but hey work is work, right?   I am using a chore chart magnet that I ordered a while ago from www.fisher-kids.com  I'm not sure that they still sell this exact one, but they may have a newer version now.  I like it because I can write on it with dry erase marker and change for whatever schedule we have going on for the week accordingly.  I sometimes will write on it with permanent marker so that the boys don't smear it off when they are checking off what they did.  (Again you can easily wipe off the permanent marker with nail polish remover on a cotton ball.)

4.  Family Rules CHANGED TO REVISED FAMILY RULES
We just revised our previous Family Rules to state everything specifically.  Added in some specific week day/school day rules that are different than the weekends.  Just trying to put everything in writing so there is no question about what is and what isn't allowed, especially since we have other family members' help with watching kids during the week days.

Download a free copy of our Family Rules and Consequences here.

5.  And a new ADDITION of Kid's Week At A Glance Calendar
I ordered these cute personalized calendar cards here at http://shop.fisher-kids.com/Fisherkids-Week-at-a-Glance-Calendar-032107.htm

Again they are laminated, so you can write on them and change them week to week.  It just gives our kids a glimpse of what's going on in their weeks easily.  Even Alaina has one now!  (Although she just likes carrying hers around with her right now. :-)

So, here is a picture of our new chore chart/behavior chart/reward chart boards with all of the new things for the new school year in place!  One week of school down, and so far, so good!  I'm sure I'll have some changes through the year, and maybe a Part 3 Post for next year, but for now this is working!

Just in case you missed the Organization post from last year, here are some things that have NOT CHANGED since last year, you can read a summary below or more detail in Part 1's Organization post.  We are still using these things below:

1.  Give, Save, Spend Bags to divide money into.  (But a small change is where we keep the bags . . . right now we no longer keep them hanging from their boards with their name.  We had an issue earlier in the year with one child stealing from another because they were out in the open and it was a temptation that one gave into.  Of course an issue we had to address.  But also a learning experience not to keep their money out in the open in real life, where someone could steal it.  Now, they are kept in a place where each do not know where the other keeps it - but Mom and Dad do.)

2.  Using Checkbook Registers for the Kids when we don't have exact cash available to give them.
Kid's Checkbook Register:
Download your own kid's checkbook register here and read more about where I got the idea from: http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/06/kids-check-book-registers.html

3.  Electronic Game Cards

4.  Scripture Around the House

5.  Routine Checklists

I hope this Part 2 has helped someone else out too.  Thanks for reading my not so concise post once again! :-)

Organization - Behavior Charts, Rewards, Chores, Schedules, Routine Checklists (Part 1)

Organization, organization, organization!  That seems to be my motto this weekend . . . especially with the start of school coming on Monday, I feel overwhelmed.  When I feel overwhelmed, I feel an alarming urgent need to organize, so I am getting everything updated for the new school year.  Thought I would share how we have been doing things in our home, and maybe it would help someone else out.  I am always struggling for consistency, and these things help our family out a lot to stick to it.  It definitely has gotten a little easier since both of our boys (age 8 and almost 6) can now read well.  We still will have to go back to some of our preschool charts for our daughter (now 18 months) when she gets old enough, but for now this is what we use for our big kids.

And if any of you have come to this post by way of searching for SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER and SENSORY DIET EXAMPLES, I do have some Routine Checklists that we use to help our SPD child, as well as our non-SPD child to take on some of the responsibility themselves of incorporating the Sensory Diet "excercises" into our daily routine.  (We find our non-SPD child enjoys these just as much!)  You can see examples of these types of exercises we use toward the VERY END of this post.  It is a long post, and if you don't want to read all the other stuff here, you can scroll to the very end of this post and then up just a little to see the Routine Checklists section.  Again, this is just an example of how we use it in our family.  We are not experts, just parents learning too!  Please consult a licensed professional to know what will help your SPD child specifically.  You can also read more about our SPD Parenting journey by clicking on the Sensory Processing Disorder posts that are in the labels on the right side bar.

So here is A LOT OF ORGANIZATION IDEAS below!  Hope this helps someone in their family too!

Token Reward System:  At the beginning of each week, our boys start out with 50 tokens in a plastic ziplock bag labeled with their name on it.

We tell them that these tokens are for the things they already know by this point that they are responsible for doing . . . such as getting dressed in the morning on their own, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, carrying their meal plates to the counter, throwing away their snack trash, picking up their toys after they are done using them, brushing their teeth morning and night, etc.  These are a part of their normal responsibilities and what we expect them to do in our family.  If they have trouble doing any of these basic things, such as complaining or whining about picking up their toys for example, then they lose tokens from their bag.  We as the parent determine how many tokens they lose for each offense.  Hitting, being disrespectful, etc. or breaking any of our Family Rules also constitute the loss of tokens.

Family Rules:
You can download a copy of our family rules here if interested: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o5n0jyx9yuipq1p/Our%20Family%20Rules.doc

On the other hand, extra good behavior, going above and beyond to help a sibling out or help Mom or Dad out earn them extra tokens.  Also, extra chores that take longer to do, like cleaning our front and back glass doors, dusting, vacuuming, etc. earn them extra tokens, again the number determined by the parent based on how good of a job they did and their attitude during doing it.  Because of our busy schedules during the school year - this year we will participate in Upward Soccer, Gymnastics Class, and Awana in addition to regular school and homework duties - we don't always have time every day for the "extra" chores.  But when we have a night at home, or on the weekends, or any other time we need the kids to do a chore, or they want to earn extra tokens for doing chores, they can pick a popsicle  stick out of the "Chores" basket.

The Chores basket has popsicle sticks that have our extra chores written on them.  Sometimes if we don't necessarily need a particular chore done, then the boys can randomly pick a popsicle stick chore out of the basket to complete.  When they are finished doing the chore, they put the popsicle stick in their "Done" basket.  This way at the end of the week, usually each extra chore has gotten done, and we know who gets the credit for the chore by which chore popsicle stick is in their basket.  We then reward the tokens accordingly.  We also use the tokens to motivate for behavior out in public.  If we are going to dinner out at a restaurant, we may say before going in, "If you have extra good, polite behavior during dinner in the restaurant, you can earn 10 extra tokens."  We like the token system for our house, because we can motivate them a little extra to do the things we expect them to do, but they may need the encouragement of a potential reward that they are working for.  That brings me to rewards.  Their tokens add up to rewards on our reward board.  The boys helped us come up with these rewards, and they are things they enjoy doing.  Many are things we would normally do anyway, but helping them to know that they earned it from good behavior and chores completed, helps teach them they can get special things if they work hard. I ordered our token tubes and tokens here:  (scroll to the bottom of the page):   http://responsible-household.chores-help-kids.com/chore-add-ons.html

When they get to a particular line in the token tube, the rewards listed at that line are the ones they can choose from.  We then write the reward on a little magnetic list pad, so we remember what reward they earned.


You can download a copy of the Rewards we use here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kjvblqd2tagrmmh/Rewards%20for%20chores.doc

We determine when they are allowed to cash in their reward.  For instance, a sleepover in the living room is only cashed in on Friday nights, if we have nothing else planned.  When they use their reward, we mark it off the list so we can keep up with which rewards they've cashed in and used.

Money Rewards:  Now that our boys are old enough to care about and understand money, we have also been rewarding them with actual money.  We use the same token tube reward lines . . . each line they get to earns them $2.00.  This essentially makes it so they earn about $12/month.  When they get to the top of the chart, if they want to go to the store to pick out something special, then they can with their own money.  Or if they are saving for something special, then they may keep their money earned and save until they have enough for what they want to buy.  This helps a lot to limit the trips to the store to buy toys (which they usually spend their money on at this point) to just once a month or less.  Of course we go to the store more with them, but if they ask to get a toy, we say that they haven't earned enough of their own money yet to get something extra and they need to wait.  This is helping them to learn to save for something special, and they adjusted better to waiting than I thought they would.  (We've been doing that for several years now).  I made three different money bags out of pencil pouches I found at the dollar bins at Target that I wrote "Save," "Spend," "Give," on them.

So, we encourage them to divide out their money into these three categories as they earn it.  Also, a new thing we have just started to try is to record their money on a "kid checkbook register."  I found this idea shared online and liked it a lot.

We often don't have the exact cash available to give the boys when they earn it, so this way we can write it down in their checkbook register, and then when they do decide to spend it they can make a withdrawal from their bank accounts (Mom and Dad are their bank) and we write that inside their checkbook register.  Hopefully the more we work with this will teach them about keeping and balancing their own checkbook register.

Kid's Checkbook Register:
Download your own kid's checkbook register here and read more about where I got the idea from:  http://www.theidearoom.net/2009/06/kids-check-book-registers.html

Electronic Games:  With the start of school, we won't be having as much time for Wii games, DSI games, computer games, Ipad games, etc.  So, in an effort to limit the time that they spend on these electronic games, last Spring I made these Electronic Game Cards, just out of cut up index cards.

Each card can be cashed in for 10 minutes of playing an electronic game.  They get however many we determine to put in their plastic bag at the beginning of each week, and they have to ask to use them or cash them in.  If we say that they can, then they have to get their card out of the bag and give to a parent.  When all the cards are gone, then they've had their allotment of electronic games for the week, and can't play them again until their bag is refilled the next week.  This has helped to put some time management responsibility on themselves, as they have to choose when they want to use their remaining cards that they have in their bags.  This also eliminates us from having to constantly say "No" when they ask over and over to play one.  If they've already used up their cards, then they automatically know that they can't play anymore.

Scripture Around the House:  Another thing I try to keep up with is writing scripture verses around the house to keep it fresh on the boys' minds and in front of them.  I found these stick up dry erase sheets at Target about a year and a half ago and I write different verses on them that our family is concentrating on and ones that we want them to learn.

I have one stuck up in their stairwell that leads up to their bedroom, one in the kitchen above the trash can under the calendar, and one in the hallway.  Since they are dry erase, they are easy to wipe off and write a new one when we are ready to concentrate on learning a new one.  I am hoping that by having these Scriptures up, it will instill in them that we are a family who strives to live by God's Word in all that we do, in our everyday life.

Routine Checklists:  Another thing we use a lot of in our house is checklists for routines.  We put these in clear sheet protectors and they can mark off that they did them with dry erase markers each day.  For our boys, multiple step directions seem to be hard to follow, so we make them responsible for looking at their checklist and checking off that they did what they were responsible for doing.  These are a few that we use at our house.  We have morning exercises and after school exercises that particularly help our boys, with helping them get awake in the mornings before school, and to have them concentrate on something other than being anxious for going to school before they leave.  It also gives them a short exercise break after school before they have to start on homework.  And then sometimes we use the things before dinner to get them calmed down after playing outside and ready for dinner time.

We also use one for after school things we expect them to do.  I found I was having to say over and over and over again, "Did you already wash your hands?"  etc. etc.  So now I just say, go do your after school checklist, and they can refer to that if they forget what comes next.

You can download a copy of these two checklists we use here:
Morning -  https://www.dropbox.com/s/mnl459r2a59l6ni/In%20the%20morning%20before%20school%20Checklist.docx
After School -  https://www.dropbox.com/s/qw44ko6ggx5kotf/After%20School%20Checklist.doc

Summer Schedule:
And on another note, we also follow a summer schedule during our summers, so I am attaching this schedule also, which may be utilized by any stay at home moms with children younger than school age if you want some sort of schedule to follow in your day.  There are three tabs - a blank one that you could create your own, a page 1 and a page 2 tab.
You can download a copy here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1jzeqp76ugfgkrn/summer%20schedule.xls

I hope that some of these ideas may help you and your families as you get ready for the busy back to school schedule in your home!

Since I originally wrote this post in August 2012, I've written a Part 2 post with some new Organization Ideas we are implementing now, a year later in August 2013.  Click here to read Part 2 if interested. 

New Chore Charts

I decided to purchase some new chore charts for the boys.  I think I posted on here previously about the one I made for them a while back.  Well, it seemed we were outgrowing the "star" method, so we've moved up to the "token" method.  Plus this one has cards with pictures on it for each time of the day, Morning, Mid-day, After School, and Evening . . . and an Extra Category for anything you want, like weekly chores, or we use it for good behavior, manners, and no whining (which my boys still continue to do a lot, much to our disliking.)  It also puts the ball in their court to keep up with it (with some help still from us), but each time they do one of their chores, they take the chore card off the hook, and put it in the "I Did It" box.  Then at the end of the day, we go over the cards in their box and award a token for each chore card that they completed.  The tokens add up to different rewards they can earn.  We came up with a list of rewards that the boys contributed to of things they would like to do.  We already had some from the other system that they enjoyed, like "Movie Theater and Popcorn in our Living Room," but we've come up with a ton more.  It's been fun to come up with non-money rewards that they work just as hard for getting!  I like that they are getting old enough now that they can be involved in the system too.  (I know, I am still kind of a teacher nerd and like these type of things, but things really do run smoother in our house when we're following a chore/reward system like this!)  Even Caleb, 3 1/2 can do this, because the cards have pictures on it, so it's perfect for preschoolers.  To tell you how much I was looking forward to these coming in the mail and getting them set up, on the same day these came, I also received the two new blue tooth headsets I had ordered for Scott and I.  (Our old ones were not working anymore).  Well, when I got home and saw both packages had arrived, I opened the chore charts before the blue tooths and got the whole system and cards made before even looking at my blue tooth.  And I love technology!  Ha ha!

Reward Charts

Here are the new Reward Charts I made for Ethan and Caleb. Every once and a while I try out new things for motivation. We are trying to stay consistent with this one, as it seems to be helping behavior in the boys lately, and they are working for their stars. Anytime they do one of their chores from the "To Do" section, they move the card to the "Done" clip. Then at the end of the day we can see how many chores they've done, and move their magnetic clip marker that number of stars around the star path. They can also get more stars for anything we determine, like being good at their eye doctor appointment today earned them both 5 stars. They can also get stars taken away and have to go backwards on their star path for bad behavior. When they reach the big star at the end of the path, they get to choose a reward from the "Reward Choices" clip and put it in the "Rewards Earned" clip to turn in for use when we determine. Rewards are things such as, "Play a Wii Game of your Choice, Play a Board Game, Play Outside with your Favorite Toys, Movie Theater Night with Popcorn, etc," - anything I can think of that they enjoy. Things that don't cost money! And of course they are things that we often do anyway, but we make a big deal of them getting to use their "Reward Card" when we do the things they've earned. It seems to be working so far! Ethan is really into it . . . Caleb is still trying to get into the whole concept.

Then at night, we switch out the chore cards for our "Bedtime Routine." They can earn stars for completing the bedtime routine steps in a timely manner too. And at the end, they get to pick two options out of "Read Story, Rub Back, Rocking, or Have the Light on for 5 minutes." This seems to cut down on all the stalling of asking for each of these things after we've already said good night and turned the light off (which we've been having a lot of trouble with lately). Then once we're on the last step of "Lights Out", if they get out of bed, keep yelling for us to come back to their room, etc. then they lose stars too. So, we'll keep trying it and see if it keeps helping behavior and smooth out our bedtime routine!