Thursday, July 28, 2011

Pennies

What would you do for a penny?  My eager five year old has done a lot for such a little wage...

I have started a reward system with big J and it is working wonders with his attitude and willingness to help.  I was flustered one afternoon with his whining and complaining when asked to do something, so I took out an old jam jar and told him that he was going to start earning pennies for 'Happy Heart' responses.   In other words, if he says "Yes, mom" in a nice voice after I ask him to do something like put his toys away, then I will give him a penny.  If he shows helpfulness and/or encourages his brothers to do the right thing, then he gets a penny... I am sure you get the point.  This kiddo understood the system right away and it can almost seem embarrassing in a public situation when he eagerly says "YES, Mom!!!" and does what he is told.  It took him a little over a week to earn his first dollar, and boy was he excited and ready to head to the dollar store to buy his reward. 

It is a learning experience... working hard for a reward and learning the value of money- 25 pennies= 1 quarter and 4 quarters=1 dollar.  
 He also got to practice counting lots of pennies ;). He wanted to recount his total just about every time he recieved a new penny.
 What did he buy with that lucky dollar?
 A plastic bow and arrow toy set!
 It gave him something to shoot for ;)!
 His eyes are set on a bigger prize next time, we will see how long he can hold off and save his hard earned dollars!

1 comment:

Jes said...

I actually love this reward system! I think C would be similarly motivated since she loves collecting money.