I love gimmicks. Well, I mean, I love those little tricks we play with our children to get them to do things that we hope they will grow up to do spontaneously on their own. Ya know, like make their beds without being asked (John's still wondering when I'll catch on to that one) or offering to help make dinner (oh, I think John's still waiting for that one, too. Just kidding.)

Our kids will do pretty much what's expected of them. They're good at rising to our expectations. They generally get along with one another, keep the house clean, do their chores, laundry, dishes, etc., practice piano and all that stuff, but I finally decided that kids really need to be rewarded beyond the simple "thanks" and "good job" they usually hear.

It's not a ploy to bribe my kids for doing what they should. They would do it anyway. It's just a way of paying them back for being so great.

So, thanks to a sentence or two that Christina posted on her blog, I started a new reward system.



Above are the kids' marble jars. I give them marbles for making their beds before they leave for school, making their own lunches (and the other kids) and doing their siblings' laundry for them, etc. I reward them for going the "extra" mile and doing things I don't ASK them to do. It's so great!

Then I gathered a cart-load of toys at the Dollar store. I threw them in this huge bin, and on Saturdays, the kids add up their marbles, and for every 15 they earn, they get to choose a prize. Last night we did our first payout (because I didn't shop for the prizes until yesterday.) WOW. I had no IDEA the motivation this would cause!

These little "dollar" prizes are like MAGIC to them. This morning, Ashley helped Natalie shower, they both made their bed, and Andrew made lunches. Ashley gave Bethany a bath last night, and the list goes on and on. They are like little elves looking for ways to be nice and earn more marbles for themselves. I've calculated it so that they can earn one, TWO if they're extremely diligent by the end of the week.

So, one more note. I don't intend for these toys to be long-lasting. (Although there were some really neat and cool toys for a dollar I found!) I think I'll throw some dollar bills in there to encourage the kids to save money as well. But last night my kids were ANGELS for the hour or so that they played with their toys, sharing and taking turns with one another.

In the end, it was just nice to see my kids getting rewarded. They were so thankful and gracious. Love this new idea.