Now THAT'S the ticket!

We are now at Day #8 of PG's 25 day business trip . . . and all is going well. It seems like my family meeting last week (you know the one, right? When I called for MANDATORY PEACE and HAPPINESS from my 7 and 3 year olds?) was really a great start to some happy days here. Yep, it's all been good.

But, you know me. We don't stop at good. (I know, I have to chill!) So, let me tell you my latest hair-brained idea . . .

Actually, I can't take full credit for this one. This is all the genius work of a blog I stumbled upon last week called  Zippy Chix. The idea? Well, taken directly from Zippy Chix's blog, the basic idea is to use tickets to reward positive behaviors and to inspire motivation in your little ones. Then, whenever they want, they are able to "cash in" their tickets for a special reward. You can read about it further in Zippy Chix's post titled; "Kid Currency".  

So, since we have turned over a new leaf in our "Peace & Happiness" home, I thought I'd throw something new into our mix. We picked up some carnival tickets and two little rubbermaid containers at our nearby Walmart, and the girls decorated the containers with stickers, markers and fun paper. 

Next, we put together an agreed upon list of chores and responsibilities that the girls could take part in, in exchange for a ticket (or tickets, in some cases.) Finally (the FUN part), we came up with some REWARDS!!! Things they really ENJOY ... special activities ... a special treat ... something they would be so PROUD to earn. They helped me pick out all of them ... Katie really got into this, while Ella kept asking for a tomato (we just picked some from the garden.) Ah, the little things in life that make her happy!

Every time they complete one of the responsibilities from the top of the list, they are rewarded with a ticket (I'm placing an E or K on each girls respective ticket when earned, so we're sure to have no confusion over whose is whose.) We've been doing this for about 4 days now, and it is going really really well! Katie has earned about 16 tickets, while Ella is at 9. I thought that Katie would certainly cash them in for those crazy rubberbands as soon as she earned 10 tickets, but she just told me she is going to keep collecting them . . . .she's working towards 125 (and CHUCK E. CHEESE'S!!!  Lord, help me NOW!)

What I am most proud of, is how seriously Katie is taking this. At 3 1/2, Ella doesn't quite "get" it all - but she does try to follow along with her sister and she likes to put tickets into her jar. But Katie, she is taking this VERY seriously. And she has yet to try and get extra tickets out of me. I'm really proud of how she is working hard for her reward.

She decorated her jar all on her own, and I smiled when I saw what she wrote on the side . . . (we do a lot of "brave spelling" in our house, but you'll get the idea . . . )

When she finished it, she proudly showed it to me and said, "Responsibility. See Mom?" I said, "Oh, yes, Kate. That is really an important word." She said, "Yep, it is. And I am going to be very responsible with these chores, Mom, and with my tickets, and with my rewards. Because I know that you are very responsible, and I want to be like you." {{sigh}} Every once in a while, I feel like I'm doing this Momma thing right. And that is a really good feeling.

Thank you, Zippy Chix, for the inspiration!!! Love it!