In 3rd grade, I was sent to the principal's office with my friends, Deanne & Alicia. I was usually very good & never got into any trouble at school but on this one & only occasion I managed to get myself in the middle of some drama involving my two best friends. I remember crying even before I entered the principal's office knowing this wasn't going to be a nice visit. I was so incredibly worried that he would cancel my trip to the circus. I was terrified. How did I get myself into this mess. Wasn't it just the bad kids that met with the principal? And as I grew older, my views didn't change. I didn't want my principal to know my name. I preferred to be anonymous.
But times have changed thank goodness. At Lil' C's school they've incorporated a wonderful award system. Every week children who perform well go to the principal's office to receive an award. They also have an assembly so everyone in the school knows why you received that award. The kids love it and get incredibly excited. This positive reinforcement is fabulous not only for the kids but for the administration as well. A few weeks ago I was working on an art project with some older children and the teacher loved the results so much she sent them all to the principal's office! haha For an award that is. They were all thrilled! Can you imagine. What a difference from when I was in school.
This award system works so well at school I decided to try it at home. It's a great way to encourage good behavior and at the same time increase self esteem. Every time Lil' C does something great he gets to color in a happy face. Once he colors it in, I record the date & the reason he received a smiley. We reward Lil' C for normal things like getting ready for school in a timely manner, being a good helper, and setting the table (without being asked). We also reward him for thinking positive, being independent, good reading, letting Mommy & Daddy sleep a few more minutes on the weekends, and being patient among other things. When he completed his first happy face we went over the smilies and talked about what he did to deserve each one. Lil' C was beaming; he was so proud of himself.
I've tried many different ways to encourage good behavior but this is the first method I've used consistently. It's simple, easy to track and most of all it works for him. Recently, Lil' C has grown very fond of the Build-A-Bear Workshop. He loves the animals and all the outfits & accessories available. It all started when I picked him up from an after school activity and he told me about S's little Sugar Brown Puppy. Lil' C said she bought it at the Build-A-Bear website and he handed me a little piece of paper his friend had given him with the web address. He was so taken with these bears that he used his Christmas money from Grandma G to buy his leopard along with several outfits.
Seeing how much he enjoys his Build-A-Bear items & the long wish list of things he wants to buy, I started thinking he could use money he earns from his completed happy faces to buy these items. I thought it would be a good introduction to money management. But because it takes so much time to order the things he wants I decided it would be wise to open a little shop in our house with things on his wish list. Teaching him the difference between Euros & US dollars is a bit challenging especially when I explain how the same toy is cheaper if we buy it online using US dollars than if we buy it right on the spot using Euros. I suppose waiting for a toy in the mail because you've decided to use American currency is one way to teach a child about saving money & avoiding compulsive shopping. ;)
Every time Lil' C completes a happy face he receives 5 Euros. He is doing great too and managed to save over 15 Euros. So when I received the Build-A-Bear package I showed him all the items and he decided to buy another bear along with a tee. He's quite motivated to earn more Euros so he can buy the little bear a wardrobe. Until then Lil' Bear will be hanging out in his overalls.