Just in time for Back-to-School, Carmela is here to share how she keeps her kids motivated throughout the school year.  She told me that the Dad Dollars and Mommy Mart reminded her of Summer Points.  She has four boys, ages 11, 10, 6 and 1.  Great for teaching responsibility and not nagging!


Background

I started this program in 2009 when I was working full-time (and pregnant with my 4th!).  It was a megawatt struggle to get myself dressed for work and three kids ready for school AND OUT THE DOOR by 7:10 am every morning!  So… when I came across this idea from Family Fun magazine about printable “Daddy Dollars” they can earn by doing small tasks, I thought, “This looks easy and fun for the boys.  We’ve got to at least try this!” 
We started this at the beginning of the school year and I honestly thought this “incentive game” would last about a month.  It’s been two years now and the boys are looking forward to another school year with Dad Dollars and Mom Mart (they’ve outgrown the Daddy Dollars and Mommy Mart concept).  Of course, I’ve had to change and tweak a few things along the way to accommodate the boys’ ages, different interests and growing needs.


Our Family
We used the honor system and the two older boys were allowed to take their earned money from the “bank” (a.k.a. a neat pile of Daddy Dollars in a brown cigar box on the top bookshelf).  They also had to help their younger brother count out his earnings. 
Each boy had their own labeled envelope to stash their loot.  All envelopes were kept in a shoebox.  They were each responsible for keeping their money safe, neat, contained and away from their baby brother. 
The boys were also responsible for showing me their test/quiz grades (rather than me digging through the bottom of their backpacks) first or for example, telling me they cleared the dishwasher before they were able to take dollars from the bank.  Every morning, they knew by just looking at the clock in our living room that they have earned their 3 Daddy Dollars if they were ready by the door by 7:10.


Daddy Dollars!
They looked like real money with my husband’s face printed on them. It was a hoot at first!  To create your own Daddy Dollars, go here.  It gives you directions on how to upload your photo.  You can enlarge the dollar just a bit so it comes out the actual size of a dollar bill. The great thing about the program is that you can print out 5’s, 10’s, 20’s so I used a different picture for the different dollar denominations.  It was perfect for my kindergartner last year when he was learning how to count by 5s and 10s.  To print out my Daddy Dollars click here.

EARNING DADDY DOLLARS

Activity
$ Daddy Dollars $
Morning Chores
       Wake up
            Take a bath or shower (unless you’ve bathed the night before)
            Get dressed
            Eat breakfast – help prepare breakfast and clean table
            Help prepare snacks
            Take vitamins/brainiums – help brothers
            Put shoes on – help Davin
            Help mom with any preparations before we leave for school
            Have backpack and/or lunchbox ready by door
            Brush teeth
            Must be ready by 7:10am
3
Do their best at their sport (soccer, tae kwon do, basketball)
1
Finish homework (Show Mom completed homework and pack all books in backpack)
2
“A” on a quiz
“A on a test
“A” on an exam/report/project
100 on any quiz, test, exam/report/project
2
3
5
+1
Afternoon/Evening Chores
       Clean up toys/games
          Help pick up off the floor
          Help with laundry
          Clear dishwasher/sink and run dishwasher
1
1
1
1
Extracurricular activity
Depends
       
L
$ Daddy Dollars $
Leaving any personal items at school (ex. lunchbox, water bottle, jacket, sweatshirt)
-1 each item
per day
Leaving school book(s) necessary to do homework or study for quiz/test
-1
Mommy Mart

With the earned Daddy Dollars, they like to spend it at “Mommy Mart”.  My boys are not very interested in material things, but they love earning an extra half hour to stay up on a school night (as long as they don’t have a test/major project/big homework assignment due the next day). 
They also liked to earn a fruitshake at Robek’s.  If they earned enough Daddy Dollars, they were able to purchase things like a new Nerf gun or a new videogame from Gamestop or WalMart.  See the printable Mommy Mart list here.


MOMMY MART

Shopping Items
Cost
Go Bowling/Miniature Golf/Corn Maize/C3/Laser Tag/Loudoun Fun Bounce/Pump It Up/Chuck E. Cheese’s etc
100
Watch a movie of your choice at a movie theater (scheduled)
50
Rent a movie of your choice
25
Purchase new video game
50 (if new)
25 (if used)
Purchase new board game
50
Purchase new Leapster cartridge (Davin)
25
Stay up an extra 30 minutes on a school night to watch TV
20
Play videogames on a school night (all homework must be completed/all studying for tests & quizzes completed)
30
Play computer games on a school night
20
Buy a new book
25
Buy a smoothie from Robeks
20
Buy a smoothie from Elim Café
15
Spend $5 at Dollar Tree
15
Spend $10 at 5 Below
20
Buy Silly Bands
10
Eat candy
5
Buy a Smencil/Dogtag from school office
5
Note: During the school year, my kids get no T.V. time or videogames during the week (holidays and weekends are the exception).  So earning that extra half hour of T.V. or videogames was huge for them. 
————-
I can’t wait to use this program!  We need help getting out the door in the morning, remembering homework, glasses, etc.  I think this will help me nag less and grow more independent boys!  Thank YOU Carmela!


Sharing With:  Crystal & Co, Home is Where My Story Begins, Sun Scholars. Skip to my Lou
(Visited 2,317 times, 1 visits today)