Things to do

Well, my creative juices have not been flowing lately. The credit system is working, but had to be tweaked a bit. I am behind on laundry. A mound sits on my couch waiting for my attention. Perhaps I'll pop in a movie and get 'er done.

Anyway, we do not school on Friday's. I like to get the house in order. We get the cleaning done, meals prepared for the weekend so Mom can have a break too, and just take a break. But, recently I was thinking. I need more for the kids to do on this "break" day than sit and play the Wii or computer. So, I went over to my friend Michele's blog (smile-wink-knod) and found a crafty website. The Crafty Crow (also linked to in the side bar) is chuck full of fun things to do with your kids. With Valentines Day coming up, what do you have planned for the kids to do? Make some simple cards, felt cookies, or some love in a heart for the birds? We will now be using our Fridays not only to get the work done, but to get creative too. How about you?

Barbie meets Star Wars!

So, how does a lazy homeschool mother with a 10yr old, 5yr old and 1yr old get everything done and get the kids to help? We use what interrests the kids most.

For Hunter, Star Wars. He is a Star Wars fanatic. He knows everyones name. Even those that do not appear in the movies. He has read tons of books and watched the movies; played games and role played. Star Wars is it for him!

For Shiloh, Barbie. She almost eats, sleeps and breaths Barbie. We have several Barbie movies, toys and games. She even pretends to be Barbie. (She is so petite she can get away with it!)

Well, I made a list of things I think they should help with and some things they can pay for. We are now using Barbie Bucks and Republic Credits (for those of you who don't know, credits are how they pay for things in Star Wars!). This excited the children so much.

We made credit cards for them. I put some pictures on cardboard and laminated them. We can wipe off and change the balance as needed. I use a large white board in the den, too, in case the credit cards get smudged. Also to keep a running tally of what they have done.

We used large, non-whole, numbers. This way Hunter can use them for math and Shiloh is using them to learn her numbers better.

They earn Bucks and Credits for the following things(I will list just a few): Doing their school work, bonus for finishing before noon, cleaning up after themselves, keeping their room clean, and doing chores. Then they use their Bucks and Credits to pay for things like Wii time, Computer time, and access to toys (they pay by the hour). They get points deducted for complaining and excessive fighting.

We started this yesterday and it worked like a charm. We will use it until it does not work anymore. I am enjoying help keeping the house clean and not having to argue to get everything done.

It gives us more time to do fun stuff! We play a lot more!