When a mom shares a great idea, I just have to pass it on!
Keeping a home organized with 3 kids is no easy task. A mom I know needed a new way to get her kids involved in helping. She found a great idea one day while watching one of her favorite TV shows: before and after photos!
Emily handed a camera over to her kids to take “before” pictures. Then they were instructed to clean up the room and have a big “reveal” when they were done. There was instant motivation to transform the room. When they were done, to her daughters’ delight, Emily provided the dramatic screaming and teary eyed reaction they hoped for.
This idea won’t work every time…nothing ever does. But if it works for today, it’s good enough for me!
I love hearing creative ideas for motivating kids!
What about you? Do you have a creative idea you can share that’s helped motivate your kids?
Good timing – today is National Clean Your Room Day. One thing we did to help them organize their bookshelf was to take all the books down, organize them by size and let them build a huge Dominos path with them… then watch them tumble. They had a great time and then could put the books back neatly in order of size.
Oh, what a great idea! Wish I knew that one a few weeks ago…but it will be good to add that one next time… Over spring break, I was home with all 4 kids and we did an over haul on the whole house. What a great motivating factor those pictures would be right now as we begin to slip into old patterns.
We played a variation of flylady Bingo every day. The first day everyone (even me) to the left of the “B” column was labeled with a number 1-5 each card with a different sequence. Each card had appropriate chores for each child between 7 and 14 years. The cards were also specifically placed so when a letter and 1-5 combination was called anywhere from 2- 5 of us were working together on the same room. It was fun coordinating the chores! “Doggie doo-ty” wasn’t a favorite, but it was paired with a sibling and more fun than the regular chore was. It was fun to see teamwork among them.
I did learn a few things, some chores required cleanup after the 15 min chore and when I had my own BINGO card to attend too, it left a trail of “stuff” that needed picked up. Day 2 we continued to use the same card right where we left off… Day 2: I didn’t have a card. Days 4 we all worked on some of the remaining chores together…and Day 5 tne card was transitioned into a game board that we rolled the dice and landed on the chore each person would work on, opting to work as a team and selecting a partner when they wanted.
We called it Spring Fling 2012…and I think we made some fun memories!
Over the winter months, we assigned each chore value. For example, emptying the dishwasher was worth 20 cents, making the bed was 10 cents, etc. We put the money into a jar when each job was completed. The money could be turned in to “buy” minutes for screen time – either tv, computer or the wii. Each minute was 1 cent. It kept the chores done and the screen time managed. A win-win!
Great idea!