After coming home from a 3 week
vacation, and diving right into 2 weeks of
swimming lessons, our summer got off to a rather crazy start.
Now that we can settle into a more
normal routine, it is high time for me to get organized and
motivated. And not only me... MY KIDS NEED MOTIVATION TOO! I am so tired of them asking to "watch a movie," or hearing that they are "bored."
Inspired by my cousin
Margaret, I decided to implement a summertime plan called "
The Ticket to Summer!"
All summer long the children can earn tickets for doing any of the items on the list that I have given them. These items are all things I would
like them to do this summer, but which they are not always motivated to do on their own.
Basically, you can earn one ticket by:
- Getting up and dressed for morning prayers by 7:30 am (Mon-Fri) without being woken by mom or dad.
- Doing all the chores on your chart by 9:00 am(Mon-Sat)
- Read a book for 30 minutes
- Practice on the Piano for 30 minutes
- Write a 10 line letter to a friend or family member
- Play nicely with the baby for 30 minutes
- Read to the girls for 20 minutes
- Do 2 pages in Handwriting workbook
- Do 2 Math worksheets
- Do 1 lesson of geography
- Spend time exploring outside and then add a page to your nature journal
- Do an extra job for Mom
You can earn two tickets if you:
- Memorize one poem or song
- Memorize a new prayer or bible verse
- Memorize 25 States and Capitals
- Ask for, and receive training on, a new chore from mom
- Fix a meal (with the approval of mom)
The children can redeem their tickets for a number of different things:
- 20 minute turn on an Educational Computer Game – 2 Tickets
- 20 minutes on EWTN Kids – 2 Tickets
- Stay up for an extra 30 minutes – 2 Tickets
- Watch a video/movie for 30 minutes – 2 Tickets
- Go to the Library for Story time (July only) – 4 Tickets
- Go to the local Bookstore and choose a new book – 6 Tickets
- Go to the Kid Zone – 10 Tickets
- Go out for Ice Cream – 10 Tickets
- $5.00 to do something fun (lunch, ice skating, bowling) – 15 Tickets
I also love my cousins idea of having a biweekly
"
Good Behavior Drawing."
In addition to the above, the children can also earn tickets for good behavior that go into a jar. Twice a week, I will draw a ticket from the jar for a prize. They can not ask for these tickets, but, if I catch them being exceptionally good, I will give them a ticket. The better they are the more chances they will have of winning a prize. They can choose there prize themselves, from the prize basket. The prizes include a $5.00 gift card to Target, a couple Activity Books, some art supplies, water balloons and a few toys.
So far, this morning, it is off to a WONDERFUL start! The children are dressed, chores are done, and the boys have both been reading for the past 30 minutes. Hopefully, this enthusiasm will stick!
, some coconut milk
Apparently, she is all ready for her brother's birthday party!
Louis and Marie-Zélie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, will be beatified on Mission Sunday at the Cathedral of Lisieux.
On Friday I took Snuggles in for his One-Year check up. This was actually his third visit with the doctor since we arrived home from our trip. The first was due to his not recovering completely from the flu, and at that appointment we realized how little he weighed, 16lb 11 oz pounds. To put this in perspective, he weighed 8lb 5 oz at birth, and 16 lbs at 6 months. It was a HUGE drop on (or rather OFF) the growth chart. The doctor ran a few labs which came back negative, and with the help of some probiotics, we were able to stabilize his digestive tract. The doctor gave me lots of food suggestions to help him gain weight, and I took him in for a recheck the next week. He was back up to 17 lb 9 oz. This was very good, but still nowhere near where he should be, and still below 0% on the weight chart for his weight at this age--although his head is still measuring in the 85%. The rest of my children are on the small end of the charts, so generally we wouldn't be too concerned, but Snuggles has gone from being our biggest baby to being our smallest. At Friday's appointment, he weighed only 17 lb 10oz. Anyhow, we decided to go ahead and run a panel of tests to see if there was an underlying reason that is hindering his weight gain. Especially with everything he has been eating! The doctor wanted to look at a number of different things including his thyroid and various allergens. It was awful taking him to have his blood drawn, but I did take him to a good friend of ours though, who is excellent with babies. It was still sad to see him have to go through that, but it didn't take long for Snuggles to be back to his sweet, smiley self, as you can see. I will be meeting with the doctor again in a couple weeks to find out his results. After finding out about all my food sensitivities, I am wondering if this could be the case for Snuggles. I guess we will see. I will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your prayers!
Fun with Friends
