Liked

I have liked a few ideas we have used at our home recently:

• conflict resolution: Easton and Anya were fighting. I told them they had to hold hands, walk down the sidewalk and come back when they worked it out. 
• affection: My new rule: You must hug your Mama before exiting the kitchen (every time). (On a side note: I am challenging myself to hug each of my kids 12 times a day...which has proven impossible in the past five days, but I am not giving up on reaching that goal!)
• math, exercise, and teamwork: I call it Mission Math. Easton and Anya are given 20 missions to accomplish in 10 minutes. The numbers 1-20 are scattered at the top of the stairs. One child gets a "mission" like "Bring me the number that equals 5-3" or "Find the smallest odd number". The child runs to the top of the stairs, retrieves the correct number, brings me the number, then I give the next child her mission. The teammate cannot leave the kitchen (home base) until her teammate has accomplished his mission. At the end, the children put all 20 numbers in order and shout "Mission Accomplished" before time runs out. This game is very exciting. My kids are out-of breath, smiling, and cheering wildly with high fives flying! 
• complaining: Three "awws" and you're out! We had gotten into a bad habit of saying "Awww" in a complaining tone-of-voice every time we didn't like what we were told to do. It had gotten so bad that if I said, "Let's get ice-cream!" They'd say "Awwww....I mean...yay!!" Something had to change! So for the seven and five-year old, I started keeping score. Every time they said "Awww" (complained) in response to my instructions, I marked it down. If they said it three times, for that day they lost out on something they particularly valued. I think they were surprised at how much they said 'aww"! But they are smarties! By the second day, no one got three marks and now they love catching themselves (and each other--including their Mama!).
• jobs, money, and responsibilities: I don't know if this will last long but so far it's been a great addition to our home! The following ad is posted in our house

Hey Kids!
Want to make some money?

Household Job Opportunities:

Weekly Jobs Available

Clean Bathroom Mirrors - $0.25

Clean Front Door - $0.15

Dust - $0.25/room

Sort socks - $0.10

Sort underwear - $0.05

Fold Towels - $0.10

Daily Jobs Available

Sweep Kitchen - $0.10

Empty Dishes - $0.15

Take out trash - $0.05

Established Responsibilities:

·      Make bed

·      Pick-up toys

·      Feed Lucy

·      Personal hygiene:

brush teeth, hair, etc.

* Note: Saturday morning is payday.

And those are some ideas I have really liked lately! I hope you do too!