Homeschooling Journey

Since the beginning of our homeschooling journey, we have used different ways to remind our son of the importance of being consistent with his schoolwork. The first was a chart system. We listed things we expected him to do or not do on a regular basis. If he cooperated, we gave him checkmarks. After he accumulated so many checkmarks, he got a reward. We would discuss in advance with him how many checkmarks it would take for him to get the reward he chose. For example, if he chose a trip to the park to play, that might take 25 checks. If he chose something else that involved a certain expense, say going to the movies, that would take maybe 50 or 75 checks.

If he wanted to go to the Zoo (almost two hours away), he would really have to rack up the checks, as that involved added driving and expense.

The negative aspect of this was when he did not cooperate. This would earn him an X-mark on his chart. If he earned three X-marks, he would lose a check from his chart. Of course, very many Xes on the chart would limit his chances of earning his reward.

This eventually played out because of its being a long term type of reward. He was younger then, and couldn't seem to hang in there for the long haul, so to speak.

The next type of rewards (or limits) we tried was the "earning" rewards. Simply put, if he was cooperative and did lessons without an attitude, he would get time on the computer, video games or TV. The flip side of this system was that if he did not do his lessons, etc, he would not be allowed to enjoy the aforementioned rewards. He informed me he did not like "earning" those privileges.

Most recently, we have done two things. One, we have dropped our satellite coverage. Now, his television viewing is limited to watching videos. He doesn't watch them that much. He has actually started reading quite a bit. The second thing we have started doing is using the kitchen timer. We set the timer for X amount of minutes for a given lesson. If he gets the lesson done before the timer goes off, he gets to "bank" the minutes he did not use. We call this his "break bank". I have informed him he can use his minutes as he gets them, or he can save them up for a bigger chunk of time for what he wants to do. One night, he used all of his minutes for some time on the computer. At present, he is saving his minutes (I am not sure what for) to accumulate a large block of time. He calls it "buying time". I am relieved (for the moment) that it has given him a reason to apply himself to his lessons more diligently. I sincerely hope this lasts for awhile!