Rewards...this has always been one of those topics in education that people were either strongly for or strongly against. When we started homeschooling, I had to become an expert on what motivated each of my kids. This has been an adventure because what actually motivates them often changes. Sometimes it IS something tangible that inspires them, but other times it's not at all. Isn't that the great adventure of raising kids? They are constantly changing and it's up to us to take the time to notice. What are they passionate about at the moment? What are their fears? What subjects or topics are they loving right now? All of these answers can guide our day to day decisions in how we educate our kids. I just love that. When I taught in a traditional school setting we called that individualized instruction. That was a goal in my classroom...to tailor each child's learning experience to best benefit them. Do you know how hard that is to do for 25+ kids? SO HARD! But we have such an opportunity to provide that for our own children as we teach them at home. That is one of the many things that makes me so thankful for the opportunity to teach my kids each day. Back to the topic of rewards:) Both of our kids met a goal last school year that they had worked so hard to accomplish. If you are familiar with classical conversations, then you know what a big deal becoming a memory master is. In our house, it's something that my kids have to prepare for primarily on their own. I'm definitely here to help them study in any way that I can, but they have to choose to work toward that goal each year and I do not nag them about it. (Believe me, it doesn't work...I speak from experience unfortunately) If they want to do it, they have to put in the effort. Both of them crushed that goal last school year and we were so very proud. As part of their reward, we told them that they could have a "date night" with a chosen parent to do something that they wanted to do. They actually both chose going to the same place, so we had a "double date" to Main Event this past weekend for some friendly family competition (Friends, no judgement on how long overdue this reward was. Memory master took place almost 6 months ago. Yikes!) Obviously, you can see from the picture above that my son and I did not leave victorious, however; our game faces were on point and we had a blast!
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AuthorThanks so much for visiting. I'm Heather. I'm a wife, mother and educator who loves trying to make beauty of the life around me. Archives
July 2022
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