This afternoon I decided to sit down with Chester (and Millie) and make a copy of the reward chart used at Nursery.......
Chester was really happy to get involved with the reward chart, I found a stencil online and printed off three copies. The idea is that you have 3 butterflies. A happy one, a sad one and a shocked one. I drew happy, sad and shocked faces on them and we used Millie's finger paints and stampers to create colourful patterns on the butterflies. I also printed off pictures of the children and stuck them to paper which we also decorated and stuck blu tack to the back of them.
Once dried we stuck the butterflies on the wall, they will be moved to the door but we are currently decorating so I am happy to have them on the wall temporarily. I stuck them so that the happy butterfly was at the top, then the sad and then the shocked.
The children will always start a new day on the happy butterfly, then if they are good for the rest of the day they remain on the happy butterfly. However, if they do something you have told them not to then they move down to the sad butterfly. Or if they do something which is really wrong, for instance pushing someone over deliberately then they move onto the shocked butterfly.
You can choose any kind of reward type you like but this is what we have decided to do. If they stay on the happy butterfly all day then they can stay up 10 minutes later than usual, if they end the day on the sad butterfly then they have to go to bed on time, and if they end the day on the shocked butterfly then they have to go to bed 10 minutes early. This might sound like something small but to Chester bed times are very important, he likes to feel grown up and always asks to go to bed a little later! Then if they stay on the happy butterfly all week they will get a bigger reward at the weekend. The reward for this part will change weekly and will range from a treasure trail at the park or some sweets to swimming or £1 movies at the cinema.
We have tried other types of reward charts which have not really worked with Chester, as Nursery School were so positive about this one I thought we would give it a go too. Chester has so far responded to it well and is very excited about the prospect of staying up late this evening!
So hopefully this 3 tiered system will work well for us. If you like the idea then I would love for you to put it into practice and let me know how you get on!
What a lovely idea. I have just started a reward chart for my daughter but I really like the butterfly concept as it's quite immediate and shows them the effect of their actions - I think I might make some of these at the weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, let me know how you get on! I quite like the fact they have got 3 levels, his Nursery give them a certificate at the end of the week if they have managed to stay on the Happy Butterfly.
DeleteAwe so cute. I am a great believe in reward charts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
Your welcome Maggy, so far it is still working!
DeleteAh I've done similar at school, such a great idea.
ReplyDeletexx
Glad you like it, I love that there are so many different ways you could make this work for your children. Someone has commented on my facebook saying they are going to try this with a Thomas tank engine theme!
DeleteThat's a great idea, I always struggled to find 'tasks' for a reward chart when my little one was younger so this is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteso pretty!
ReplyDeleteDo you put them down to the sad at the end of the day or do you put them onto the sad face at the time they do something wrong? If its the latter do they get the opportunity to move back up to the happy one? I know it's whatever works for us but wondered how you do this. I think with my kids if I moved them to the sad one straight away they would just continue to be naughty all day but, at the same time, if we waited till the end of the day they have sometimes forgotten the things they have done (good and bad). It's a fantastic idea though and I am giving it a go :) from Sammy (a friend of Jo Burkitt)
ReplyDeleteHi Sammy, I put them onto the sad or shocked butterfly when they have done something wrong. I try and stick to the same routine as Chester's Nursery which is at Lunch time the chart is reset meaning if the children are a little naughty in the morning they will have the chance to redeem themselves in the afternoon. For the first couple of weeks there were a lot of times on the shocked or sad butterfly but after a couple of weeks Chester realised it was a lot more fun to be able to go to bed late so he tends to listen to my warning of the butterflies!
DeleteBut like you say, it is whatever suits your family best. I would make a plan and stick to it though, that way they know you mean business!
If you think they will just carry on being naughty, maybe try to remind them that if they had been good they would of got the chance to stay up late (or whatever incentive you are giving them)so they can see that the rewards are good for behaving well. Hope this helps, let me know how you get on. Sammie x
I like the resetting at lunchtime idea. Also what happens if they've been great all day so got their later bedtime, but then played up going to bed? My eldest two did this tonight. They were really good and stayed on their happy butterfly so got their extra time (little brother had to go straight to bed) but then whinged when we told them it was bedtime, were loud upstairs and used delaying tactics. They weren't allowed books in bed but then they wouldn't have been allowed as they got extra time anyway. It's really good to get another point of view on this. Loving this butterfly thing though as its much simpler than other reward charts. Thanks again from Sammy
ReplyDeleteHmmm, Im not sure i've not yet had this problem. You could take away there staying up late privilege for the next time they are on the happy butterfly? x
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