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My intent was
to begin our family's summer challenge on June 1st but Katie &
Hollie were so eager to get started that we used the month of May to
put our new system to the test. Here's what we learned along the
way:
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The Summer Challenge is
an Effective Motivator
Both girls
started out strong as Katie completed her first tally sheet in
eight days and Hollie finished hers in eleven.
Completed Tally Sheet for Ten-Year-Old Katie
Completed Tally Sheet for Eight-Year-Old Hollie
One
of the girls' summer challenge goals was to organize a drawer,
shelf or area of a room. Three of the projects completed are
found below:
Sort
Through the Books in the Upstairs Bookcase
This project was one that the
girls had to do together as they removed books both had outgrown.
The next step was to determine which ones to pass down to younger
cousins and which to store in totes for Katie and Hollie
to read to their own children one day. After this task was
completed, the girls were ready to organize the books that
remained by category (chapter books, bibles & devotionals,
educational books, etc.) When they were done, the bookcase was less
crowded and its organizers were ten points richer.
Organize
Art Supplies
"I'm just not an organized
person!" Hollie used to exclaim whenever I asked her to work on
her room. After spending more than an hour going through the art
supplies we keep in a cabinet near our kitchen table, Hollie is
a believer that anyone can get organized with the right amount
of time, motivation and storage products.
When Hollie had finished: pens that no longer worked had
been thrown away, pencils were sharpened, and storage
drawers had labels to describe what was in each one (see photo
below).
In the above photo, art supplies
like modeling clay, craft kits, and a clear container of Play-Doh are stored
in the lower shelf. The upper shelf contains storage drawers for
markers, crayons, pens, and pencils. The clip adhered to the
door with 3M
command strips holds the tally sheets that keep track of summer challenge
totals.
Straighten
Shelves in Closet
Part of the requirement when
completing organizing projects for the summer challenge is
taking a before and after photo. The after picture Katie took
when organizing a shelf in her closet is found below. It shows
that she has organized her jeans, capris, skorts, leggings and
sweatpants into separate piles.
Click on the image above to see
a before photo of the shelf.
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The Tally
Sheet Needed Tweaking
The summer challenge test run
allowed us to see that a way was needed to keep track of points
redeemed and total points earned. To print out a new tracking sheet
(which contains space to record this additional information), click on
the link below and save the file to your computer.
Note 1: Microsoft Word must be installed on your computer to
open these links.
Note
2: If you are asked to enter a password when opening or
closing a link, press the cancel button to ignore the prompt.
Updated Summer Challenge Tally Sheet
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Limits
Were Needed for When Points Can Be Earned
Before our trial month was
through, it became apparent that I needed to set guidelines for
when the girls can earn points. The first clue I had was when
Katie was upstairs reading her bible for three points when the
rest of us were cleaning up the basement after a play date. Clue
number two occurred the following week when Katie repeatedly
stayed up past her bedtime to complete a devotion for two points
when she should have been sound asleep. Going forward: 1) points
can only be earned after regular chores are done and 2) no
points can be earned after 9:30 p.m.
That's all for
this update. If you are thinking about implementing a summer
challenge in your home, be encouraged that it has the potential to
help you become more involved with your children as they become more
motivated to help around the house.
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