When people find out that we're homeschooling one of the most common questions is: How do you keep them on task? Let's just leave it at: some days are better than others (she says with candor). I have had no qualms with using a "system of positive earning" (a.k.a. bribing).
One example is our "chicken points" and "puppy points" charts.
It's not a very sophisticated system -- if the kid worked hard, or was pleasant, or whatever he/she got to put a mark by one of the pictures. We were going for a blackout. Points could not be taken away -- that stinks. Just because you're being a twerp now doesn't take away the good work you did earlier -- they are totally separate instances.
The other day the kids completed their charts. It was time to give them the reward that we had agreed upon a couple of months ago when we started: a trip to the Scholastic store to pick out a book, and then a Georgetown Cupcake.
I've definitively decided two things: 1. I don't really care for the Scholastic store -- the only thing it really has going for it on the retail level is the education resources. And The Magic School bus options (I tried to stay clear of the the bandwagon-bus -- the graphics make me feel one gnat-step away from ick -- but Miss Frizzle has beguiled me... she teaches me stuff I didn't know that I didn't know). We spent a lot of time in Scholastic's fiction section today, and the selection is pretty much crap. I get that every company is about making a profit, but the quantity of the subpar series, and series-knock-offs is really too much. I love being at Bank Street Bookstore and hearing the employees offering suggestions based on the tone, or the humor, or the historical significance. They offer books of substance that can be discussed in great depth afterwards, not the brain-candy that makes up probably seventy-percent of Scholastic's fiction offerings. 2. Georgetown Cupcakes are my favorite. We were in Georgetown recently and saw the line stretching for blocks -- I felt like telling everybody queued up: it will be faster for you to drive to NYC.
Since we were in the neighborhood, and Soho is so enjoyable during an off-time, we stopped by one of the kids' favorite stores: Evolution.
Did you notice the eggs? I hadn't thought before how the decorated Ukrainian eggs fit into the curiosity shop mold that my kids (specifically The Boy) are into, but now I see that it's all in the same sphere. I'm glad that they earned their trip downtown. It was awesome.
