But, do not despair! I happen to have a back up project for an occasion such as this!
When Miss Maia was in her ferocious fours we ran into some issues with listening, whining, manners, etc (you name it, we probably had an issue with it). I googled, I screamed I skimmed books, I visited blogs, I read magazine articles... a lot of great ideas out there, but of course, none of them are ever the perfect fit. So like every parenting team, we took a few of the ideas and drank a lot of wine just tried our best.
One thing that I came up with on my own was a felt reward board. Maia is an avid artist. She creates beautifully detailed sketches and colors like a pro! Every day she asks if I will "set her up" a craft (a girl after my own heart). I wanted to come up with an artistic way to encourage her positive behavior; and so, the felt reward board came to be.
Ooooh! Ahhhh! Yes, it is amazing. Ok, I know that probably didn't blow your mind. I used a framed cork board that I had lying around and a sheet of blue felt for sky and green felt for grass. THEN came the fun, but time-consuming, part. I created a fall themed bag of felt shapes: red and yellow leaves, a bare tree trunk and branches, a turkey body with separate legs, feathers, beak, etc., a pumpkin with separate shapes to decorate the face and a stem, etc.
For an even more personal touch, I later added a few pictures of family members with felt glued to the back - my favorite part! This photo in particular was taken the day our tiniest was born; Maia and Daddy are walking down the hospital corridor so that she can meet baby Ella for the first time. Precious!
Each week we would decide on a few behaviors to focus on and each time she made a good choice in that area she got to put something on the board. At the end she had a beautiful piece of art and she really enjoyed it! I also created a spring/summer bag with butterflies, birds, a bird's nest, worms, green leaves, sunshine, etc.
Since parenting techniques are ever evolving as a child grows, we have since adopted other methods so this has fallen to the wayside. I think I might work this back in, it really is fun and helpful!
What creative ways have you found to encourage the princess inside your child to stick around longer than the goblin?
**This post has been linked up at Tatertots & Jello and Today's Creative Blog.**
Ooooh! Ahhhh! Yes, it is amazing. Ok, I know that probably didn't blow your mind. I used a framed cork board that I had lying around and a sheet of blue felt for sky and green felt for grass. THEN came the fun, but time-consuming, part. I created a fall themed bag of felt shapes: red and yellow leaves, a bare tree trunk and branches, a turkey body with separate legs, feathers, beak, etc., a pumpkin with separate shapes to decorate the face and a stem, etc.
For an even more personal touch, I later added a few pictures of family members with felt glued to the back - my favorite part! This photo in particular was taken the day our tiniest was born; Maia and Daddy are walking down the hospital corridor so that she can meet baby Ella for the first time. Precious!
Each week we would decide on a few behaviors to focus on and each time she made a good choice in that area she got to put something on the board. At the end she had a beautiful piece of art and she really enjoyed it! I also created a spring/summer bag with butterflies, birds, a bird's nest, worms, green leaves, sunshine, etc.
Since parenting techniques are ever evolving as a child grows, we have since adopted other methods so this has fallen to the wayside. I think I might work this back in, it really is fun and helpful!
What creative ways have you found to encourage the princess inside your child to stick around longer than the goblin?
**This post has been linked up at Tatertots & Jello and Today's Creative Blog.**
2 comments:
What a great idea for a reward chart! I might have to try something similar for my little monster (oops, I mean son).
Thank you for checking it out! I've got a new responsibility/reward chart in the works right now, but it is a pretty traditional one. Always changing strategies out here.
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