One question was, “How do you motivate your kids?”

With a large family and many personalities, I put into practice what I learned from The FlyLady. I use rewards to motivate my children.

If I had a child who dawdled over his school work, I would use incentives and rewards to encourage him to be diligent. If he finished all of his school work before lunch, he had free time to play in the afternoon. If he didn’t finish before lunch, he had to sit with me in the afternoon and do his school work while his brothers played.

It only took a couple of times for this child to see that it was better to just get his school work done and not dawdle.

Each Monday, I review with each student the weekly goals for their school work. I go over how many lessons, pages, or units I need them to complete for the week. It is up to them if they spread it out over 4 or 5 days. They prefer to get it done in 4 days, and then Friday can be for a day for field trips or fishing. I also grocery shop on Friday afternoons, and they enjoy that, too, since a trip to the sporting goods section is usually a part of our Friday errands.

It is rare that I have to use negative consequences for a child who does not complete routines or school work. But I do control electronics, car driving privileges, and cell phones for the teens. So I have the ability to take privileges if needed to motivate someone to do what is expected.I refer to this as my super powers.

I also praise my children liberally for doing a good job, and that motivates them to do well. I use positive reinforcements as much as possible to motivate my children.

What do you do to motivate your children?

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

My menu plan for Tuesday is venison roast and a salad.

Have a blessed day!