What works!

Lately my job has taken on a slightly different look! After loosing monkey last summer, I had maintained 3 kids with the help of Monkey's cousin Boogie, and my princesses. Way long story cut way short, I found myself at the beginning of this summer with just Boogie. Day in and day out he and I did what we liked to do. We soaked up as much vitamin D as we could, kept our fingers like grapes because of being in water, and spent mornings napping, and the afternoons exploring all over my hometown! Yesterday my job transformed yet again and now Monkey has returned along with his sister! 

So, now with a 5, 4, and 1 year olds, I am remaining on my toes and there is a never a down moment! Learning curve to say the least! I am having to rewire what it means to have a 4 year old in the house again! It's been a long time since Bean was there and none from my job were ever there! 

One of the ways I have tried to make being a nanny to older children work is having my rules clearly outlined. I am having to remember that outside of these walls and my care rules may be a tad different. To do so, I sat down with the 2 of them and told them 3 simple rules.

#1 - We have to use kind words to Lala (me) and each other.

#2 - We obey the first time.

#3 - We are not allowed to whine.

I tried to keep it very simple so they knew what was expected. At the same time I had to keep it broad so I wouldn't create any loop holes to be found later. After that, they knew what was expected. So I set up the Potato Head. I stood each of them on his shoes and packed in their each back hair, eyes, 2 ears, nose, mouth, 2 arms, and glasses. I wanted as many possibilities for filling up as I could fit!

 Every time I noticed a behavior that merited a part of Mr. Head being filled I asked them to choose a piece out of his back and put it on their potato. On the flip side, if behavior was breaking the rules they had to remove a piece and put it back in his back.

 At the end of the day we evaluated the fullness of Mr. Potato and if the majority of the pieces were on him and he looked more like a man and less like a potato then a sticker was placed on that day in a very homemade chart. 

I wanted the chart to be simple and not overwhelming. I have one for each of them with their names at the top. Beside their names I wrote out Philippians 4:13 to encourage them. I want to reiterate that through Christ they are able to love one another, obey the rules, and get along with everyone around them. Below that I sketched a basic grid. In the far right row I have the week's dates, 8/13-8/17. In the remaining columns they will put a sticker under the day that it coincides with. Sorry for the bad pictures! Phone Camera! 

Monkey got a sticker Monday because behavior was phenomenal and he deserved it! Tuesday started out well and went south at lunch time. After the episode at lunch all the pieces, sadly, had to be removed. By the end of the day he only had 1 piece in the head and he did not look like a man. I think the message was clear enough! 

If they have at least 4 stickers by Friday they will choose a special activity (baking cookies, choosing some books to borrow from the library, getting extra time on the wii or computer, or getting to choose the movie to watch at rest time) or a special prize (dollar toys from walmart, target, and the dollar store. Nothing fancy or big!)! 

So, there you have it! My wild brained and so far successful idea! Who knew Mr. Potato could help with behavior!