Rewarded: Arrrrr Matey

The boys just filled up their jars  of gems* and so they earned a trip to Pirate Island!  

For the few days leading up to it, Tave would say Arrrrrr, a LOT.  It was so funny. He would tell us he was going to eat pizza, say ARRRR, and get a sword.  

We had a ton of fun playing the games and being pirates.  

I love being their mom!

*for those who have asked,  they each earn gems individually.  They earn them for helping, sharing, obeying, talking nicely, etc.  We try to make this be a reward/positive reinforcement so we only take away gems for more serious things...  They 'earn' different amounts of gems depending on what they've done.  The better we are at remembering to do it, the smoother and better it goes. I like that it reminds Jeff and I to offer praise and positive reinforcement often.  They don't always both earn gems, but we try to keep it sort of even. If Weston is getting too far ahead, then I'll try to find some things Tave can help with around the house to earn more gems.  They are young enough that we don't want this to be negative in any way or discouraging. It usually takes them about 3 weeks to earn their prize.  So far we've tried to make the prizes be a family activity that we wanted to do anyways (to save on costs and promote fun family time) If you have more questions or any suggestions, let me know!