Summer assignments

We are in Summer mode. In the past I have done a Summer theme or unit study. I just can't seem to get that into gear this year. I have a bunch of books about Native Americans on the shelf but I just haven't gotten around to officially starting that unit. I have been feeling tired and I guess I need a break from planning things and trying to put things together. At least for a few weeks. In the mean time my kids can't just be left to their own devices all day long. Henry quickly resorts to whining about being bored and how much he NEEDS to play wii. So I came up with a new ticket solution that we are trying out.

They can earn tickets to earn wii time. This is something we have been doing for quite awhile now and it has been working quite nicely. Usually the kids have to do chores and practice piano to earn tickets. The tickets can then be turned in for computer/wii time. Each ticket is worth 5 min of time. To bribe encourage my kids to do some reading and writing I came up with a few new things they can do to earn tickets as well. They get one ticket for reading a book to Molly.

Molly has been in heaven the last few days. The boys take turns reading her books. I didn't put a limit on how many books they can read to her in a day but so far they each read her about two books everyday. So for two books they each earn two tickets. That is 10 minutes of wii time. And Molly gets 4 books read to her. It is a win/win/win situation for me, Molly and my boys! (Sophie is included in this deal but so far she hasn't taken me up on this opportunity)

Another new way the kids can earn tickets and therefore wii time.  I created a book report sheet that they can fill out for a book they have read. This filled out sheet earns them a wopping 3 tickets if completed to my specifications. So far they have each done one report a day. These can be very simple picture books, a fairytale or even a myth but the report requires some thinking, some writing, and even a little artwork. They have to tell me, in writing, who the protagonist is, what he/she wants to accomplish, what they are doing to try to do that, who is trying to stop them and how and of course how it is all resolved. They also have to draw a picture to accompany their report. All three kids have been doing reports. Sophie choose a James Herriot short story for her first report. Ian picked a greek myth and Henry choose Bears on Wheels. I didn't think he could do a report on such a simple book but after talking with him about the book we were able to come up with answers to each of the questions on the sheet. I wrote his answers down and he then copied the sentences. It worked.

They practice the piano each day to earn two tickets as well so they are able to rack up quite a bit of wii time each day. They don't use it every day. They usually save it up so they can have a good long hour or more of wii at a time. That is fine by me. They have earned it!