At the beginning of Cancer care, my cousin, Jamie, told me to check out Family Do Dots. I thought it would be a great idea, but didn't think I would be able to really implement it with the limited time I had with my kids. Looking back now, I wish I would have!
I have been feeling such confusion in my life, so I wanted to make things a little easier for myself. I remembered Jamie's suggestion and decided to purchase the system. I never thought it would work as well as it has.
Each morning the kids start with their picture bottle cap at the top- next to Level One. The magnets are all turned over to black. Once they complete one of their chores (such as Routine- where they have to brush their teeth, hair, and pray) they turn the magnet over to the colored side. After completing each of their chores, they move their picture bottle cap to Level Two. They are not allowed to do any kind of activity unless they are on Level Two. It has helped them know what is expected of them, and has eliminated nagging from Mom!!
On one of the first days of the first week, I was walking around looking at our house. Keilie's room was in need of some serious work. I was about to call down to her to come clean her room, when I stopped myself. She knew she needed to clean her room. She knew how it needed to be cleaned. She knew that if she wanted to do anything fun, she better get to Level Two. I shut her door and walked away. It was a very freeing moment for me.
Once they are on Level Two, they have the opportunity to earn tickets. These tickets are used to purchase items from our Family Store. The first week a box was filled with small items, such as fruit snacks and dollar-store toys, that they could buy with their tickets. This was fun for a while, but they ultimately said they would rather buy something large and work towards that, instead. So we packed up and went to Hobby Lobby to buy some prizes. They have worked furiously to earn tickets to buy their toys.
I have had to get creative in my ticket chores. Some include mopping floors, windexing car windows, vacuuming cars, vacuuming couches, and other such chores that don't get done daily. Or in our case, monthly. And sometimes yearly! 😉 Our house has never been consistently this clean!
They also earn tickets for good behavior- Level One or Level Two. This makes it something to better myself, also. Instead of looking for things that they need to improve on, or stop doing altogether, I now have to look for good things. This is harder than I thought it would be! It actually makes me think outside of the box, most days. I look for instant offers to help when something is asked. Or playing nicely with a brother or sister. Or a kind word said by siblings that usually argue. I have found the kids asking to play games more often, especially when I need things to be done without interruption. Such as lunch after church (the angriest time of my week, consistently). It has made for a nice change in our home. Clean house with kind kids makes for a happy home at the Dirks' residence!!
The bottom section is to better themselves. They set a goal each week for something that they would like to accomplish. Caden wanted to finish a large book, Keilie wanted to finish a book in a couple days, and the little kids wanted to improve the number of jumping jacks that they could do at one time. It can be anything that they want to improve. When they complete this weekly goal, they can turn over their Progress magnet and earn a ticket. The Service magnet is just that- service outside of the home. When they turn over that magnet, we talk about it that night at Family Dinner. This prompts them to do kind things for others. The Family Night section is for our weekly Family Home Evening. That is when they make their goals, and when our Family Store is opened. We open it just once a week to teach them hard work earns them wanted items, and also delayed gratification. If they don't have enough tickets, they can either save them for the next week, or purchase smaller items- delaying the bigger prize that they want. They can hardly wait for dinner to be finished on Mondays. It is a fun time!
The system was more than I really wanted to spend, but I needed a change. I needed something to help me get order back into my life. A life that now seemed foreign, confusing, and difficult to transition back into. This was the best thing I could have done.
With as easy as it has been to implement, and how happy the kids are to do their chores to earn tickets, I now wish I would have purchased it earlier. I know it would have been a good thing for the many babysitters that were with my kids. They LOVE it. And so do I! Organization makes me happy. Kind kids make me happy. Clean house makes me happy. This continues to be a purchase that I don't regret spending the money. It has brought happiness and order to the chaos in my life.
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