{as you can see, our boys have inherited my love of fantasy fiction}
Today I wanted to take a quick moment and share how we keep t he boys reading. Maybe not super exciting today, but it is important. And I like to see them happy to pick up a book instead of me constantly having to remind and cajole them. (Plus, this is what happens when I spend a lot of hours in a dr’s waiting room for the week. I write boring, everyday, reality posts.) But really, these are the things that help make our life flow a little easier. Unless you count having to scramble to keep them supplied with decent reading materials. But that’s another post.
Here’s the bottom line. Our boys earn credits for reading. To put toward their lego purchase wishlist. Each page is worth $0.10, plus and each dollar for finishing the book. No credit until the book is complete. And the book has to be for your reading level. No cheating by reading a quick Curious George book, as awesome as those are.
Some may consider this bribery. We think of it more like rewarding you for eating your broccoli, by giving you carrots. Yay, carrots! I also love how it gives them a deferred reward for a goal. As a parent we feel like that’s an important lesson to teach our kids. Work hard now, for a reward that you’ll receive later. Plus, reading is a reward in and of itself – we see a big difference in their performance in their school studies just by keeping them in the habit of reading.
To be fair, as I mentioned in this post on homeschooling, the boys are required to do 30 minutes of “free reading” each day. No permission for television or other activities until that’s done. So how quickly their credits add up really has to do with how much extra time they spend reading.
Happy reading! Or happy bribery?
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