an incentive for learning.

I have a child who is definitely smart and bright in the learning department. He reads very well and understands things like crazy. I love him for that, and I am always so proud of him. But... it is a struggle to get him to school sometimes, which makes me so frustrated.
Why can't he love school?
Why can't he wake up in the morning
and be extra-excited to learn in his classroom?
However, the reality is that it is a huge problem sometimes.

His excuse?
"School is so so SO boring, Mommy!"

And he is right.
Public schools seem to cater so much to the kids who need more and more help {which I can't say is necessarily a bad thing!} that the kids who are independent and able to work on their own get tossed aside and lost in the shuffle. They are given homework that is so easy that Andrew can barely face it. I can't blame him. Being bored is so not a good feeling when you are six.

So I came up with an idea.
If the schools aren't going to push him,
the responsibility falls upon my shoulders.
I know my child and I know what he is capable of.
And I found an amazing website to help me. :)

You can print out countless {free!} worksheets at your child's level. This is helpful if you are looking to push your child further, or even if they need work in certain areas as well. {ie. Andrew's handwriting possibly??? :) } Spelling, alphabet, addition, science, reading comprehension, book reports, you name it. It's all on there. Every level, for every child. And you know what? Andrew adores it. It doesn't seem like work to him, it seems challenging and fun. That is what I want him to feel about learning... FUN.

And I want to give him an incentive.
We found this chart,
but it just wasn't cute enough for my liking.
So I made a new one to use:



For every worksheet he completes, he gets a sticker on the chart. I don't make him do them at all, he just has a whole stack of them printed out and ready for when he feels like doing one. At the end of 25 worksheets, we get to go on a Mommy-Andrew ice cream date. He loves this. He loves to be challenged and work towards something. And I am happy he is pushing himself to learn more. :)
Go ahead and snag the reward chart for yourself and use it in any number of ways for your kids. Name an incentive for them and they can work towards it.
Works like a charm. :)

A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.
And with every day, I am keeping my fingers crossed that school becomes less of a chore and more of a reward for him as well. :)
xo!