New Plan for a New Year

Note: I am posting this since several of my real life friends either ask me what I do, or find humor in the crazy things I have to come up with to train my children.

It really isn't a secret that we have some problems with Princess TD and taming her independence and strong will. I have been brainstorming to try to figure out how to encourage cooperation without completely demolishing the good things about being independent. I have been tossing around the idea of a type of reward system. This isn't your "typical" reward system. I really had to think outside the box on this one, because she does!

Here's my plan:

I have little fish cut-outs that I found at the local teacher supply. I have written on the back, "Caught Ya!" and a point value. These are intended to be saved to be redeemed for a reward. It is our intention to give them to her when she does something that demonstrates kindness to others (mainly family members), patience, respect of others and their property, or just does something extra helpful. They will always be given randomly and at our discretion, i.e., not every time she goes an hour without torturing her brother. (OK, it's really not THAT bad...)

The rewards were harder. I have talked to other parents and they use eating out, a book, a small toy, etc for rewards. My dilemma comes in here. Princess TD adores those kind of things, but they hold no power for her. She would rather maintain her stance, whatever that may be, than to give in for a meal out or a toy. So our rewards are more tailored for her, extra reading time, a game night on the night of her choice, computer time, staying up late, etc. Each reward has it's own point value and all require some "saving" before they can be redeemed.

There is one catch for her though, she can have points taken away. She will lose points when she intentionally hurts her brother, or is disrespectful to others and their property (mainly picking flowers from our neighbors flower beds but there are a couple of others).

I am hopeful that this system will work. Our sticker charts have worked well in the past, but stickers have somewhat lost their charm with her (unless she's playing with them). I am also hopeful that this will plant the seeds of budgeting, saving and delayed gratification. It is way early for that, but hopefully it will make more sense when we do get to that point. I can hope right?

School Changes

After struggling this fall with Little TD and schoolwork, I have made the decision to change what we are doing. I love the Letter of the Week curriculum and it worked very well with Princess TD, but Little TD doesn't seem to care so much for it. He seems to want more physical activity and things similar to what his big sister is doing. So, after careful thought and consideration, we are changing to the Heart of Dakota, Little Hands to Heaven curriculum for him. We will be starting on Monday with his new stuff. I hope he enjoys it more.

Happy New Year!

So I am a little late on this post, but we had a late night (or an early morning) on the 1st, so we're almost recovered now.

I have had a few moments to reflect on last year and think about the upcoming year the last few days. My assessment is that we are extremely blessed! We have more blessings than we can count. Here are a few that immediately come to mind, in no particular order:

• My sweet and wonderful husband, Mr. TD. His back is healing. He has a new position with his company which we are excited about.


• My children. Their kindness, sweetess and growth continue to amaze me daily.


• My chiropractor who will see me at a moments notice. (Kind of strange I know, but when you "suffer" from the kinds of headaches I have this is a TREMENDOUS blessing.)


• Homeschooling my babies. I adore teaching them and spending time with them. I can't imagine it any other way. (I plan to take and post more "school" pictures this year.)


• Our families. We have great families who love us and our children very much.


• Our friends. We are so blessed to have friends we can laugh and have fun with, or cry with, whatever the case may be.


• God. He is great all the time!

I pray that all of you have a happy, wonderful and blessed 2009!

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish all of my blog followers a Merry Christmas before I sign off for a couple of days. Princess TD and Little TD are anxiously waiting for Santa's arrival. Here's a photo of their visit with him.

The top things on their list are:

Princess TD - a Princess kitchen, a recorder, a toy sewing machine, a "real" camera, and a "real" phone.

Little TD - Mack with 2 cars, a recorder, a plane, and a remote control Jeep.

We'll see what Santa has in his bag for them tomorrow morning. I hope they aren't too disappointed. They probably won't be!

Merry Christmas everyone!