Summer Chore Challenge Complete!

I said I'd report back in September.  Whoops!  I'm a little late, but I'm thrilled to report - we did it!  This summer's chore challenge was super successful.  There are always minor adjustments, probably a bit too much pushing on my part, and some procrastination, but overall, it kept us on track during a very full summer.

 

Graham maintained his enthusiasm to be a part of the challenge all summer long.  Sometimes, I'd ask him to do something, and he'd start to fuss, but Thane would remind him, "it's on your chore challenge!" and he'd immediately smile and run to do the task.  Lovely!

I learned pretty quickly that I'd drastically underestimated Graham's ability levels.  I'd never taken the time to teach him his letters or numbers, and figured the chore challenge would be a great time to start.  I assigned two academic tasks - "recognize number 1-10" and "recognize at least 10 letters."  

Imagine my shock when I sat down to do a preliminary assessment and discovered he could already identify numbers 1-8, and could recognize 13 letters!

For his grand prize, Graham chose a big, fuzzy blanket for his bed.

For the third year in a row, Thane was the first kid to reach the grand prize level.  The kid is tenacious!  He woke up almost every morning asking, "Can I work on my chore challenge?!"  He was also the only kid to finish a bonus task and get an extra prize.  

For his grand prize, Thane chose Legos.

Bryce had the most struggles with the chore challenge.  He got the procrastination bug. "I'll work on it tomorrow..."  Thankfully, he did just enough regularly that he was able to pull off an intense finish on the final day of summer!  For his grand prize, Bryce chose $30 in cash.

Last summer, Aubree did not reach the grand prize level.  I wondered how that might influence her attitude this year.  Turns out, it was hugely motivating!  

This time around, she stayed focused and steady.  Certainly, there were some tasks she avoided, but she spent quite a bit of time poring over her list and figuring out exactly what she needed to do in order to finish on time.  Aubree also chose $30 in cash as her grand prize (she was saving her money to buy an iTouch - another strongly motivating factor).

Since all the kids finished, we were able to get our family party!  Pizza, movie, and favorite treats.  So fun!  

Next year, the kids want Mark and me to participate in the challenge.  They say they have ideas about tasks for us.  Could be interesting...