I used the basic template from my 'Motivation' POA - keeping the 'how I feel today', 'things to be grateful for' and 'my reward for today' components and added a simple to-do list, 'what's happening' section, morning and evening routine checklists and some space for sticker rewards along with a fun background. Here's the result:
There is no reason that she can't independently review the POA in the morning and begin completing the rest of the form, checking off her morning tasks and then reviewing the form again in the evening as she completes the evening routine. I have tailored the routines to Coral's needs and have included tidying her bedroom in the evening routine rather than put it on a chore chart. This is something that requires daily attention!
As an incentive I have included the sticker reward section for successfully completing for routines. There is also the 'my reward for today' section. I figure Coral can either think of a small reward for herself or I could complete this section for her if she finds it challenging. Rewards along the line of having an extra chapter at story time or a board game with Mum or Dad rather than sweets or material things is what I have in mind. Further rewards could be allocated for achieving 10 stickers, but sometimes a sticker and a sense of achievement is enough. I will just have to see how it goes.
The 'three things I'm grateful for' section is there to prompt her to think of the positive things in her life as well as remind her she has a lot to be thankful for and that there are things ahead to look forward to and enjoy. I expect that this will be a challenge for her initially. It takes practice to put positive thinking into practice - I know from experience :-) It is all too easy to become sucked into the negative aspects of our existence. Wouldn't it be great if we could teach our children emotional intelligence from an early age? Wouldn't life be that much easier?
The mood gauge is there to prompt Coral to think about her mood and emotions and where they come from. It is an important skill to develop and with support Coral can work on understanding her anger, sadness or boredom and taking action to improve her mood.
I can use the gauge to prompt a discussion about her feelings. How many times do you ask your kids 'how are you?' or 'how was school?' only to get the standard 'okay'. Sometimes it is apparent when something is amiss, but sometimes it's not. Perhaps the gauge will get a more honest reading than my questions. I am interested to know about what is going on in my child's world and making sure that she is finding fun and happiness.
This is only a tool that I hope will be useful, it will not mean that I will stop asking Coral how her day was or stop reminding her to brush her teeth or withhold board games for special rewards. It is an idea that I had that I am keen to try out to see if it makes life any easier. As we are heading into the end of term and there are only a few days of school left, I have decided to put the POA into action at the start of next term.
The 'three things I'm grateful for' section is there to prompt her to think of the positive things in her life as well as remind her she has a lot to be thankful for and that there are things ahead to look forward to and enjoy. I expect that this will be a challenge for her initially. It takes practice to put positive thinking into practice - I know from experience :-) It is all too easy to become sucked into the negative aspects of our existence. Wouldn't it be great if we could teach our children emotional intelligence from an early age? Wouldn't life be that much easier?
The mood gauge is there to prompt Coral to think about her mood and emotions and where they come from. It is an important skill to develop and with support Coral can work on understanding her anger, sadness or boredom and taking action to improve her mood.
I can use the gauge to prompt a discussion about her feelings. How many times do you ask your kids 'how are you?' or 'how was school?' only to get the standard 'okay'. Sometimes it is apparent when something is amiss, but sometimes it's not. Perhaps the gauge will get a more honest reading than my questions. I am interested to know about what is going on in my child's world and making sure that she is finding fun and happiness.
This is only a tool that I hope will be useful, it will not mean that I will stop asking Coral how her day was or stop reminding her to brush her teeth or withhold board games for special rewards. It is an idea that I had that I am keen to try out to see if it makes life any easier. As we are heading into the end of term and there are only a few days of school left, I have decided to put the POA into action at the start of next term.
The best thing about it being a printable template is that I can make changes at anytime to suit. I can change the colours, fonts or background to switch things up and keep it fresh and interesting and I can also let Coral have input in this too.
The biggest challenge will initially be establishing this as a routine and consistently making our POA each evening. I'm sure with the extra motivation I have worked into the system, that Coral will keep the momentum going
No comments:
Post a Comment