Visual Consistency!

We'd been struggling with our kiddos behavior.  If I had to blame anything, I would blame the month of December.  It's a birthday month followed by Christmas.   BUT, we had REALLY slacked on being consistent with a chart that we use for behavior.  And we all know...when you let something slack, you usually end up paying for it.

Yes!  That's a Pocket Chart.  And those are sentence strips that I have for each kid's name.  Next to their name tags are smiley faces.  I hand these out for compliments for positive behavior.

And then there's the BIG RED STIKE!  Can't you just hear the sound... like the "x" on the game show "Family Feud", right!?  And "3 strikes and you're out!" is known at this house...you'll be going to bed early!  Something that EVERY kid in this home hates.

You might think I'm crazy!  But this "school looking" chart and this idea has REALLY helped our homeschooling household...when it's used consistently

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WHY?

Because it's visual!  It's visual to ALL!  It actually hangs on the coat closet door of our house...so "THE PRINCIPAL" can tell what kind of day we've had the second he walks in!

It helps me remember in the midst of our crazy moments that this kiddo has had too many empty threats/warnings OR (on the flip side) when a kiddo needs to know that I've seen what a great attitude they've had...you deserve a "hug" (smiley face).

It helps me AND my children remember and reflect on their behavior and actions of that day.

And each day is a new day...so we clear off the strikes and keep those smiley faces.  (They are redeemable on the weekends!)

Visual Consistency, at it's finest!

I also decided I needed a visual to document these daily behaviors.  I had done this same documentation on my students when I was a classroom teacher. So why not collect some monthly data on my homegrown students.

We just completed our first monthly chart.  I recently held it up at dinner time and simply asked..."what do you notice Dad?" 

Dad had noticed that we had a great week.  And that our behavior had really changed since the beginning.  This visual chart helped us see the consistency in our children's behavior which is exactly why I decided to start collecting the data in the first place.

So if you are struggling with behavior or maybe something completely different like chores or school work.  

If you making it visual, that will lead to you using it consistently, I promise!

Happy Learning with your little (and big) ones.