A chore, what a bore! Or?

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I have started a daily chores list, which has been keeping me going for three weeks and counting. If only I'd thought of this before! It entails writing down 5 chores you need to accomplish on a daily basis each week. You tick off once you've done it, and at the end of the week, you get a sticker.

Okay, I know what you're thinking - a sticker!? Is that it? It just goes to show we are all just still kids inside. Simple positive motivation, and I promise you, I have never had such happy plants in my life before.

Truth be told, I was so determined to water my plants every day that they almost drowned til I noticed it also meant care if you let them soak up the water by themselves until there was none left. I even gave my delicious monster mayonnaise! (Heard it makes their leaves nice 'n shiny, and it's true, they've been shining ever since).

It has been so effective that I have made a weekly and a monthly chore list, but as I was busy creating them, this list started to feel almost like I was rewriting the Ten Commandments - a set of rules I needed to comply with in order to be right with God. However, I kept reminding myself that these are chores most people do naturally, only I need a bit of a shove and a push, and sometimes a kick in the behind, and it works for me!

Ok, I have test driven the vehicle, I have completed the pilot test - now let me apply it at school, with my children. Possible chores for children aged 8:
1. Write down your homework
2. Do your homework
3. Remember your homework
4. Water the plant, but not too much!

Wish me luck! Better yet, wish them luck! I am super-excited about this seemingly simple positive reinforcement method to do mundane, everyday tasks with a new and improved attitude, in the hope that a simple sticker can create permanent positive habits that can STICK for the long haul. And I pray my excitement catches on.

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