Homeworkopoly . . .

Have you ever had a 10 year old ASK to do homework at 7:30 on a Friday night???

I got a call last week from Haylee's mom! She was not pleased with Haylee and called to tell me that Haylee had gotten 2 "F's" in one subject in school bringing her overall grade down to a "C". Haylee is an A/B student and has always done well in school. Her mom told me she does not accept "C's" from Haylee (I don't totally agree with that, but that is another story for another day). Anyhow, when I picked Haylee up yesterday I began to question her about her grades, why she was doing bad in a couple subjects etc. She got all teary eyed and said she wants to do good in school, but there are a few things she just doesn't understand. Knowing what it is like to simply not understand things, I told her I would think of a way to help her out. She told me her mom will help her when she needs it, but minimally.

2 years ago she was struggling with problem solving, so I bought her a couple books to help her practice with, but she took them to her moms and never did them. With her being at her moms house most of the time it was hard for me to "make" her do it. So I knew I had to come up with a new plan.

Enter Homeworkopoly . . .

Homeworkopoly is my way of encouraging Haylee to work extra in the areas she is struggling in! Here is how it works . . . I bought her 2 workbooks on specific topics she needs to work on. 5 nights a week she has to do a "unit" (about 6 questions/problems) out of each book. She then gets 5 "dollars" (not real money) for each book she worked out of. Once she is finished, she gets to roll a dice and move her piece (a decorated paperclip) around the board I made. She collects money each day and when she has enough money, she gets to buy "properties" as she lands on them. The properties are actually activities or items that she is wanting (pedicure, sleepover, go to the movies etc.) She has to collect all the properties of one color to get the prize. Here are her prizes:
Orange Properties: Ice Cream Date
Pink Properties: $25 gift card to a store of her choice
Red Properties: Sleepover
Purple Properties: Movie Date
Blue Properties: Pedicure
Bluegreen Properties: Scrapbook Album
Green Properties: New Outfit
Tan Properties: Build - A - Bear
"T" Properties: Tea at Grand America (Her favorite SKG date)
She collects $20 for passing go, can land on spaces that make her do extra homework (for no extra money) etc. The "Chance" and "Treasure Chest" spots can be anything from picking out a candy bar at the store . . . to doing 15 extra minutes of homework. If she has to go to jail, she can pay $50 to get out, or do 10 minutes of homework. Haylee was so excited about this new system, she asked if she could do homework tonight!!! I am hoping this will keep her motivated even when she is at her mom's and nobody is "making" her do it!
Serving Him,
Jess