Okay, so this week is all about Ben. He's super smart. Really catches onto things quickly which leaves him somewhat unchallenged in school at times. They have an Accelerated Reader program in which he can read books on his own time and get "points" for reading books. They get a certificate each nine weeks to reward them for whatever "point club" they're in at the time. I think the A.R. program is great - the more you read, the better.Here's my dillema - Ben is a good reader, but really not motivated to want to pick up a book just for the fun of it. He couldn't care less about getting a piece of paper at the end of the nine weeks showing what point club he's in. Personally, I wouldn't care about that if I were 7 either. SO, how can I motivate him to want to really take on the challenge of reading as many books as he can? Another school district has an A.R. Club store (more points you have, the better the stuff you can "buy"). That's cool, but they don't do that at Ben's school.
What are your suggestions to motivate Ben to WANT to get as many points as possible without me having to BEG him to bring library books home? Each book is worth about 1/2 point.
THOUGHTS??? Thanks.
4 comments:
Didn't he JUST START school?
Ummm... here's 5 from us..since we just went through this...
1) do your own point system at home for prizes. that's too hard, I don't like that one..
2) Encourage the competition thing in him, get him to try and beat the best reader in the class as a game. I know it goes against our better nature, but it's a good motivation tool for guys and it's NOT HARMFUL.
3) Treat him like he's very special when he's reading. Show him that you're going out of your way to make it 'quiet time' in the house for him. Don't allow Mary Claire to bother him when he's reading. Setup a soft cushy reading corner in his room with a lamp or chair, etc..
4) Punish him if he donsn't bring a book home to read at night.
5) Don't allow any PC or DS playing during the week at all; only on the weekend. Limit TV to 1 hour max a night. He'll get bored and start relying on books for entertainment.
Love you!
Mandy
25 or 50 cents a book!
I think I like the money idea. It wouldn't cost that much and we don't give allowance at our house. So maybe that would be a good way for my kids to earn a little money. Have a good week. :) :)
Thanks for all your comments. I went with the money idea. We're going with .50 cents a book. Considering that last year he read maybe 40 books during the school year, we can swing that. Hopefully, he will take full advantage of this opportunity. He brought two books home this weekend. Chapter books - yea!
Post a Comment