Editor’s note: We’re trying something new this week with a bit of an audience participation! Kelly will be monitoring the comments and responding. I’ll update the original article over time to include all of your awesome suggestions! Lets create an awesome tool for parents everywhere! – Stephen
Normally, I like to spend Mommy Monday telling you about all the cool things you can teach your kids or cool games you can play with them. This week, I have a different agenda; I am looking for some help.
You see, we’ve reached the age with our little gamer that it’s about time we start to implement a formalized chore for rewards program with her, and we thought we’d apply it to us all! So far, all I have come up with is categories, point scoring, and some ideas of end of the month prizes – but I don’t like what I have so far!
This is where you come in. I’m looking for ideas on how to make a game of chores! Do we make a giant Candy Land board and move spaces based on our daily/weekly points? Do we level up as we hit “chore experience” levels? Do we make progress on intricate maps with small “battle goals”? Do we build a giant life size Cootie that gains body parts as she makes her points?
I have so many ideas and I have no idea how many are even remotely feasible or useful for a pre-schooler! So, I ask you, parents of older children: how do you get your kids (and yourself) motivated to do the activities that no one wants to do?
I think one of the hardest things to write about is yourself! Either you sound absolutely insane or completely uninteresting… so, I’ll try to hit the middle ground.
I am a 30-something mom to very vibrant and very intelligent 4-year old daughter who is one of the biggest geeks I’ve ever known. She does come by it honestly, considering her father and I are both just a *little* geeky! Our little family hides in the middle of a city in upstate NY.
By day, I am embedded deep in the culture of corporate America building spreadsheets while I play the eternal game of trying to beat my last latest-and-greatest idea. By night, I’m the intrepid superhero “Gamer Mom” – you know, the one with as many faces as she has ways to beat you in Settlers of Catan?
My educational background is in Math and I love all things science-y, so I try to integrate those loves with my love of gaming! Mostly, I gravitate towards board games these days, as I have been an avid board gamer for as far as I can remember. That said, I also like to tabletop, LARP and have only recently come back to the obsessive hobby that is video games.
Gaming is something that I see as more than just a hobby, it’s a part of life that we only sometimes get to formalize in fun. We play games every day to be more productive, to get that promotion, to convince our kids to clean off the table. We thrive on achievement, on competition, and on cooperation. Whether you’re earning the “Explorer badge” in WoW, or the Longest Rail in Ticket to Ride, or your newest gold star on the Potty Chart, it’s all the same. Games are more than something we do to escape life, they are something we need to understand and master to be successful at life.
So that’s me. Hopefully I can help inspire you to find the fun in everyday life as well.
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