Goal Setting

In our home we have kids that sometimes don't want to do anything! I have some boys that can be volatile with their emotions and have break downs when it is time to practice the piano or do a math page for example. After lots of tears (on my part) here is what I've found successful for these kids....

At the beginning of the day before breakfast I have a short interview with the child. They have a clipboard and we structure their whole day. We first put in our plans for the day. For example our day today looked like this:

8:30 breakfast
11:30 Lunch
12:00 Leave for older sister's scholar class and boy's social play while we wait
4:00 mom gone for visiting teaching (which is just me visiting a neighbor)
6:00 dinner
7:00 family reading time (this varies depending on the day, today it's after dinner)

So he had his structure. Then he put in when he wanted to do things. He had the control. He inserted when he would read his scriptures, free reading, when/what he wanted to do for exercise, practice the piano, and do his chores. Then he inserted things he wanted to learn that day. Today he had down wipe board math, wipe board spelling, chess, and blog post to name a few.

He also chooses a reward for the day if he is successful. Today he choose 30 minutes of Wii Olympics. He clearly understands the contract and the reward.

The day does necessitate me being more flexible. At the meeting I've agreed to the "terms" of day. Then is my chance to say, "I can't play a game with you at that time. You'll need to choose a different time. Here is when I could be available."

The magic of the whole thing is that it's his idea. He's responsible for the success of his day. He's planned his day when he's happy and unstressed (before the day really begins). I've seen a lot of success with this. He loves packing his clip board around and checking things off of his list. This child will always be challenged with motivation and emotions. I've tried to create a system that I can guide him though so that as he gets older he can recognize how he can be successful despite any challenges. The skill set will be ingrained.

What things have you done in your home to encourage motivation?