Summer Chart for Kids
How to Get My Child to Listen
Summer is a wonderful time for relaxing. Many children and their parents favor a break from school routines. However, with more freedom sometimes children can have increase difficulties listening and obeying. Having a summer behavioral chart can help enable enough structure to decrease common behavioral problems in the summer months.
Behavioral Charts
Behavioral charts are also known as reward charts. They help guide your children's behavior in a positive way through goal setting. Behavior charts help children build self-confidence, create a routine, and improve behavior. Parents can create a simple behavior chart for the summer to provide structure and expectations so everyone knows what behavior is expected for the summer.
Reward and Behavior Charts Help Kids:
- Have clear instructions and expectations
- Teach goal setting
- Take responsibility
- Motivate
- Track progress
- Positive feedback
How to Create a Summer Behavioral Chart
Supplies Needed:
- Poster board
- Marker
- Sticky Notes
- Ruler
- Glue
Rewards:
My children are always asking for extras during the summer like ice-cream from the ice-cream truck, pool toys, and games. My children earn money from their behavioral chart to spend on toys, movies and summer day adventures. The rewards can be money, stars, prizes or candy. Together with your children decide on what the rewards will be.
Behavior Modification:
Divide the post-it-notes into 6 equal sections. Decide on the behaviors you would like your children to achieve during the summer. Use the chart below to help you come up with some ideas. Choose behaviors they can easily achieve to help motivate success and others that are challenging.
I used 4 different Post-it-note colors dividing the behaviors from easy to hard. The harder the behavior the more money they could earn. I used Post-it-notes so I could easily change the behaviors week to week or month to month if I needed to, without having to remake another chart.
. 05 cent Behaviors
- Brush teeth
- Brush hair
- Take a shower
- Sweep floor
- Worksheet
. 10 cent Behaviors
- Feed the dog
- Walk the dog
- Water the dog
- Make your bed
- Pick up toys
- Pick up shoes
. 20 cent Behaviors
- Eat a vegetable
- Help dad outside
- Take out the trash
- Wipe down countertops
- Help another family member
- Help mom with laundry
. 25 cent Behaviors
- Read 30 min.
- Empty dishwasher
- Sleep in your own bed all night
- Put clothes away
- Pick up family room
- Do something nice for someone else
Put the behaviors on the top of the poster board.
On the left hand side of the poster board, make a column going down. Write the summer days in this column.
Document:
Find a way to document when each of your children completed the chore. I use two colors pink and blue to represent my two children. Decide if you will pay them at the end of the summer or the end of each week.
Summer Behavioral Chart
Behavior Chart Ideas
Grooming
| Cleaning
| Education
| Food
| Behavior
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brush Teeth
| Sweep Kitchen Floor
| Read for 30 Minutes
| Eat 2 Servings of Fruit
| Sleep in Your Own Bed all Night
|
Floss Teeth
| Pick Up Toys
| Do All of Your Homework
| Eat 2 Servings of Vegtables
| Do Something Nice for Another Family Member
|
Shower/Bath
| Make Your Bed
| Complete 2 Worksheets
| Drink 1 Glass of Milk
| Use kind words
|
Brush Hair
| Pick Up Shoes
| Make 1 Piece of Art Work
| Choose Water instead of Soda
| Express your feelings with words
|
Feed the Pet(s)
| Empty Dishwasher
| Practice Your Music for 30 Minutes
| Eat Breakfast
| No hitting
|
Brush the Pet(s)
| Take Out the Trash
| Exercise for 30 Minutes
| Eat Lunch
| No whinning
|
Wipe/Flush the Toliet
| Put Clothes Away
| Memorize your mutiplication table
| Eat Dinner
| Be thankful
|
Walk the Dog
| Wipe Down Table/Counter Tops
| Watch an educational show
| Make good food choices
| Do not raise your voice
|
Get Dressed
| Set the Table
| Study spelling words
| No junk food
| Share
|
Using A Reward Chart
Rules and Rewards
When creating a behavioral chart it is important that everyone knows the rules and rewards. If you, the parent, do not follow through your children will not follow through. Be on top of the behavior chart, motivate your kids so they can have fun and pride in their achievements.
The Rules:
- You must complete two tasks from each category or no earnings for that day
- One of the tasks must be a * task or no earnings for that day
- Each worksheet completed correctly earns .05 cents
- You can do as many worksheets as you want to, but you must complete 2 a day
Earnings:
- Minimum earned each day by completing 2 items from each category earns $1.25 (Includes 2 worksheets.)
- Maximum earned each day is $3.65 (plus more for more worksheets)
- You can earn $3.65 per day
- Additional earnings can be earned by completing more worksheets
- There are 72 days you can earn
- The minimum you can earn in the summer is $90.00
- The maximum you can earn in the summer is $262.80 (plus more for worksheets)
This behavioral chart made the most sense for our family. Agreeably, $262.80 is a lot of money for a child to earn in the summer. However, all their extra activities including going to an amusement park for one day during the summer comes from their behavioral chart funds.
You can tailor the behavioral chart and rewards that make the most sense for you and your family.
Final note:
On the behavior chart I had the chore, "Feed the dog." Since this was one of the easiest chores, the dog was being fed all day long by both my kids. The dog loved this chore. However, I had to write an amendment to the chart, so the dog was fed only once a day. Using Post-it-notes helps me adjust the chart any time I need to. Also, Post-it-notes allows me to recreate the chores weekly. When the chores change the kids seem to be more motivated to achieve new awards.
Carly Sullens 2013
