Happy Marble Jar

 

Something that's working for us lately is our marble jar. I started this with Jack a while back, and I have to say it was a bust. My idea was to tell him to put a marble in the jar when he did something especially helpful or nice to give him a little pat on the back. I wanted him to fill the jar up and earn a really great treat of his choice, like a special outing.

It turns out that was WAY too many marbles to hold his attention. So we changed it. Now he takes a marble out of the jar when he does something commendable, like bringing me a burp cloth or singing a song to his fussy sister, and puts it in the fish dish. (That little green dish is shaped like a fish, can you tell?) When he gets ten marbles in the dish he and I do a special MamaJack (that is actually a word, in our lexicon) activity together.

Now I know kindness should be its own reward. But when you're an energetic four-year-old learning to share your Mommy with a tiny new person, a little acknowledgement of your good deeds can make a big difference.

By the way, I was originally inspired to introduce the marble jar by a post at Let's Explore. Are there any other great ideas out there for helping kids make good choices, and saying thanks when they do? Let me know!

Comments

[Heather]

We used this same idea for potty training! I got the idea from a book called Creative Correction by Lisa Welchel (it's an AWESOME book). Everytime my boys used the potty they got a marble in the happy marble jar. When the jar was filled up then they got to go to the store and pick out a special toy that was just for them. By the time the jar was full potty training was done and we were on to big boy underwear. It worked with both my older boys and I'm looking forward to trying it with the baby.

[Xia]

I will try it at home with my kids. Thanks for sharing it.