That's the sound of the small purple glass pebbles hitting the bottom of the a jar I've named the Fruit of the Spirit Jar. This is something I started doing recently.
In Galatians 5:22-23 it says, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Whenever I "catch" the kids putting forth good fruit, I put a pebble in the jar. I don't say anything, but I make sure they can hear the plink. They usually get excited when they hear it and come running to ask me what made me drop the pebble in there. I'll explain it to them, emphasizing which fruit of the Spirit they were exhibiting. Then they look at the jar and try and figure out how many more they'll need to get to the "Let's Go" line.
The "Let's Go" line is the mark the pebbles have to reach before we go somewhere special. Nothing extravagant, like a trip to Hawaii (!!), but something outside of our usual weekend routine that we can all enjoy. I let them decide where to go. They've chosen a nice dinner at our favorite prime rib restaurant. (I'm not surprised. They always get the royal treatment when we go there.)
During homeschooling, if they're ready for class and work quietly like they're supposed to, I'll drop one or two pebbles in the jar when school is done. They have to work together to get those pebbles. They have to cooperate and work hard not to distract each other (which can easily happen when someone starts to giggle.)
So far, it's working nicely. There's less whining and tattle-telling and more teamwork!
Let's go!
Check out some other great ideas for your Pre-K or K kid at:
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