Awhile back, I made a chore chart for each of the girls. I told them that when they got to 150 checkmarks for all of the things I expect them to do each morning and night, I'd reward them. They all filled it up quickly. I told them we'd do the rewards over Christmas break when they are out of school, and I can give them more individual time. I gave them several choices: a day at the hamam (Turkish bath house), ice skating, an afternoon in Kizilay (downtown), an afternoon in Ulus (old town), a Starbucks drink and time to walk around a mall. Wouldn't you know they all 4 chose different things?! So, I've been busy! Twinkle Toes wanted to try a hamam for the first time. Of course, I can't take pictures, but it was oh, so wonderful. I was oh, so glad she chose it! We also took a couple of the new teachers. For about US13, we got scrubbed from head to toe (no dead skin cells in sight after that!), were soaped up and massaged on a hot, marble slab, given a fresh squeezed orange juice, and given time in a sauna and a steam room with eucalyptus. It's the closest I'll ever get to a spa day over here, and I love it! I also love the pampering from all the little old Turkish ladies there. I must move on! Come see me, I'll take you!
The next reward day was Sweet Cheeks' day. She chose a hot chocolate and mall time. We sipped a drink, while she sat on the big, comfy chair at Starbucks. Then we walked through a toy store, not to buy, but to browse. It was fun! And added bonus for us was that this toy store routinely plays English kids' music, though they do not necessarily know what the songs say. Guess what we heard? This Little Light of Mine! (Remember the rocks and trees will even cry out to praise Him?) I have to believe the timing of that was a special gift from God to us.
After the New Year begins, I'll treat Miss Middler to ice skating with Mom (Yikes!) and Firstborn to an afternoon in Kizilay. (No doubt, in craft stores!) It's hard to have special times alone with each kid when you have 5, but I'm thankful this Christmas season allowed it!
1 comment:
I loved this post and can't wait to hear about the other special days! One of my favorite things in this world is to do special things and have special days for my kids. David loves it also.
It may be a sign of my age, although it is more likely a sign of the man I was raised by who was raised by 100% German grandparents only one generation from Germany (He was 50% himself.), but I have never done chore charts preferring instead for everyone to be "glad just because" they are doing their chores . . . (I know what other mothers will say to that . . . Like I said, it is the way I was raised.) HOWEVER, that does not mean I do not believe in rewards, I just always kept them a secret so the kids never knew if they were getting a reward or not. Sometimes they didn't.
Point I am getting to is I would promote good attitude and be so impressed at good attitudes (bragging and pushing on them until they had one whether they wanted one or not - ha) that it would be a good excuse to take them for a treat. (See, the outcome is the same!)
Our favorite things to do almost always involved food because eating out was not something we did normally.
My times alone with each one was separate from that and seemed to come by chance (God's wonderful design) and routinely I would find myself one on one with each one and would take that opportunity to treat them to something I knew they loved. I didn't necessarily have to spend money on them during that time.
Regardless of how it was done, in all of life, those times are mine and David's very favorite.
So you see why this post was also a favorite . . . Be sure and have lots of pictures if possible. :)
Love,
Melanie
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