Kids Earn Electronics Point system/Chart

Thought I would share our new "earn your electronics time" for the summer system.  After a week off school I was already tired of the arguing and the "I can't think of anything to do" (code for: I want to play something with a screen…).  So.  This is our new earn as much time as you want, up to 2 hours worth.  One of the issues we had run into before is that one boy, in particular, would quickly complete his chores while the others dawdled.  So "no electronics til the house is clean" just meant he would do twice the work of other siblings to get it done.  I wanted something that was more "fair" - if he wants to do more, he gets rewarded for it.  If you don't want to do anything, fine.  It might take you a week to collect enough points.  I kept it simple - printed this off and hung it on the bulletin board.  I made notecards with the points (10-100) on them and hung them below). They do it all on their own - collect their cards whenever they do a job and turn them into me to be allowed to set the timer so I can look at the jobs they did. My house is brilliantly clean and everyone has voluntarily done jobs they never thought of doing before. Note that things I'd like to see them do more of (read, practice music, write letters) are worth a lot of points. These jobs are on top of their normal chores with the exception of a few that they are required to do (like piano) but attitude sometimes gets in the way of.  Yesterday the inside of my windows got cleaned, the microwave got scrubbed, the chairs and stools were wiped down, siblings were helped, they read for an hour straight, etc all VOLUNTARILY and without complaint.  I win.  P.S Their fast/head math skills as getting pretty good too…hahahahahahaha 

Write a nice letter to someone in the family = 50 points

Write a nice letter to your penpal or that you need to send = 50 points 

20 min reading = 50 points
20 min Bible reading = 100 points

20 min drawing/coloring = 50 points

Play a board/cardgame with a sibling = 50 points

Help a sibling with a job or piano/homework = 25 points

Help with dinner or a meal = 25 points

Pick up entryways = 25 points

Wipe down the baseboards/door = 50 points per room

Wipe down the lower section of the walls (as high as you can reach) = 100 per room

Make sure stairs and hallway are clean = 25 points

1 load of laundry washed, folded and put away = 100 points

Organize your drawers = 25 points per drawer

Empty dishwasher = 50 points

Load dishwasher = 50 points

Clean and wash off tables = 25 points

Clean and wash off counters = 25 points

Wash chairs = 25 pts a chair, 10 pts a stool, 50 pts each for leather furniture (use baby wipes)

Clean microwave = 25 points

Take out garbage and put in new bag = 25 points

Sweep wood floors = 50 points

Sweep tile and vacuum rugs = 50 points

Clean living room and big room = 50 points

Practice piano/music = 50 points per 15 min

Wash a window = 10 points a window

Clean a pet cage/dishes = 25 points a cage

Clean the car - trash and picked up = 50 points

Vacuum the car = 100 points

Weed a flowerbed/shovel snow/sweep driveway = 100 points a piece

200 points = 20 min electronics time (Isaac, Luke, Andrew - ages 8-12)

100 points = 20 min electronics time (Ben - the 5 year old)

Fish Taco Recipe

I think one of the most common comments we hear from people when we mention are allergies, is something along the lines of, "So...what do you eat?" It's true, our choices can sometimes seem rather limiting! But last night, enjoying chocolate cake with vanilla bean coconut ice cream, we hardly felt deprived! I've decided to make a point of posting some of our favorite foods, so you can all stop feeling sorry for us!
For most mornings I eat very simple -- a handful of dried apricots and cranberries, a handful of walnuts or almonds and a square of Lindt 85% or 90% dark chocolate. Dried fruit and nuts are just an amazing combination -- nuts also add protein, omega 3's and fiber. This particular brand of dark chocolate is dairy, corn and soy free. Since breakfast is my most limited meal, I find that adding a square of chocolate makes me feel like I'm having something special, rather than not allowed to eat anything! And, since it's so dark, there's an added benefit of all the anti-oxidants in chocolate without the sugar! Coffee has to be a part of any morning -- I add a splash of Silk almond milk in mine. It's a different taste than dairy, but we add all types of "nut" flavors to coffee and creamers -- hazelnut, almond, etc., so it actually goes very well!
Today for lunch I had my new favorite. I know it's supposed to be a diet killer to eat the same food everyday, but I look forward to it and will easily fall into "ruts" like that! My brother and sister introduced me to fish tacos this summer. They adapt very easy to my allergies, they taste great and I can cram a TON of nutrition into one quick meal.
Fish Tacos
Corn, Soy, Dairy, Egg, Lettuce free

Tortilla (I use La Flor flour tortillas -- like 3 ingredients, no soy or corn and you cook them yourself so they taste as close to homemade as you can get without the work!)
1 Tilapia fillet (or any mild fish)
Lemon Pepper seasoning (or any favorite!)
Small amount of olive oil for frying
Spinach
Avocado
Tomato
Goat Cheese
Salsa (chunky -- I use homemade)
Pretty self-explanatory directions -- sprinkle the fish with lemon pepper, fry in the olive oil. Cook the tortilla and load it up! Throw a big handful of spinach on, some avocado, tomato if you have it, a sprinkle of goat cheese...yum! Think over the nutrition packed in here -- protein, fiber, anti-oxidants, healthy fats, lycopene, omega 3's...

So, there you have it. Today's lunch. Now, my kids won't touch this (yet). But they do love the fish without the "taco" part. They also love avocado spread in sandwiches as a mayo substitute. Today for lunch, however, they had a variety of peanut butter/almond butter sandwiches.
Andrew had Almond butter and homemade crabapple jelly on a rice cake (he's allergic to wheat and peanuts, along with corn, soy and dairy) with fresh cherries.
Luke had Peanut butter and homemade cherry rhubarb jam on a rice cake and a banana (he's wheat, soy and dairy).
Isaac had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on some deli bread (dairy and corn free), the rest of banana and some cherries.
And they put it all away with a glass of cold coconut milk.
Hard to feel sorry them, isn't it? And before you grimace at the rice cake, try slapping your favorite nut butter and jelly on it and give it another try! My personal favorite is almond butter and homemade raspberry freezer jam. That's an addicting crunchy snack!